Toledos Potential (Sylvania, Washington, Churchill: home, unemployment rate, school)

[Traveler87]

I am really curious to see how things pan out once the economy picks up. Toledo really could be on to some great things.

[PreservationPioneer]

Coming from a native Michigander, Toledo is superior (in my opinion) to any of the cities in that state. I think Toledo has so much potential. It's historic, urban, walkable, it's not too big or too small, it's not particularly dangerous, and it's affordable for young people. What's not to like? I live in Pittsburgh now, but wouldn't hesitate to live in Toledo, IF the job market was better.

[FleeTheRustBelt]

LOL @ "historic, walkable, and not particularly dangerous".

[czb2004]

Lol, downtown may be easy to walk around, but unfortunately you don't see too many pedestrians in Toledo.

[Tobias C]

Originally Posted by alleghenyangel

Coming from a native Michigander, Toledo is superior (in my opinion) to any of the cities in that state. I think Toledo has so much potential. It's historic, urban, walkable, it's not too big or too small, it's not particularly dangerous, and it's affordable for young people. What's not to like? I live in Pittsburgh now, but wouldn't hesitate to live in Toledo, IF the job market was better.

As positive as I try to be, im not sure I would describe Toledo as remarkably urban or walkable. Theres plenty of history, but its under-emphasized, and plenty of it in physical form has been neglected if not completely discarded. There are plenty of places where our rich history has been preserved though.

Walkable, Toledo is not. Downtown is okay, but nowhere else is walkable. However I believe that Toledo can become more walkable and that its important that it does so in the near future, if it wants to be a desirable place for new residents and businesses. People are increasingly realizing the benefits of an urban walkable lifestyle, and how it supports the quality of life of the city. And because the City of Toledo, not even taking suburbs into account, is a rather spread out city, completely car dependent, lacking transit options besides a mediocre at best bus line, I find the term "urban" a little too generous for Toledo. It is, however, what we need to be working to achieve.

I will say that I appreciate your enthusiasm for Toledo though and that im glad the experiences youve had with/in Toledo, whether you lived here before, have visited a bit, or if youve only been here via Google... that theyre good ones!

[Tobias C]

Originally Posted by czb2004

Lol, downtown may be easy to walk around, but unfortunately you don't see too many pedestrians in Toledo.

Walkability needs to be made a priority of the local and regional governments. I have high hopes for Toledo. However I would rather see roads narrowed, not widened. When we take roads and make them bigger when we improve them, we dont really create anymore capacity, we just invite that many more cars in and nothing changes, except theres more cars. Making driving more difficult for motorist might seem like it would deter people from coming to Toledo, and that they would might take their business elsewhere, but Toledo needs to implement the right economic incentives to make Toledo more desirable for business. Also, the right urban planning policies go a long way in creating an atmosphere where certain businesses want to be located. Yes you might scare away Walmart, if theyre not allowed to build as they want, but instead maybe we'll acquire a bunch of small businesses that appreciate a walkable neighborhood where they can do business. We have to slowly but surely start transforming the city into a smart, functionable, environmentally friendly place, otherwise it will be left behind in the coming decades.

[ryansmith]

There isn't one fair-weather day that I don't walk around my historic Toledo neighborhood... It is clear people have a lot of differing perspectives on this somehow. I could easily drive around Toledo and show you neighborhoods that are pedestrian filled and others that don't even have sidewalks... that is the trouble with generalizing. I would also encourage those that have a low opinion of the city to visit and see how much has changed in downtown and other areas in even the last 2 years.

[ferraris]

I actually think a majority of Toledo neighborhoods are walkable, there just aren't as many things to walk to. It's hard (or unpleasant) to walk to the grocery store, or a street with a bunch of businesses (hello strip mall parking lots). But, there are plenty of neighborhoods with sidewalks, roads that aren't too busy, parks, playgrounds, and schools within walking distance. Not to mention the Zoo (Broadway entrance only, obviously) and the Art Museum are both easy to walk to from their respective neighborhoods.

A few neighborhoods even have a small smattering of businesses to walk to. I don't consider Toledo to be a city where you can walk to everything, but it is one where it is certainly possible to enjoy your neighborhood ammenities on occasion.

[hulugay]

Toledois a large city

[Traveler87]

More like a medium-sized city. 315,000 in the city, and around 600,000 in the metro.