Here’s a very interesting site, called walkscore.com, that rates the walkability of your neighborhood.
I was initially surprised that my neighborhood is not walk friendly, but then I thought about the fact that I have to walk through parking lots and an industrial district, mainly without sidewalks, in order to get to Safeway. And it makes me feel slightly better about the fact that I hate walking to Safeway in my neighborhood, or Food City, because there aren’t any sidewalks and it makes me very nervous.
Marti and I both long to live in a place where everything is within walking distance. That is one aspect of New York and Boston — and maybe all mega-cities — that I like, that cars are not required. I have long hated driving, I still hate driving, and I do not enjoy driving Ben to school and picking him up every day. It’s 2 miles each way, and again, there aren’t any sidewalks, so I tend to make that short drive. It irritates me, though, because I want to walk it. Without getting run over by a truck.
It’s a curious thing about the U.S., that we never walk anywhere. When I lived in London in college, I really noticed I didn’t have to watch my diet as much as I do here. Walking to the subway, to class, through the city, each and every day — I probably walked more than 6 miles a day, much of it at a very fast pace. I know my roommate and I usually ran the 2 miles to the subway every morning. That kind of exercise really adds up. It’s also very peaceful, at least when you’re not running late. I watched an ivy-covered post slowly turn from green to orange, red and finally brown as the seasons passed, and it was a thing of beauty that I enjoyed watching while walking to and from the subway every day. I still picture it in my mind.
Will we ever embrace this kind of change here? People are so attached to their cars. I once dated a man who called his car his “feet.” I never told him what a turnoff that was for me. But it says something that he paid more for a bumper than Marti paid for his whole car in Japan…and guess who I married.
And now, my friends, I am walking to bed.
(Photo courtesy of lovecircus’ photos on Flickr)
May 26th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Hey, my parents place got a 17 out of 100! Talk about a poor place for walking
I wish that I could check the score here of my place. It is probably absolutely wonderful.
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:33 pm
That was quick and painless… 67/100 for our neighborhood, which is almost to the 70 range where one can theoretically live without a car (I’ve blogged/thought about doing it, but I’ve never actually gone without the car for a week).