Walkability and Public Transportation: Misconceptions? (walkable, difference, build, system)
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This might be ironic, I'm not sure, but part of what is awesome about my walkable neighborhood is that there is a Pep Boys within walking distance. So convenient because I can drop off the car for an oil change or new tires, walk home and then walk back to get it. So nice to not have to wait around in the lobby for an hour.
Funny that a benefit of living in a walkable neighborhood is the convenient to an auto shop.
What is your walk score? 40? I think walkscore is only accurate and useful if you actually live in a walkable neighborhood. If your score is 40 but you think it deserves a 50 or vice versa, it really doesn't matter because the fact is the neighborhood is not walkable.
It has been very accurate and helpful for me in LA and Boston. I think it is a better tool for those that live in a big city.
Actually it is close to 60, which I would agree with. How they came to that number though is very flawed in this case (and for the surrounding towns as well.) It gave my Grandparents old address in the next town over a 78 which I would also agree with, but the businesses it listed are WAY off, and they are missing a lot of places. The scores I have seen in the places I put in are actually close to what I would rate them, but so far NONE of them are accurate in the categories they place most businesses/places in. They also don't take into consideration topography in their figures and distances. One of the parks they say is 1/2 mile away, while being 1/2 mile as the crow flies, it is actually close to an 8 mile walk... unless you have a boat, then you can do it with a 1/8 mile walk and a 3/8 mile row.
What is your walk score? 40? I think walkscore is only accurate and useful if you actually live in a walkable neighborhood. If your score is 40 but you think it deserves a 50 or vice versa, it really doesn't matter because the fact is the neighborhood is not walkable.
It has been very accurate and helpful for me in LA and Boston. I think it is a better tool for those that live in a big city.
It may be more accurate in larger cities. It ranks my current location as a 50-something, and I walk everywhere quite easily, for the first time in my life. It ranks my old house in TN as a 62, which is awfully optimistic, but my current location is far more walkable and it gets a lower score. For my old house, it doesn't take into account the fact that, yes, there are a lot of businesses nearby, but you'd have to walk through front yards along a busy main road to get to them because there are no sidewalks. It also includes a gas station as a grocery store, when in reality the nearest true grocery store was about three miles away and a huge pain to get to even by bike, let alone walking. Here I can walk to the grocery store (and everything else) in ten minutes or less. I'm not sure why my current location gets such a low ranking.
Edit: Actually, I think I see one reason it ranks my current location so low. I live in a fairly large apartment complex but I live on the far end, where it backs up to some woods. There are tons of trails here running all through the woods, and by using the nearest one I sort of take a shortcut to everything. But the actual road that my address is on comes out a bit farther from all those things, and if I lived exactly in the spot Walkscore pins down as my address, then it would be sort of a pain to walk everywhere. But it would still be much more possible than my old location, because here there are sidewalks and real buses. So ironically, I get a low walk score based on the routes that cars are confined to.
Out of curiosity, I entered my parents' address in TN: 26. And I'd say that's pushing it a bit. I visited them over Christmas and felt trapped because I couldn't walk anywhere.
My walk score here in Chicago is a 97. Restaurants/Coffee/Shopping/Groceries/Schools/Parks/Books/Post Office/Hospital/Fitness/Bars/Entertainment/Banking are all listed as within 0.2 miles of my house. Basically less than 5 minutes.
I find the biggest misconception of not owning a car is that everyone is stuck hauling large loads of things down the street or on the bus/train. I sold my car over 8 years ago, and at least for me, it just isn't the case. I walk by 2 small grocery stores on my way home from the train every day, a liquor store is on the corner next to my condo and a 7-11 is on the other corner, two bars, a walgreens, three fast food places, a dry cleaners, etc. etc. are all within a 5-8 minute walk. There's a large full-service supermarket and a Target store (both set up very urban, two story) that are a 5-6 minute walk from my condo going the other direction from where the train is located. I get almost all perishable food needs taken care of just jumping into one of the smaller stores on my way home from work. I'll walk up to the large supermarket once every 1-2 weeks or so and stock up on meats, cereal and other things. I normally have two bags in each hand when I walk home, and it's never really heavy or an issue.
I rent a car maybe 5 times a year to visit my parents, and I'll run into Wal-Mart on the way home and stock up with $200-$300 worth of things each time. It works out perfect.
I make ~$100K a year and have a place for a car, I just choose not to own one because I don't feel like it, and it seems like it would just cost a lot of money and be a pain in the ass with traffic, etc.
It also helps a ton though that I work in the Loop. There's nowhere to park anyway, and EVERYONE just takes public transit. It would be a different story if I had to deal with crap getting to work. Not going to the mall in the burbs though or worrying about carrying huge loads down the street? Just never happens.
Aside from that, I get almost everything I really need delivered by Amazon or Overstock. No sales tax, free shipping, shows up on the doorstep. That's amazing whether you have a car or not...
This obviously varies person to person. Some people could live car-free in a city like Phoenix or Fort Worth, and others would have a hard time living car free in a city like Boston or Philadelphia. It all depends on the priorities of the individual.
You can live without a car in all cities in America. You know how I know? Millions of people are doing it as we speak.
People who say you can't live without a car in Houston are just stupid idiots who live by exaggeration. I love cars, but I lived without one for more than 8 years without one. It wasn't the most convenient thing, there were times when the bus annoyed me, but people exaggerate too much. Yes these cities don't have the extensive systems that other cities have, but Houston has hundreds of thousands of people who make use of these buses inconvenient as they may be, and there are hundreds of thousands more who make uses of car pools and other methods.
It always angers me when people say the PT system here is nonexistent. up to a couple of years ago Houston had the largest bus fleet in the country. Its just a bunch of idiots who live in the burbs like Katy who ignore the buses and say the system is nonexistent.
You can live without a car in all cities in America. You know how I know? Millions of people are doing it as we speak.
People who say you can't live without a car in Houston are just stupid idiots who live by exaggeration. I love cars, but I lived without one for more than 8 years without one. It wasn't the most convenient thing, there were times when the bus annoyed me, but people exaggerate too much. Yes these cities don't have the extensive systems that other cities have, but Houston has hundreds of thousands of people who make use of these buses inconvenient as they may be, and there are hundreds of thousands more who make uses of car pools and other methods.
It always angers me when people say the PT system here is nonexistent. up to a couple of years ago Houston had the largest bus fleet in the country. Its just a bunch of idiots who live in the burbs like Katy who ignore the buses and say the system is nonexistent.
I'm sure it is not that hard to live car free in Houston as long as you are willing to commit to it. There are A LOT of folks on here that I think are frankly scared of buses or think it is too "low class" for them. They'll make up other excuses but that is what it boils down to.
My brother lives car-free in Santa Maria, CA. City of 100,000 with only a bus system. He makes it work and it seems like he lives a full life.
Actually it is close to 60, which I would agree with. How they came to that number though is very flawed in this case (and for the surrounding towns as well.) It gave my Grandparents old address in the next town over a 78 which I would also agree with, but the businesses it listed are WAY off, and they are missing a lot of places. The scores I have seen in the places I put in are actually close to what I would rate them, but so far NONE of them are accurate in the categories they place most businesses/places in. They also don't take into consideration topography in their figures and distances. One of the parks they say is 1/2 mile away, while being 1/2 mile as the crow flies, it is actually close to an 8 mile walk... unless you have a boat, then you can do it with a 1/8 mile walk and a 3/8 mile row.
I do agree that there are some serious flaws in walkscore, many of which you just mentioned. But I think it is a pretty decent indicator of what to expect.
You can live without a car in all cities in America. You know how I know? Millions of people are doing it as we speak.
People who say you can't live without a car in Houston are just stupid idiots who live by exaggeration. I love cars, but I lived without one for more than 8 years without one. It wasn't the most convenient thing, there were times when the bus annoyed me, but people exaggerate too much. Yes these cities don't have the extensive systems that other cities have, but Houston has hundreds of thousands of people who make use of these buses inconvenient as they may be, and there are hundreds of thousands more who make uses of car pools and other methods.
It always angers me when people say the PT system here is nonexistent. up to a couple of years ago Houston had the largest bus fleet in the country. Its just a bunch of idiots who live in the burbs like Katy who ignore the buses and say the system is nonexistent.
Where did it say that? Currently the CTA in Chicago has 1,800 buses on 150 routes, and Houston has 1,200 in its fleet. How would it have had 50% more buses a few years ago?
I'm sure it is not that hard to live car free in Houston as long as you are willing to commit to it. There are A LOT of folks on here that I think are frankly scared of buses or think it is too "low class" for them. They'll make up other excuses but that is what it boils down to.
My brother lives car-free in Santa Maria, CA. City of 100,000 with only a bus system. He makes it work and it seems like he lives a full life.
Don't get me wrong, the buses are irregular, they have weird routes sometimes, they are not the best form of transportation, but if push comes to shove, it is an option.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chicago60614
Where did it say that? Currently the CTA in Chicago has 1,800 buses on 150 routes, and Houston has 1,200 in its fleet. How would it have had 50% more buses a few years ago?
you obviously don't know the difference between up to a few years ago and currently. Should I tell you the difference or you gonna work it out yourself?
Where did it say that? Currently the CTA in Chicago has 1,800 buses on 150 routes, and Houston has 1,200 in its fleet. How would it have had 50% more buses a few years ago?
MTA in NYC has 5,900 (so more like 500% more) This doesnt even include NJT buses (operates a total of 2,900 buses though probably 20% in the Philly metro)
LA has nearly 3,000
DC has 1,480
SEPTA has 1,400
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