Every time I put in an address on my block it gives me a different walk score, anywhere from 5 to 40, and only a few of them include a (low) bike score. No transit score ever, although I can easily walk to a bus stop.
Poll, Walk Score Where You Live
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Every time I put in an address on my block it gives me a different walk score, anywhere from 5 to 40, and only a few of them include a (low) bike score. No transit score ever, although I can easily walk to a bus stop.
Said I was 73, I'd argue it should be higher. Bike was 89. I walk can walk 1/2 mile to Publix. 1 mile to a Sav-A-Lot, or 1.5 miles to a Walmart that is also on a bus line (kind of crappy one I don't shop at). I walk about a 1.25 to my primary care doctor for my annual check up and pass many specialists. There are over a dozen breweries within one mile and way too many restaurants and small shops to mention. I also walk to my library (1.2 miles) and several museums (that I can check out a membership from from the library!) It will get more walkable in the next decade as there is a multi-billion dollar investment in 85 acres of underutilized land across the street from me that will be work-live-play. They are also putting in a BRT going to the beaches and I am on that route but a few blocks from a station.
ETA: looked at the details, the only not green category is "parks" My walking radius is pretty big and there are quite a few parks I consider walking distance but I would like a space closer since my townhome has no yard. -Actually, there is one park pretty close but I never think of it since it's across the tracks (interstate) so to speak... area isn't bad (used to be) so out of mind. The new development should have some closer park like public spaces eventually.
I drive once a week to my guitar lesson and usually combine that with my grocery shopping at my preferred stores that are not walking distance. The other times I drive is to visit friends further away (rarely as they usually come to me since I'm in the City) and when going paddling or hiking. Best I've done is 16 days without driving but I cheated and rode with a friend once during those 16 days.
ETA: looked at the details, the only not green category is "parks" My walking radius is pretty big and there are quite a few parks I consider walking distance but I would like a space closer since my townhome has no yard. -Actually, there is one park pretty close but I never think of it since it's across the tracks (interstate) so to speak... area isn't bad (used to be) so out of mind. The new development should have some closer park like public spaces eventually.
I drive once a week to my guitar lesson and usually combine that with my grocery shopping at my preferred stores that are not walking distance. The other times I drive is to visit friends further away (rarely as they usually come to me since I'm in the City) and when going paddling or hiking. Best I've done is 16 days without driving but I cheated and rode with a friend once during those 16 days.
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Walk score 65, bike score 40. I suspect this survey is severely biased to urban areas. In my town, for major shopping such as groceries, clothing or hardware one needs a car for a short drive. To me, that describes suburbia everywhere.
Admittedly, I automatically hop in the car to go to my pharmacy or get a haircut, but I could easily walk the 3/4 mile.
Along the same lines, biking is pretty decent around here.
Admittedly, I automatically hop in the car to go to my pharmacy or get a haircut, but I could easily walk the 3/4 mile.
Along the same lines, biking is pretty decent around here.
Well, yes, I suspect it would. Unless you live in a rural downtown that is still classified as "rural" but most of them seem to be dying out. My sister lives in a very small town (800ish in a county of 14,000) but other than a Dollar General, a Winn-Dixie with super-high, only game in town prices, and a Chinese restaurant or pizza joint must drive everywhere. Sure, it's a great place to walk but you sure aren't going to enjoy trying to get by without a car or two! They drive 45 minutes on rural highways to get to what most consider basic amenities... even then in smaller cities.
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I'm 17, the map didn't load or give me other stats.
Problem is, my neighborhood has only one in/out - which is exactly 1 mile from my house. The neighborhood is something of a rectangle, with the entry on one short end - I'm right up near the other end. So...while Costco is crow-flying about 1/3 of a mile away, it's a 2 mile drive to get there.
Still, it's with several things within 1/5 mile of the neighborhood entrance, I'd consider it somewhat bike-able, though in S.Fla traffic that's not a good idea, even with bike lanes.
Problem is, my neighborhood has only one in/out - which is exactly 1 mile from my house. The neighborhood is something of a rectangle, with the entry on one short end - I'm right up near the other end. So...while Costco is crow-flying about 1/3 of a mile away, it's a 2 mile drive to get there.
Still, it's with several things within 1/5 mile of the neighborhood entrance, I'd consider it somewhat bike-able, though in S.Fla traffic that's not a good idea, even with bike lanes.
athena53
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Walking 9. Other scores also in single digits. I do have a long section of the Rock Island RR trail only 1/4 mile out of my neighborhood and it's 5.5 miles on the trail to the stadium with a micro-brewery on the way!
I'm about 1.25 miles from a small shopping plaza with a not-great grocery store, a Dollar Store and a few other businesses including a dialysis clinic but it's not really walk-friendly. Only part of the road has sidewalks and there are some blind curves.
I'm about 1.25 miles from a small shopping plaza with a not-great grocery store, a Dollar Store and a few other businesses including a dialysis clinic but it's not really walk-friendly. Only part of the road has sidewalks and there are some blind curves.
donheff
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Capitol Hill DC. A walker and biker paradise. I don't understand the transportation score since I am two blocks from a Metro station, five minuets from Union Station, and 15 minutes from National Airport.
This site is clearly oriented toward cities where you can walk or bike for consumption. Some other poster got zero but probably are in paradises for hiking and mountain biking.
This site is clearly oriented toward cities where you can walk or bike for consumption. Some other poster got zero but probably are in paradises for hiking and mountain biking.
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I got a 50, and looking at the map, I should be able to walk to the grocer, pharmacy, bank, and restaurants. In real life, however, the traffic here is far too aggressive and walking is unnecessarily risky.
It is weird, I went back and put in my District (without city or state and it put the dot in the right place, one block from my home) and the score went up to 86/96. The neighboring district is only 69/77.. it is a bit further from the downtown area but I'd argue not meaningfully different, especially since they border one another. Only so much you can do data mining but an interesting site. Wasted enough time now playing with this, time for another cup of tea!
Retired Expat
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Not sure how they judge the walk score? Or that I would judge it the same way. Good place to walk for nature, beauty, fresh air and exercise seems to be valued less than an easy walk to a 7-11 or shops. For me I want to walk for health and pleasure, maybe to lunch or a coffee. But for shopping I want to use the car, be able to easily load the car and hit the supermarket, Home Improvement etc with ease.
They don’t rate my primary home but give a 6 to my vacation home and we are close to miles and miles of scenic trails, mostly level and easy walking too.
They don’t rate my primary home but give a 6 to my vacation home and we are close to miles and miles of scenic trails, mostly level and easy walking too.
street
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0 > Walk Score
5 > Bike Score
My scores really don't tell the whole story, but I get what they mean it living in places with bike paths and parks etc.
I walk all the time, but it isn't on groomed walk paths. My walking consists of rural and high-country walking and is great. No people, no noise except the sounds of nature.
5 > Bike Score
My scores really don't tell the whole story, but I get what they mean it living in places with bike paths and parks etc.
I walk all the time, but it isn't on groomed walk paths. My walking consists of rural and high-country walking and is great. No people, no noise except the sounds of nature.
Midpack
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Walk 0
Bike 20
Fortunately we have easy access to everything we need within a couple miles, much more so than our last home - but just not walkable according to walkscore…
I used to think we wanted to live in a high walkscore area, but I’m not so sure anymore.
Bike 20
Fortunately we have easy access to everything we need within a couple miles, much more so than our last home - but just not walkable according to walkscore…
I used to think we wanted to live in a high walkscore area, but I’m not so sure anymore.
audreyh1
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Funny, our scores are terrible!
Except that we have excellent walking and biking opportunities with an extensive hike and bike trail system and a large state park next door with a large network of paved roads plus hiking trails and vehicles not allowed (excepting the occasional park vehicle). And the National Butterfly Center an easy and safe 1/2 mile bike ride away with more nice hiking opportunities in an extensive garden/outdoor habitat.
So we get to do tons of walking and biking with very little road traffic.
But, you can’t walk or bike to a store or restaurant, so our score is a miserable walk 3, bike 24. We are a car dependent neighborhood if you need to run errands. We’re pretty good at only venturing out by car once a week.
Except that we have excellent walking and biking opportunities with an extensive hike and bike trail system and a large state park next door with a large network of paved roads plus hiking trails and vehicles not allowed (excepting the occasional park vehicle). And the National Butterfly Center an easy and safe 1/2 mile bike ride away with more nice hiking opportunities in an extensive garden/outdoor habitat.
So we get to do tons of walking and biking with very little road traffic.
But, you can’t walk or bike to a store or restaurant, so our score is a miserable walk 3, bike 24. We are a car dependent neighborhood if you need to run errands. We’re pretty good at only venturing out by car once a week.
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Ha I scored the same 3 but also live in a beautiful spot with great hiking/walking/mountain biking etc. As far as I'm concerned mine is about a 90-95 just not by their criteria.
Andre1969
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
The walk score for my house is a 5. For the most part, I don't have a problem with that. I'm out in a rural area, although I'm close to DC, Annapolis, and Baltimore. About the only thing I'd want to change, is for more of the roads to have a shoulder, at least a narrow one. Most of the streets around here are just wide enough to at least have a line down the middle, and on the sides. But, if you want to walk along the road, it's a fine balancing act between being on the pavement, and uneven ground.
I'm close to a little neighborhood park that has a basketball court, a couple of tennis courts, a playground, and a couple fields where you could play football, throw a frisbee, rumble around, etc. I could actually hop the 4-foot fence at the back of my yard to get to it, as it adjoins my property. But to get to it, proper, I'd have to walk about a half-mile.
On the subject of high-speed rail, or trains in general, ironically, I live about 1 3/4 mile from a defunct railroad line. I think it was originally called the South Shore Railroad, but I always knew it as the Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis (WB&A). My old family home was less than a quarter mile from one of its stations. I know my grandmother's cousin had memories of riding it as a kid, and my ancestors also used to go to the station to pick up supplies for their little dry-goods store.
The Washington-Baltimore branch went defunct in 1935. The Baltimore-Annapolis portion handled passenger service until the 1950's, and then switched to buses, but I think carried freight into Annapolis until the late 1960s. The South Shore branch, which went from Annapolis and cut back to intersect The Washington-Baltimore branch in Odenton, about the half-way point, I'm not sure when that shut down. It also extended out to the Pennsylvania Railroad line, and the B&O line, so I have a feeling it outlasted the Washington-Baltimore branch, at least.
I notice that public transportation seems to be getting worse, in general. When I was in high school, I used to catch the bus at the end of our street, at least until I started driving. This was near the spot of that old WB&A station from years before. Back then though, there was a Metro bus stop near where I caught the school bus. So, in those days, if you wanted to catch public transportation, it was only a 1/4 mile walk from my old house. But they took that route away, years ago. Now the nearest bus stop is about a mile away.
Where I'm at now, I don't even know where I'd go if I wanted to catch a bus. I know of one or two lots where you can park, and then catch a bus that takes you to the nearest Metro (DC's subway system), which is a 15-20 minute ride from that lot. And, that's actually not a bad deal, in my opinion. I just googled it, and now, (9:15 am) it looks like the bus parking lot is about 19 minutes away, whereas the Metro station is about 28. But traffic is light, now. If I worked in DC, I could see driving to the parking lot and taking the bus in to be a nice alternative to driving to the Metro stop during rush hour. Depending on how long I have to wait for the bus, that is.
I'm close to a little neighborhood park that has a basketball court, a couple of tennis courts, a playground, and a couple fields where you could play football, throw a frisbee, rumble around, etc. I could actually hop the 4-foot fence at the back of my yard to get to it, as it adjoins my property. But to get to it, proper, I'd have to walk about a half-mile.
On the subject of high-speed rail, or trains in general, ironically, I live about 1 3/4 mile from a defunct railroad line. I think it was originally called the South Shore Railroad, but I always knew it as the Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis (WB&A). My old family home was less than a quarter mile from one of its stations. I know my grandmother's cousin had memories of riding it as a kid, and my ancestors also used to go to the station to pick up supplies for their little dry-goods store.
The Washington-Baltimore branch went defunct in 1935. The Baltimore-Annapolis portion handled passenger service until the 1950's, and then switched to buses, but I think carried freight into Annapolis until the late 1960s. The South Shore branch, which went from Annapolis and cut back to intersect The Washington-Baltimore branch in Odenton, about the half-way point, I'm not sure when that shut down. It also extended out to the Pennsylvania Railroad line, and the B&O line, so I have a feeling it outlasted the Washington-Baltimore branch, at least.
I notice that public transportation seems to be getting worse, in general. When I was in high school, I used to catch the bus at the end of our street, at least until I started driving. This was near the spot of that old WB&A station from years before. Back then though, there was a Metro bus stop near where I caught the school bus. So, in those days, if you wanted to catch public transportation, it was only a 1/4 mile walk from my old house. But they took that route away, years ago. Now the nearest bus stop is about a mile away.
Where I'm at now, I don't even know where I'd go if I wanted to catch a bus. I know of one or two lots where you can park, and then catch a bus that takes you to the nearest Metro (DC's subway system), which is a 15-20 minute ride from that lot. And, that's actually not a bad deal, in my opinion. I just googled it, and now, (9:15 am) it looks like the bus parking lot is about 19 minutes away, whereas the Metro station is about 28. But traffic is light, now. If I worked in DC, I could see driving to the parking lot and taking the bus in to be a nice alternative to driving to the Metro stop during rush hour. Depending on how long I have to wait for the bus, that is.
My score is 17 as the 3 shopping centers with over 200 stores are all about .7 miles away so too far for the app to consider very walkable. I'm ok with that, we walk it about 40% of time, drive 60% of the time...depends on how much time we have and how much shopping we plan to do.
However as for recreation, the one thing it seems to do is ignore planned communities amenities as they are not "public". So while everyone who lives here thinks we are very walkable, the app doesn't seem to count the dog parks, playgrounds, walking trails, soccer field, and the fact we have full ADA compliant sidewalks, street lighting, and bike lanes is all just ignored by the app but people love it here.
However as for recreation, the one thing it seems to do is ignore planned communities amenities as they are not "public". So while everyone who lives here thinks we are very walkable, the app doesn't seem to count the dog parks, playgrounds, walking trails, soccer field, and the fact we have full ADA compliant sidewalks, street lighting, and bike lanes is all just ignored by the app but people love it here.
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I believe the score is not geared toward whether there are pleasant and/or safe places for you to walk or bike in your vicinity. Rather, it is a gauge of whether you can accomplish your daily errands by walking or biking instead of driving. To that end, it will tally up the number of stores, restaurants, and other facilities within a certain radius.
And, realistically, even though there are 5 grocery stores within a mile of my house, I'm not going to walk there, because I can't carry everything back.
And, realistically, even though there are 5 grocery stores within a mile of my house, I'm not going to walk there, because I can't carry everything back.
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ExFlyBoy5
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Walk score 0
Transit score 0
Bike score 18
While we technically live in the limits of a mid-sized city, these scores are pretty accurate. But, that's OK...we are on the outskirts and "in the country." Most of the zoning around here is rural residential (minimum 5 acre lots) and rural agriculture. Lots of space but can be downtown in about 20-25 minutes.
An added bonus of our location is airport commute time. Total time from front door of our home to sitting at the gate is rarely more than 45 minutes.
Transit score 0
Bike score 18
While we technically live in the limits of a mid-sized city, these scores are pretty accurate. But, that's OK...we are on the outskirts and "in the country." Most of the zoning around here is rural residential (minimum 5 acre lots) and rural agriculture. Lots of space but can be downtown in about 20-25 minutes.
An added bonus of our location is airport commute time. Total time from front door of our home to sitting at the gate is rarely more than 45 minutes.
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disneysteve
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Walk score 40
Not surprised. Nearest store is almost a mile away. Plus you need to account for weather. Too hot in the summer. Too cold in the winter. There are only a few months of comfortable walking weather.
Not surprised. Nearest store is almost a mile away. Plus you need to account for weather. Too hot in the summer. Too cold in the winter. There are only a few months of comfortable walking weather.
anethum
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Walk Score 95, Transit Score 63. It doesn't display my Bike Score, which is odd because I bike everywhere and there are bike lanes and a good trail nearby. For the vast majority of my working life, I either walked, biked, or took public transit to work. I'm in a small (<1,200 sq ft) old house, and developers are salivating over putting a McMansion on my lot. I often get letters and sometimes cold calls from developers. Most of my block has been McMansionized since I bought here over 30 years ago.
It's wonderful being able to go almost anywhere I need to go on foot, yet live on a quiet street and still have a substantial vegetable garden in my yard. I can easily walk to grocery stores, pharmacies, bakeries, liquor stores, restaurants, hardware store, Metro (DC area subway), bus lines, farmer's market, library, theaters, gyms, parks, post office, & various other retail stores. I've had my car over 10 years and I've driven only 26,000 miles. I typically bike more miles each year than drive. My location has really changed the way I live.
It's wonderful being able to go almost anywhere I need to go on foot, yet live on a quiet street and still have a substantial vegetable garden in my yard. I can easily walk to grocery stores, pharmacies, bakeries, liquor stores, restaurants, hardware store, Metro (DC area subway), bus lines, farmer's market, library, theaters, gyms, parks, post office, & various other retail stores. I've had my car over 10 years and I've driven only 26,000 miles. I typically bike more miles each year than drive. My location has really changed the way I live.
Walk - 0
Bike - 25
Just the way I like it! Quiet. Peaceful. Serene. BUT, IF I wanted to I could walk to get all the groceries I needed, hop on an electric bike and get even more gluttony and consumerism.
Tons of cool unpaved paths and we are connected to a gateway of bike/walking trails that connects us to our downtown, our quaint, charming main street america river town, and all the way up north to our bigger little town.
My realtor tried to talk me out of buying due to the walk score. We also get a low solar score as I live in the woods. That was easily solvable by removing some tree's. I was pleasantly surprised to realize our neighborhood even has an internal "trail" that the township recently refreshed with wood chips from the downed trees they processed on the trail. So it's even a maintained trail in that regard. I can walk along the railroad tracks and access the country club, although not a member its cool to say I can literally walk onto the 9th hole in 5 minutes walk. Also, the county and city are pushing a huge project to improve the walking, so although that number is 0 today, it could easily be 30, 50, who knows in the future as the plans are quite expansive and even includes light rail/high speed rail transit which means walk to the train, then get to basically anywhere I would ever need to get including the amtrak rail.
Sometimes analytics deserves to be over analyzed to best understand the context and true "feel" of the equation. Numbers mean a lot, but sometimes the way they are presented makes them worthless or irrelevant or misleading. I've never had a more walkable location tbh and I looked at some of the other towns/cities I've lived and they get ranked much higher numbers so YMMV.
Bike - 25
Just the way I like it! Quiet. Peaceful. Serene. BUT, IF I wanted to I could walk to get all the groceries I needed, hop on an electric bike and get even more gluttony and consumerism.
Tons of cool unpaved paths and we are connected to a gateway of bike/walking trails that connects us to our downtown, our quaint, charming main street america river town, and all the way up north to our bigger little town.
My realtor tried to talk me out of buying due to the walk score. We also get a low solar score as I live in the woods. That was easily solvable by removing some tree's. I was pleasantly surprised to realize our neighborhood even has an internal "trail" that the township recently refreshed with wood chips from the downed trees they processed on the trail. So it's even a maintained trail in that regard. I can walk along the railroad tracks and access the country club, although not a member its cool to say I can literally walk onto the 9th hole in 5 minutes walk. Also, the county and city are pushing a huge project to improve the walking, so although that number is 0 today, it could easily be 30, 50, who knows in the future as the plans are quite expansive and even includes light rail/high speed rail transit which means walk to the train, then get to basically anywhere I would ever need to get including the amtrak rail.
Sometimes analytics deserves to be over analyzed to best understand the context and true "feel" of the equation. Numbers mean a lot, but sometimes the way they are presented makes them worthless or irrelevant or misleading. I've never had a more walkable location tbh and I looked at some of the other towns/cities I've lived and they get ranked much higher numbers so YMMV.
pacergal
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
45, 28,38
Not sure what the criteria are.
We have a grocery store, pizza place, and small bar within 15 minutes walk, and the full small downtown area within a 30 minute walk, 20 minute walk to metro bus stop and local bike lanes.
We have a school, park and woods within the neighborhood making good areas for walking exercise.
Not sure what the criteria are.
We have a grocery store, pizza place, and small bar within 15 minutes walk, and the full small downtown area within a 30 minute walk, 20 minute walk to metro bus stop and local bike lanes.
We have a school, park and woods within the neighborhood making good areas for walking exercise.
audreyh1
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Yeah, it sure ignores those amenities, even the public ones which they definitely are in our case.
I guess the recreational walking or cycling doesn’t count, only the ones that get you to a retail location.
Lakedog
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0 -- which is a good thing as I choose to live out in the country on a few acres. Closest grocery store is about 12 miles.
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