How Walkable Is Your Neighborhood?

[brianac]

How Walkable Is Your Neighborhood?

By MAX ROOSEVELT
Published: August 8, 2008

LOOKING for a place to live in an unfamiliar neighborhood is one thing. But knowing what those neighborhoods have to offer — or what they are lacking — could make the process much easier.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/08/10/realestate/10post.large1.jpg
MAKING STRIDES The Web site WalkScore helps users find out what amenities and services are available in their communities.

A Web site called WalkScore (www.walkscore.com (http://www.walkscore.com/)) lets people find out just what amenities and services are within walking distance in neighborhoods all around the country.

“WalkScore measures how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle,” according to the Web site.

Founded in July 2007 by Mike Mathieu, the chairman of Front Seat Management in Seattle, WalkScore works with Google (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/google_inc/index.html?inline=nyt-org) Maps and census data. Type in a street address on the site, and within seconds a list and map appear showing the nearest grocery stores, restaurants, gyms, schools and more — all for free.

The site works for any address within the United States, Canada, and even Britain (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/great-homes-and-destinations/destinations/europe/index.html?inline=nyt-geo). It also uses a formula to assign point values to locations within a mile of the given address. These points yield a final score from 1 to 100 for the address’s overall “walkability.”

An apartment on East 61st Street in Manhattan (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/classifieds/realestate/locations/newyork/newyorkcity/manhattan/?inline=nyt-geo) scored a 98 out of 100 and was labeled a walker’s paradise. It is within a quarter mile of eight grocery stores, seven schools, eight gyms and seven coffee shops.

In fact, most of Manhattan’s residential areas fall into this category. An apartment on West 80th Street scored a perfect 100.

Predictably, the scores for suburban homes tended to be far lower than those in the city. Houses in Chappaqua, in Westchester County, typically scored between a 5 and 10 on the walkability scale, earning the tag of “car dependant.”

Notable reasons for the low scores included a distance of over two miles to the nearest school and grocery store.

For people interested in neighborhoods beyond their own, the site lists what it considers to be the 40 most walkable cities in the United States.

WalkScore also lists what it doesn’t include in its searches, and chief among those is the distance to mass transportation.

“We do think mass transportation is important, but data varies widely from city to city,” Mr. Mathieu said. “In fact, some cities do not provide any data at all.”

The site also does not include, among other things, statistics on crime, topography and weather.

Mr. Mathieu said the site would incorporate transit data whenever a uniform source could be found, and he is also considering altering the formula used to calculate the walking distances.

Because the formula uses an “as the crow flies” method of measuring distance from point to point, as WalkScore puts it, “this means if you live across the lake from a destination we are assuming you’ll swim.”

This is not such a big deal in a city, which typically have fewer lakes and other water features, but could make a difference to users in the suburbs and elsewhere in the country.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/realestate/10post.html?ref=realestate

Copyright 2008 (http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html) The New York Times Company (http://www.nytco.com/)

[stache]

I'm 98! :cool:

[scumonkey]

So am I :rolleyes:

[stache]

Whee! ;)

[Fabrizio]

Mine would have to score 100.... with the added plus of being mostly closed to traffic.

Town Hall, civic offices, police station, post office, hospital, emergency ward, funeral parlor, any number of clinics, dentists, gyms, public library, every kind of shop from 99 cent to luxury brands, hardware stores, designer furniture stores, pharmacies, office supply, craftsman studios working in wood... in marble... in glass...framers... tailors.... shoe repair... small appliance repair... great resrtaurants, bars, coffeee shops... all kinds of butchers, really all kinds of food including a permanent farmers market in the very center of town... plus a train station...it goes on and on ... all with-in walking distance and a lot of it traffic free zones (or traffic reduced). AND let me mention that ...I'd say that about 90 percent of the businesses are privately owned.

An urban paradise? I think so.

[Jasonik]

Wierd, I just found this walkscore site yesterday -- completely independent of WNY!

83 btw (off street parking and a backyard) :cool:

Sorry, wEIrd. (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article4474181.ece)

[philvia]

my home now is 55 lol

in 2 weeks i'll be in 98

[The Benniest]

Here is mine:

Currently:

Walk Score:http://www2.walkscore.com/images/progress-spacer.gif 42 out of 100 — Car-DependentIn ~ 2 weeks, it will be this:

Walkhttp://www2.walkscore.com/images/progress-spacer.gif Score: 45 out of 100 — Car-Dependent
Not much better. :p

Give or take a few years ... hopefully in the 80's, 90's and if I'm really lucky ... 100. :rolleyes:

[Alonzo-ny]

76 for my college town here in Scotland, Im sure it would be much higher if they took into account my university amenities and some of the smaller business' that dont show up online. The university is literally across the street from me.

[Ninjahedge]

83 here in Hoboken, but they have some shortcomings.

There is a Shop Rite within a half mile of my place, but they list it as a pharmacy and not as a Pharm/Grocery and a liquor store.....

I am not saying that this invalidates the result, but it should be taken with a grain of salt.


Maybe two! ;)

[Ninjahedge]

Oh, and it could not find the two small hardware stores, and locksmith on Washington Street! ;)

[MidtownGuy]

East Midtown gets a 98. No surprise there:)

[NoyokA]

This website is pretty pointless. Your neighborhood is either walkable or its not, I don't need a website to tell me if my neighborhood is "walkable" or not. This site is a product of the internet and its obsuridty, it answers a question that could otherwise be answered if people just logged off and ventured outside.

[Ninjahedge]

I think it is more for people looking for a new place to live, not whether THEIR home is in a walkable area.

Say you wanted to move to Podunk MA. You type in the addresses of a few properties you saw listed and look at teh score.

If they all come in about the same and it is what you were looking for, you might want to go out and take a closer lok.

If it comes back that you are a mile from the nearest convenience store (such is the case in many suburbs) then maybe you wuold want to look elsewhere....


But for us Stern.... You are correct. It is but a mildly entertaining distraction.

[NYatKNIGHT]

It's not that accurate. I can think of at least four coffee shops closer than the Starbucks they listed as my closest coffee shop.

[nycla3]

Its a goofy, silly, trifle. Recently moved away from the Financial District, partially due to the dearth of residential services...my old address garnered a 100 including the fact that a restaurant was only .01 mile away (well, actually on the ground floor)...Delmonico's.

Uh...thanks, guys. Well done. (...the steak, too.)

[The Benniest]

If my mom would have found this site years ago, I honestly don't think I would be living where I live now. :confused: Yes, there are parks, schools, 1-2 restaurants, and a pool...but it's certainly not the most ideal location. ;)

Thank goodness in a ~ 1 week, my view will go from this (http://www.altenergyinvestor.org/images/cornfield.jpg) to THIS! (http://pics4.city-data.com/cpicc/cfiles26037.jpg) :D


If it comes back that you are a mile from the nearest convenience store (such is the case in many suburbs)...
^^ This almost applies to me. The convenience store is on one side of town, and my house is on the other.

[NoyokA]

I don't know if I agree with the site in ranking San Francisco the most walkable city. Sure its a big city and has everything in walking distance like any other big city. But I wouldn't describe San Fransisco as a "walkable" city. I'm in excellent shape and found myself exhausted walking a mile or two, walking anywhere is an adventure because of the hills. That kind of goes against the idea of "walkability".

[stache]

Once you live there for a while you learn the best way to walk around the hills, but sometimes they just can't be avoided.

[KenNYC]

Walk Score:http://www2.walkscore.com/images/progress-spacer.gif 97 out of 100 — Walkers' Paradise

And I do have to say I quite like walking around the area. When the construction is done BPC is going to be great;)

[212]

100 for me, just south of Times Square. What do I win?

[NYatKNIGHT]

The closer the store the higher the score. That's one way of looking at "walkable", I suppose, but to a point. Most of us here get high scores for how close everything is, in other words, you don't have to do much walking at all in order to get there.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Guide to Planning Successful Pedestrian Sreets (http://transalt.org/files/newsroom/reports/2009/walk_in_my_street.pdf)

[.pulchritudinous.]

I got 0. They said my street is car dependent. That's what you call lazy people... :rolleyes:

[BrooklynRider]

I got a 98.

[Merry]

My street got a 60.

I'm a full-time pedestrian and walk by necessity a lot, so I don't really agree with their measurement of walkability.

Supermarket/grog shop/chemist/newsagent/post office are only 5 minutes away. However, it still only takes me about 15-20 minutes to walk to the closest main shopping precinct and about 40 minutes to walk to/from the city. I used to walk to and/or from work in the city and have just started walking home from where I currently work, just outside the city, which takes around 50-55 minutes (bus/train otherwise).

The lists of services seemed to be pretty random and omitted lots of places within the range of those that were included :rolleyes:.

Google, as they pointed out (http://www.walkscore.com/how-it-doesnt-work.shtml), is not always that reliable and up-to-date.

[Ninjahedge]

Even though places have closed down (a few eateries and the like) the score has gone up to a 91...

And they are still missing a lot....

[scumonkey]

My score went from a 98 the last time i looked, to a 100 out of 100 :D

[stache]

Have you been out walking the streets again? ;)

[scumonkey]

and ally ways , back lots .....:D

[BrooklynRider]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/nyregion/20streets.html

May 20, 2009
In the Future, the City’s Streets Are to Behave
By DAVID W. CHEN

Imagine narrow European-style roadways shared by pedestrians, cyclists and cars, all traveling at low speeds. Sidewalks made of recycled rubber in different colors under sleek energy-efficient lamps. Mini-islands jutting into the street, topped by trees and landscaping, designed to further slow traffic and add a dash of green.

This is what New York City streets could look like, according to the Bloomberg administration, which has issued the city’s first street design manual in an effort to make over the utilitarian 1970s-style streetscape that dominates the city.

The Department of Transportation will begin reviewing development plans to see whether they align with the 232-page manual’s guidelines, and promises that projects with these features will win approval quickly.

“Lots of things have changed in 40 years, but this part of our infrastructure hasn’t,” said Janette Sadik-Khan, the city’s transportation commissioner. “If we’re going to be a world-class city, we need guidelines that lay out the operating instructions of how we get there.”

The manual, to be released on Wednesday, culminates nearly two years of work involving more than a dozen agencies led by the Department of Transportation. By offering “a single framework and playbook,” as Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg says in the introduction, the manual promises to simplify the design process and reduce the costs for city agencies, urban planners, developers and community groups.

Urban planners say that the document is long overdue, and that it promises to be as much a map to the future as it is a handbook for the present: getting people to think about streets as not just thoroughfares for cars, but as public spaces incorporating safety, aesthetics, environmental and community concerns.

Robert Moses, Mr. Bloomberg is not.

“Moses had a sort of utopian view of orderly, suburban places that de-emphasized New York’s ‘cityness,’ while Bloomberg embraces the soul of the city itself and recognizes it as a solution to the region’s environmental, sustainability, and energy problems,” said Robert Puentes, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program.

Some drivers, though, are reserving judgment. Taxi drivers, for one, say that while they appreciate the city’s efforts to beautify the streets, they hope that the guidelines do not lead, even indirectly, to fewer parking spots or a traffic pace that is too slow.

“The streets are a place where many motorists need access to, in order to earn a livelihood, so what would be of some concern is if there was less space for vehicles, or drivers had to slow down to complete their fares,” said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.

The manual does not supersede any laws or regulations and it does not portend rapid changes visible overnight to residents or visitors; rather, the effect should be gradual, and in keeping with the character of a neighborhood, the manual says.

Still, the manual stands out as an unequivocal mission statement, echoing guides issued in recent years by cities like Chicago, San Francisco, Washington and Portland, Ore. It also complements a broad push by the Bloomberg administration to make the city more amenable to pedestrians and bicyclists — with next week’s closing of parts of Broadway being one prominent, if controversial, example.

For the most part, though, the manual spells out in technical detail a wealth of choices as to what the city likes — and doesn’t like — when it comes to roadways, sidewalks, trees, lighting and benches.

A good portion of the manual analyzes the different materials deemed attractive, practical and cost-effective. These include flexible rubber sidewalk pavers, which can be shaped to avoid trees or other objects. They also include several kinds of LED street lights.

One example illustrating the difference the guide could make is a stretch of Carlton Avenue near the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Years ago, it was just an uninviting ribbon of pavement, stretching into the horizon; now, it looks like an integral part of the Fort Greene and Clinton Hill neighborhoods, with a large white median dotted by trees and vegetation.

The manual also sheds light on how cumbersome the design process for development or renovation has been, given the number of agencies or entities normally involved. On a typical street, according to one illustration, almost a dozen entities — including six city agencies — are responsible for elements ranging from sidewalk cafes (Department of Consumer Affairs) to utility poles (Department of Transportation) to facades or awnings (Department of Buildings).

“In tough times, it’s vital to pioneer new cost-efficient practices, especially when dealing with the expensive need to maintain the city’s infrastructure,” said Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler.

At times, the manual has the veneer of a vicarious travel guide, because many of the photographs depict scenes from places outside New York: a roundabout in Asheville, N.C.; a neighborhood traffic circle in West Palm Beach, Fla.; a dedicated bus lane in Paris; a raised intersection in Cologne, Germany; and a shared street in Brighton, England.

City Councilman John C. Liu, chairman of the Council’s Transportation Committee, said the important thing was to simplify the overall process of development as it relates to the streets.

“I think it’s positive, because the city has always been notorious for imposing all sorts of requirements and new standards which often take people by surprise,” said Mr. Liu, who has sometimes clashed with the Department of Transportation. “This will have the effect of encouraging people toward this kind of standard without making people jump through hoops.”