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Nope. It's about 0.65 miles to the closest one. At a brisk 3 mph that would be about 13 minutes. Add in a few traffic lights and it's maybe 17-18 minutes. Too far to walk for groceries, but I could take the bus which runs about every 10-15 minutes. Or I could drive my car, which is what I actually do.
I think most people in average shape would walk at a little under 4mph without anything to carry or traffic lights at an average pace. The specialty grocery store I occasionally go to is about the same distance and it's about a 12 minute walk for me. For that distance, I would say it depends on the weather, how much time you have, how much you have to carry and if it's a pleasant walking environment... usually I bike which is only about 1 minute more than driving.
Also this specialty grocery store is kind of 12 minutes in the wrong direction, opposite from the direction my university is at, as opposed to some other businesses I go to which are pretty much on the way. In a neighbourhood truly oriented around transit and walking, grocery stores would be located such that they would be "on the way" for the greatest possible number of people, such as by being next to transit stops or other major destinations, that way the amount of extra time involved in getting to the grocery store can be as little as zero (or even negative) compared to driving. If it's on your way home from work by being at a transit stop, you could drop by several times a week so you hardly ever have to carry very much.
And I see going to the grocery store as more than just going to the grocery store, it's also a way of getting some fresh air and exercise, and just getting out of the house in general, so I often look forward to it. Not sure how many people look forward to the drive through suburbia to the grocery store (or walking along suburban commercial strips), but I would think not many, so if you're coming from that point of view, going to the grocery store is a chore and you want to spend as little time on it as possible, which means taking the fastest mode of transportation and doing few big shopping trips as opposed to many small ones.
I live about a 5-10 minute walk from a small Price Chopper (affectionately referred to as Ghetto Chopper) with probably 5 convenience stores within a 5 minute walk. There's also a small natural food store about 45 seconds away on foot as well. I'll use basically any of these stores for last-minute items or a six pack of beer. Or with the Price Chopper, I'll get a small amount of groceries to finish up the week. For my major grocery trips, I either get it delivered from ShopRite or go to a Hannaford that's about a 10 minute bus ride.
Nope, I don't live within a 10 minute walk of anything but the end of my street. But so what, we are within a 5-10 minute drive of just about anything we desire to purchase we are in a rush for. Other than that, we are great internet purchasers. Probably buy about anything over $100 value off the internet.
Recently bought a power lift heavy duty tiltback chair for my wife off the internet. Entered the order on late Monday afternoon. I purchased from an outfit in Columbus Oh, it came from a company in Pittsburgh, we live in Cincinnati. Got a conformation it was shipped on Tuesday morning. They called on Friday morning and delivered it before noon. I was not only pleased the delivery trucking outfit brought it to my rear family room patio door, but uncrated it and we got the pieces into the family room out of the weather. It took me about 3 hours to complete the assembly as the instructions sucked, but what the Hell I need something to occupy my time.
At my age, 74, I wouldn't walk to a store if it was 4 minutes away. I feel damn lucky to just be able to navigate the stairway between our 1st and 2nd floors and the stairway to the basement to do the wash. It is not that I avoid all manual labor. While I sit and ride I do run our riding lawnmower over the 1 acre yard. But I am getting lazy, graduallly removing the edging around the flower beds in the yard and mowing them down to grass level. That is the kind of mood you get into when you reach 74.
In Miami Beach, I can walk to Publix, Fresh Market, Epicure and a few small independent grocers within 10 minutes. I may be able to walk to a second Publix in 10 but it's not as close as the other one so I never try. In Raleigh I can walk to Fresh Market in ten and Harris Teeter in about 14.
No, but it is a 5-15 minute drive to about 3-4 grocery stores(Aldi, Wegmans(3), Tops(3) and perhaps Maines Cash and Carry). There is a mini mart or 2 within a 10 minute walk and a bunch of other stores within a short walk/drive that have plenty of food items as well. Taking a bus is an option and is about a 5-10 minute walk away from the house too.
And I see going to the grocery store as more than just going to the grocery store, it's also a way of getting some fresh air and exercise, and just getting out of the house in general, so I often look forward to it. Not sure how many people look forward to the drive through suburbia to the grocery store (or walking along suburban commercial strips), but I would think not many, so if you're coming from that point of view, going to the grocery store is a chore and you want to spend as little time on it as possible, which means taking the fastest mode of transportation and doing few big shopping trips as opposed to many small ones.
I agree with this. My grocery is a 15 minute walk but usually it takes me 45- 60 minutes because I take the long way there. Either along the river or up over a ridge with a great view or detour thru downtown with a stop at the PO (or brew pub).
I've always found it fascinating that the average American watches 3+ hours of TV per day but does not have time for a 10 minute walk.
If we're talking supermarket my old place in Philly was a 10 minute walk to the Acme and 20 minutes to the SuperFresh or Whole Foods. In reality that's a 5 minute bike ride or a 10 minute bike ride because I hate walking. I was also a 1 to 4 minute walk from a Vietnamese grocer, Indonesian grocer and Mexican grocer so going to the supermarket was rarely a "necessity".
Here in Oz I'm a 5 minute walk from the Coles and 6 minutes from Woolworth's. There's also an Indian grocer across the street from the Woolies.
Regardless of where I live I will always live within walking distance of groceries. Something that always struck me living in Philly is how my suburban relatives would go into a panic ahead of every snowstorm or bad weather event . . . the only time things in the city ever shut down like that is when we had those back to back blizzards 3 years ago and even then it was for less than 24 hours.
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