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The people on this board who whine about "having to walk across a parking lot", etc give me a good laugh. What do you think the drivers have to do?
They park as close to the store entrance as possible so they only have to walk across a fraction of the parking lot.
That being said, pedestrians around here often don't have to walk across the biggest part of the parking lot either, they can cross it at the edge of the strip mall for a short distance and then walk along the stores beside the parking lot like here: http://goo.gl/maps/rbmfj
Not the nicest but a big improvement over walking immediately next to 45mph traffic.
If you're lucky you don't even have to walk across the parking lot at all. http://goo.gl/maps/153zh
They park as close to the store entrance as possible so they only have to walk across a fraction of the parking lot.
That being said, pedestrians around here often don't have to walk across the biggest part of the parking lot either, they can cross it at the edge of the strip mall for a short distance and then walk along the stores beside the parking lot like here: http://goo.gl/maps/rbmfj
Not the nicest but a big improvement over walking immediately next to 45mph traffic.
If you're lucky you don't even have to walk across the parking lot at all. http://goo.gl/maps/153zh
Actually, I usually park in the back of the lot. Less chance of door dings. I walk across most of the parking lot. It's really horrible /sarcasm.
Hmm. The friend I mentioned lives on South Slope. Regardless, a Park Slope resident who refuses to walk more than 5 minutes, isn't going to get very much. Neither would anyone else in an actual real-life walkable neighborhood. People make 10 or 15 minute drives for errands. If you can tolerate that, you can tolerate the same on foot, even if driving would be faster [except in a parking limited area, such as Park Slope, etc.]
Oh I agree, Park Slope only takes a half hour to walk from the very top to the very bottom of it. It is a very easy gridded neighborhood to walk in.
Parking and ease of Public Transport is a huge part of it. When I lived in Minneapolis, I lived in the southwest part of the city, and I think I drove downtown ONCE. Between the bus and walking, it was too easy. However, there were other parts of the city that just weren't worth it unless I had limitless time. Also, where you're going through was a big deal. While I am not one to be intimidated, everyone knows that in most big cities there are just some areas you don't wanna walk through alone at night. I would bike through them no problem, (and yes, I understand that it isn't much safer) but even at 6'3 300lbs I could fall victim to the pack animals. I loved my neighborhood because it was so walkable.
I asked this question a long time ago on a similar thread, I'll try again.
Where would you rather take a walk, six blocks thru downtown Louisville or
any six blocks along 28th St in Boulder between Arapahoe and Valmont?
Both have sidewalks.
And laughing is healthy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81
Again, it would depend on why you were walking in the first place.
What Ohiogirl81 said.
Quote:
Originally Posted by memph
They park as close to the store entrance as possible so they only have to walk across a fraction of the parking lot.
That being said, pedestrians around here often don't have to walk across the biggest part of the parking lot either, they can cross it at the edge of the strip mall for a short distance and then walk along the stores beside the parking lot like here: http://goo.gl/maps/rbmfj
Not the nicest but a big improvement over walking immediately next to 45mph traffic.
If you're lucky you don't even have to walk across the parking lot at all. http://goo.gl/maps/153zh
Ah, the inimitable "they". Parking in the first row from the store is not always possible. I think you missed my point. Walking across the parking lot is NOT unique to the walkers/bikers. Actually, the bike racks are often right in front of the stores.
Again, it would depend on why you were walking in the first place.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katiana
What Ohiogirl81 said.
I don't get why. Walking is walking for whatever purpose. If one location is obviously a more pleasant place to be a pedestrian, why would the purpose matter? Going through your points:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81
If I'm walking for purpose -- for transportation as opposed to pleasure -- I don't care if the walk is interesting. I do care if I can safely cross streets, or if the sidewalk is decent shape.
If I'm walking for fitness, which I do daily, I don't care if there are destinations along the way; in fact, I'd rather there weren't because people get in my way. But I do care if the walk is safe, and if it's interesting.
If I'm walking for pleasure, safe and interesting is plenty; destinations are just a bonus.
The latter two ones the environment matters. The first one, I disagree the interesting doesn't matter. If it's to it's unappealing enough to be rather unpleasant one might:
1) Drive if practical, if a car was available
2) If there was another place similar, go to a different destination. Or a different route.
For example, I have two pharmacies in about equal walking distance: one in a shopping center and another in a more pedestrian-friendly "downtown-like" location. Which one do I choice? The latter one everytime.
Looking at the streetviews of Eddyline's views, judging by the appearance and from my experience walking on similar roads the Boulder one looks like I'd avoid walking if I could help for anynthing but a short time. Some flaws:
1) It's hard to cross the road to get the otherside, requiring you to cross at rather widely spaced intersections.
2) Intersections appear to have lots of traffic, with lots of turning traffic. Also a lot of road width to cross, meaning more traffic to worry about and hopefully the signal won't run out. Now, it's probably safer for pedestrains than it looks cause it's Boulder, but many similar roads elsewhere in the country aren't safe. I wouldn't want to walk on most similar roads in Long Island unless I had to.
3) And still annoying even if not a practical problem: walking past fast moving traffic isn't fun, and it does look rather unappealing.
For any purpose, one is a road I'd want to walk on, another is one I'd try to avoid.
I don't get why. Walking is walking for whatever purpose. If one location is obviously a more pleasant place to be a pedestrian, why would the purpose matter? Going through your points:
The latter two ones the environment matters. The first one, I disagree the interesting doesn't matter. If it's to it's unappealing enough to be rather unpleasant one might:
1) Drive if practical, if a car was available
2) If there was another place similar, go to a different destination. Or a different route.
For example, I have two pharmacies in about equal walking distance: one in a shopping center and another in a more pedestrian-friendly "downtown-like" location. Which one do I choice? The latter one everytime.
Looking at the streetviews of Eddyline's views, judging by the appearance and from my experience walking on similar roads the Boulder one looks like I'd avoid walking if I could help for anynthing but a short time. Some flaws:
1) It's hard to cross the road to get the otherside, requiring you to cross at rather widely spaced intersections.
2) Intersections appear to have lots of traffic, with lots of turning traffic. Also a lot of road width to cross, meaning more traffic to worry about and hopefully the signal won't run out. Now, it's probably safer for pedestrains than it looks cause it's Boulder, but many similar roads elsewhere in the country aren't safe. I wouldn't want to walk on most similar roads in Long Island unless I had to.
3) And still annoying even if not a practical problem: walking past fast moving traffic isn't fun, and it does look rather unappealing.
For any purpose, one is a road I'd want to walk on, another is one I'd try to avoid.
I've done a lot of walking in my day, and I really don't get that a walk to a destination, e.g. a grocery store, a pharmacy, etc, has to be "interesting". In the pharmacy example, if your insurance only allows you to get your drugs at the shopping center store, that's where I'd go. It's hardly worth paying out of pocket for something my insurance would pay for to go to a more "interesting" store. Good grief, it's buying medicine, not entertainment.
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