Walkability Score for Homes

[newcomputer]

Originally Posted by jean-ji

We have become 6 and 6'ers this year, going between FL and upstate NY.

The home in NY is in a small village, I can walk to the post office and library and there's a cafe, restaurant and bar within walking distance. There are sidewalks on the main road. The main road is not a through road, it's mostly local traffic. It's walkability score is 42.

The home in FL is suburban and I need a car. Shopping is across a four lane highway that is two miles away. I could bike it or walk, but I'm not comfortable around big traffic on foot or bike. I live in an ungated community with no sidewalks. It's walkability score is 12.

I lived in the suburbs as a kid and loved moving to NY where I could walk to a few things. Moving to a suburb again, wasn't a deal breaker for me, but I was disappointed in the low walkability score.

I have a dog and walk him a lot both places, usually 3 miles every day or more. In NY I usually have a destination, the library or the post office. In FL it's just around the neighborhoods or over to the Intercoastal Waterway.

The interesting thing I found, and that no one remarks on in the retirement/real estate articles I've read on walkability, is the air quality. We returned to NY a week ago and I went to the library with the dog. I was so aware of the exhaust fumes from traffic. I had never noticed it before. After being in FL and walking without any pollution, it surprised me how much it bothered me. In FL, I'll be lucky to see 4 or 5 cars go by in a three mile walk. In NY my route is along the main street, but we're talking village, maybe 20-30 cars going by in a 1.5 mile walk there when it's a busier time of day.

I'm not sure if it's the closeness of the trees overhead in NY or the more openness in FL, but I never noticed the exhaust smell until I got back. I also walk down to the Hudson river in NY and don't notice the smell, it's a more open area and less traffic.

So a great walkability score is also going to mean a higher air pollution score, because most places where people are going to walk to, stores, restaurants, libraries, etc, are also going to have cars going there too.

I thought a high walkability score was more desirable, but I'm not so sure now. The other thing not taken in consideration is the quality of the walking surfaces. It's beautiful here in NY with the overhanging trees, but their roots have done a number on the sidewalks. They have heaved and are uneven. The village went through and sanded off the edges of the sidewalks to make it more even, which helped. I'm agile and it's not a problem now, but as I get older that will change and walking from point A to B won't be that easy on uneven sidewalks.

Anyway, just an observation on how the scoring of things with lists of what is best, may not be best for everyone. I like to walk in clean air myself and I realized a high walkability score probably won't give me that.

A little off topic but what do you do with the the dog when you get to the library?

[jean-ji]

I take him to the far end of the library and tie him up to a light pole by the wild flower garden. He doesn't get bothered there... people would have to walk to see him.