Score Your Walk

Most Americans take to walking like ducks to asphalt. But it's not always our fault. Many of us live in communities where walking to the store is dangerous, impossible, or both.

Now walkscore.com has launched a website that lets you get a sense for how "walkable" any neighborhood really is -- based on the proximity of stores and other services.

Do you live in a "walker's paradise" (score of 90-100)?

Find out for yourself.

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Comments

[Merrily]

I really like walkscore.com. I have founds stores close to my home I didn't realize were there. I have recommended to several friends and even posted it on my blog. BUT I find some of the store information very out of date. One of the book stores still posted has been gone for over 2 years. It also seems to only take in account distance to the various locations and not the actual walkability to get to them. It doesn't seem to treat crossing major highways any differently then a neighborhood street.

http://mawalkingwolf.blogspot.com/2007/08/walking.html

[Ron]

Unless you live in a city this thing doesn't mean much. I have everything I need, stores places to eat, etc close by in easy walking, and a great totally wild but very safe area, Camp Pendelton and San Onofre state park, a couple miles away for recreational walking and I got a score of 69. . .duh.

[Don Hunter]

This is a nice idea BUT your program does not take into account that NO WHERE in my area are there SIDEWALKS. The cross street is one of the busiest throughfares in the area and you would have to walk in the street to get anywhere.

[Christiana Drapkin]

Great observation, Don, NOWHERE IN MY AREA ARE THERE SIDEWALKS. Guess what? It's time to start lobbying for more human-scale neighborhoods. What's a street? Just a thoroughfare to sluice through a maximum number of cars? It'll take a parameter change in thinking. What were rivers and canals good for a hundred years ago? To throw in all the pollution and sewage. We've come a long way from there, at least since the Clean Water Act. So now: Re-design your streets and neighborhods! Convince your neighbors, pressure your local politicians and then take it from there: streets (at least some) are for walking, baby carriages, stickball games anyone, bicycles, for planting new trees alongside, for slowing traffic. What a concept! And no need to reinvent the wheel.
Good luck!

[Chris]

Yeah, in concept this is great. However, when the only "bookstore" it lists in my neighborhood is a conservative Christian bookstore and the nearby library is the Insurance Commissioner Library, it makes you wonder if there's not some way to have a bit of qualitative analysis going on here.

[Ruth Busch]

The map couldn't find me at all. My location is rural, 10 miles from any shopping. Google Earth can find me, but not the walk wigget.

[Boyd]

At least the website was honest enough to admit (in the How It Doesn't Work subsection) that it doesn't work. In my neighborhood, the grocery store mentioned has been defunct for over a year, and I couldn't reach anything else listed without crossing Death Valley Freeway.

[Pamela]

All computer programs have limitations and the score is only for fun BUT the great thing was I found a library I didn't know about.:) I do agree it needs updated as there are great shops that weren't listed. Maybe a Sierra someone with expertise in this area can help it be updated? I haven't lived long in my current home so I did learn a thing or two....

[Mary Clare Cadieux]

complete waste of time for my neighborhood - half of the sites listed are closed or torn down. don't use them for current info.
sorry, since I think it's a great idea, just not accurate

[Linda Pohle]

I agree that this is a great idea, but it's not great in execution. It lists bookstores, libraries and movie theaters that just don't exist. Keep working at it though.

[S. Hastings-Hacker]

Great idea. Worked swell on the two sites I checked out (mine and a friends.) Wonderful for the elderly and/or physically challenged -- of course improvements could be added that would benefit the latter. Surprised though, that my area only ranked a 40. Must be the hills.

[carol]

The best use for this site is when you are looking for a place to live that isn't dangerous to walk in. Once settled, I can't imagine one wouldn't know whether or not the surrounding neighborhood is safe for walking. That kind of information is what we have neighbors for... Wouldn't it be nice if we actually became neighborly and TALKED to each other again.

[Sabine]

I know I'm lucky. My score was 97 and I live in Chicago and in a great ethnically diverse neighborhood. I even walk to work, which is just 15 minutes away. I haven't owned a car since 1984, though I rent them occassionally. Unfortunately in a few years I plan to retire and would like to move to a small town. Unfortunately finding a a place which I can afford and is walking friendly with the basic services in walking distance will be a challenge. Hopefully when the time comes this site will still offer the information that will help me make that move.

[Marie Taylor]

Walkspace is not complete for my village. For example, we can walk to our bank, our post office, the Aurora Inn, the Village Market, the Fargo restaurant and Bar, Dorie's, the Aurora Free Library, the Morgan Opera House, the College dock, Wells College events, and Cayuga Lake. We are small, but believe village life is wonderful.

[Otter K.]

That was a great deal of fun!! But I guest it depends on one's point of view as to what's walkable or not. It said my score is 49(unwalkable). But I walk to the store, post office, library, drugstore etc. All the time.

[west bremerton flowers]

that's really cool.

[Pat Reed]

Great idea. I live 0.5 mile from Saratoga State Park which was not listed. I live 3 miles from downtown Saratoga Springs a very walkable city, not listed. Poor grade for content.

[Sandi Morris]

Great idea. But it needs more fleshing out. My address got a 25, but the list of accessible businesses did not include any local supermarkets, to which I regularly walk or bicycle (e.g., Jewel). The grocery stores listed were small, mostly ethnic. That's fine, but I feel that walkability needs to include the kinds of businesses people really frequent. But thank you for doing this. It makes people think -- Do I really NEED my car?

[Warner]

My walk score is 45… I was rather upset with it. And I was surprised to know that there is another score called drive score to evaluate my house. I found the way to calculate it online at Fizber site (http://drivescore.fizber.com/ ). I’ve got much better results – 83.

[Nick]

The program also doesn't take into account off-street paths or transit service. Neighborhoods with more transit access are generally more walkable.