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Old 04-18-2012, 02:34 PM
 
Location: The Port City is rising.
8,868 posts, read 12,506,632 times
Reputation: 2604

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Quote:
Originally Posted by JEB77 View Post
When I lived outside the Town of Vienna, I biked to specific locations there many times (the W&OD path is a great resource and cuts through the middle of town), but rarely walked around, for the sake of walking, as I'd done when I lived in various cities and an older town in NJ.
I have walked around there for the sake of walking. Based on my criteria the most "walkable" areas were probably Church street and the W&OD trail, esp in the heart of town. The couple of blocks with street front retail on Maple were still less walkable then Church (IE despite their streetfront retail), because of the combination of the narrow sidewalks and the volume and speed of traffic on Maple. The areas in front of the shopping centers were less appealing than that, due to the issue of parking lot ingress/egress by cars, but also to the aesthetic issues of walking past the parking lots, especially the larger ones. That said, of course the concentration of destinations and the availability of sidewalks still make the shopping centers on Maple more walkable than some other suburban areas.

Last edited by brooklynborndad; 04-18-2012 at 02:48 PM..
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Old 04-18-2012, 06:53 PM
 
2,590 posts, read 4,512,030 times
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I'm new to Arlington and I'm amazed at how walkable it is. I really enjoy how the city promotes it too. Previously I lived in Atlanta and it's a stretch to call it walkable outside a few pockets(due to poor land use, risk of crime, and an overall lack of concern for pedestrians in general) while the entire city of Arlington is walkable. Sure a lot of that is due to the compact size but you have to really commend the city on all the trails, parks, and sidewalks. I could probably walk from Pentagon City to Westover in a couple hours and not feel the least bit unsafe or bored. Add DC to the mix and you can cover a pretty impressive area on foot.

Anyway, I suppose walkability to me means:
-adequate sidewalks and/or trails
-a certain minimum threshold for business density throughout an area or relatively close clusters of activity
-a perception of safety both from crime and vehicles
-an overall pleasant experience with a minimum of blight and inconveniences
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Old 04-19-2012, 10:54 AM
 
5,121 posts, read 6,775,753 times
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I think walkability depends on your goal when walking (running errands vs. exercise vs. wanting to be able to stumble home from a bar after partying, etc). For example:

I used to work in Falls Church and would take walks (for exercise) around the town. It was very convenient to walk to stores and such and was walkable in that respect. But for exercise, it stunk because I had to stop every block and wait for traffic. I used to walk around one block over and over again. I kind of do the same now in Alexandria (where I work now). I hate stopping (and letting my heart rate go down) while I wait to cross a street. Sometimes I just walk circles around the PTO, lol.

Where I live now is close to the Cross County Trail. I can walk non-stop uninterrupted for hours if I want (and not in a circle). I love it. the down side is, I really can't walk to the grocery store to pick milk or something (which I would like to do, it's just not feasible--traffic zipping by plus distance). But my main interest in walking is exercise, so it works for me.
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Old 04-19-2012, 02:47 PM
 
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north arlington is the epitome of walkable. so that would be my definition
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Old 04-21-2012, 12:07 AM
 
Location: Dallas
6 posts, read 4,433 times
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I prefer Arlington when it comes to walking. I am staying in Fairfax, but am moving out of this suburban nightmare simply because everything is too spread out. I'm tired of the oversized parking lots. Having spent so much time overseas, especially in Japan. I just enjoy how compact things are in Arlington, and DC. And the metro is never crowded. In the sense of what I was used to living in Tokyo.
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