The 20 Minute Good Life-Where in Pittsburgh? (Washington, Oakmont: transfer to, buying, movie theater)

[greg42]

Downtown is walkable from Mt Washington if you use the Mon Incline. Works pretty well. The Smithfield St bridge is not that long. I did that sometimes to go to work when I lived up there, although it was difficult in the cold (I lived there through the winter) not to just get in the car and drive since we never changed anything about my parking place at work.

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by greg42

Downtown is walkable from Mt Washington if you use the Mon Incline. Works pretty well. The Smithfield St bridge is not that long. I did that sometimes to go to work when I lived up there, although it was difficult in the cold (I lived there through the winter) not to just get in the car and drive since we never changed anything about my parking place at work.

When you add in public transportation, many places are accessible without a car. Not sure that's the same thing as "walkable", though.

[Fiddlehead]

Hey all,

Great responses! I personally would like the $1.40 pints within the hoods,but my wife might not agree with that standard!

Truth be told, public transit or biking would both be in the 20 minute rule, I think. The main thing is that you can get around without having to drive everywhere. For example, many folks around here live a few miles out of town on a five acre spread, but cannot walk out their door anywhere, without walking along a road shoulder, or driving. Nice when one can give the car a rest.

[BrianTH]

As an aside, in my view Walkscore is an admirable idea, but the combination of a rudimentary methodology and lack of effective means for people to correct/supplement the information they use means it can be unreliable.

Anyway, the nicer parts of the East End are basically a model of urbanism in the relevant style, which isn't surprising because they are essentially a bunch of former "streetcar suburbs" and today make up a big college town that happens to be located in the City. I also think it is true that the general area around the Confluence (including the South Side and Mt. Washington) fits this model.

Generally, this is the sort of thing we have in Pittsburgh that we tend to take for granted (walkable traditional neighborhoods), but people in some other places are paying big money for these days.

[BrianTH]

By the way, if your wife is remotely serious about wanting this lifestyle, I hope you have persuaded her to approach Pittsburgh with an open mind (I know from prior posts it didn't go over well initially). This is really something that Pittsburgh offers at a very reasonable price for a city of its overall size, and with a decent amount of variety within these basic parameters as well.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Katiana

When you add in public transportation, many places are accessible without a car. Not sure that's the same thing as "walkable", though.

Oh, I know, it's cheating for a true walking score. But the incline is a little different than most public transport. It's not a bus, taking roads and dealing with traffic. In many ways it's just a novelty. At the base of the Duquesne Incline there's a free parking lot even. But for the Mon Incline, particularly if you live there, you're going to walk to it. The bottom end is convenient for walking over to downtown. Thus, the incline essentially serves as a way to flatten the hillside for walking, which would be inconvenient to walk up and down in such a short distance (or at all).

If you get on the T to go downtown, or the bus to go to the South Side, then that's too much of a stretch. But the incline alone, with walking on either end, I don't think breaks the spirit of something like a walkability score, even if it breaks the letter.

[BrianTH]

Obviously it is up to each individual to decide what is consistent with their vision of the "good life", but personally I wouldn't count a funicular like the Mon Incline as inconsistent with walkability.

[Impala26]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Obviously it is up to each individual to decide what is consistent with their vision of the "good life", but personally I wouldn't count a funicular like the Mon Incline as inconsistent with walkability.

Nor would I, actually I think riding the inclines is MORE fun than getting around any other way around town!

[Fiddlehead]

Originally Posted by Impala26

Nor would I, actually I think riding the inclines is MORE fun than getting around any other way around town!

Good discussion. I should add that I am no walkability nazi, but having the option is nice.

I will also add that a title like "the 20 minute Good Life" sounds incredibly cheesy to me. How spend you live 20 minutes "living the good life" is highly personal, and might have nothing to do with walkability....

However, it does hit on a livability element that is important for some people, probably many people if they think about it. Obviously, with the concentration of jobs in cities, concentric rings of decreasing price, urban blight,etc. many folks do have to spend their "20 minutes" in the car with Rush Limbaugh, instead of....well see previous paragraph...

[chloride1]

Originally Posted by Hopes

The suburbs (Shaler, North Hills, etc.) aren't walkable to all amenities. You can buy a house within walking distance to a school or park, but you'll need a car for shopping and entertainment.

Oakmont (next to Verona) might have more amenities within walking distance, but entertainment is limited and there's not a decent size park in the area.

Aspinwall has everything within walking distance except for parks.

All East End neighborhoods qualify for everything.

Trust me, the Southside isn't for you. It's the party neighborhood for all the college students and yinzers.

Oakmont has a beautiful riverside park! A wonderful asset of that community.