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We visited Baxter Village last year and and thought it was lovely. We were drawn to it because we have an adult family member who cannot drive because of impaired vision, and we had been looking generally for a town or neighborhood in the Charlotte area (to be close to family who've moved down ahead of us) where one could walk to most daily needs: shopping, restaurants, library, post office, etc. We thought Baxter Village might fit the bill, but we did notice that the grocery store is across a very wide and busy state highway. I didn't look carefully enough at the crossing conditions at the time, and we're coming down for a another look in May, but in the meantime if someone could answer the following questions it would be appreciated:
Are there marked crosswalks across the main road and traffic controls with a pedestrian cycle?
Do people in Baxter Village in fact cross this street on foot to get to the stores on the other side, so that regular drivers in the area are accustomed to pedestrians and can slow down accordingly or would someone crossing come as a surprise?
Is the street well lit? (we visited during the daytime.)
Is there any movement in the town to implement "traffic calming" features on roads in heavily populated areas? We visited Greenville last year and were impressed with the program that the city fathers had imbarked on to slow traffic in congested areas by widening sidewalks, installing wide grassy buffers between the sidewalk and the road and even planning for grassy meridians on the widest streets. Anyone thinking along these lines in Fort Mill? (I recognize that this particular road might not be an appropriate candidate for that sort of treatment and also that in many peoples' minds the best road is one which is a wide as it can be with little impediment to traffic flow.)
We've been driving our son everywhere he has to go for his entire life, and now we want to get him and ourselves settled somewhere where he can fend for himself when we're no longer able or around to do that.
Are you talking about the Harris Teeter? It isnt across from Baxter, its slightly down the road. You can easily get there by using the sidewalk that takes you down the street. You would need to cross 2 streets, the one that divides baxter from the next block (Sutton Rd, which has a crosswalk and a signal) and then cross again to the other side of 160 (which also has a crosswalk and signal) which takes you to the corner with CVS. Harris Teeter is in that lot.
160 is the main road in town so yes, its well lit. Theres PLENTY of traffic on it daily from early morning till late at night. Its usually pretty calm between 10pm and 5am.
I dont see traffic getting any lighter. 160 is a mess on Saturday and Sundays, and not fun to drive through during morning or after work rush hours.
Baxter has a lot to offer.... shopping, restaurants, a barber and more. You would need to walk the half mile down the street to Harris Teeter for groceries... or go to CVS/Walgreens for items. Lowe's is across from Baxter as well.
I wouldn't cross 160 (as a pedestrian) for all the money in the world. Maybe on a weekday after rush hour (maybe around 10 am) if I had to. But wouldn't ever attempt it on a weekend day ever any time.
160/Sutton road has all four crosswalks and a crosslight. The thing you have to watch out for though, is even though Baxter itself is very pedestrian friendly, as a general rule people just aren't on the lookout for pedestrians. You have to be careful even within Baxter but I would be especially concerned about a vision impaired person crossing 160. My biggest concern isn't so much the traffic, it is obviously much heavier in Europe and larger american cities like NY, but the fact that most people in this area just aren't on the lookout for pedestrians. Just not on their radar, at all unfortunately. I have seen people almost get hit within Baxter, where the speedlimit is 15 mph and at a four way stop intersection. Simply because people, as a general rule, are not aware while driving. Wish I could tell you differently.
I would cross 160 in a second but I would not let my children, even teenagers.
I am in agreement with the posters that crossing 160 by Harris Teeters could be very dangerous.
I do have another suggestion. When my husband and I moved here, we rented a condo (Stonecrest Villas) in Fort Mill/Tega Cay which might be of interest. The community is mostly made up of owners who are transplants, many from the north. We happened to rent a unit that was owned as an investment. We lived there for a year until we built a home. It is located off 160 a bit further toward Gold Hill Road from Baxter. It is behind a large shopping complex that is anchored by the nicest Wal-mart we have ever seen! Don't laugh... I was really concerned we were renting sight unseen behind the Wal-mart that was being built!! It has a huge food store within it and the strip malls in front (on Rt 160) are filled with restaurants, a bank, cleaners, hair salons, etc. Wal-mart is definitely walkable across a not so busy street that has sidewalks. My ex-neighbor from there is visually impaired and would walk to it.
There is also a Ryan development of large higher priced homes in the same area. The library stumps me and the post office, but Wal-mart might have some postal services. The condo has a small book area where residents pick up books and return them. Some libraries send books to the home... not sure if any around here do that.
The road in the condo is called Ledgestone Court. Check out allentate.com and look up the condos for sale in there. The website has a spot to look up by street or development name. I can't remember the Ryan development's name.... sorry! I think the original model is for sale and is on Stonecrest Blvd.
I hope this gives you another option. Baxter is a neat place, but I wouldn't cross 160 to get to the food store. Perhaps your son could rely on a driver for food shopping in the future. I believe Harris Teeter is starting a program where you order online and the order is ready when you go there. Not sure if your son can see enough to use the computer.
Where ever you end up, this is a really great area to live! We came from western NY.
Oh, wow. So discouraging. Thanks to all for your feedback though. I suspected that the answers would be along those lines. Too bad. It seemed like such a nice little community. I guess I'll have to check out some of the somewhat walkable neighborhoods that I've seen recommended within the city of Charlotte. The only problem is that it seems that as you get closer to the center of the city, where the more walkable communities are, the house prices increase precipitously. I don't really want to live too close to the "city" part of any city either. We live in the hills on the outer edge of the Hartford suburbs now, with dear and wild turkeys running through our back yard. We love this type environment but it is just not going to be viable for my son when he will be on his own, and so for our retirement destination we were looking to get just a LITTLE closer to an urban core, somewhere where one could run basic errands on foot and then use a bus, if necessary, to get to work or to doctors, a movie theatre, wider shopping choices, etc.
Movingdown, I'll check out the Tega Cay neighborhood you suggested too. Thanks. We actually looked at Tega Cay on a visit a couple of years ago and thought it was lovely. But we discounted it because it seemed like it was a very long walk from where most of the houses are out on the penninsula back to the main road where the stores are. I didn't check out (or notice) the houses in the vicinity of the stores, so we'll give that another look.
To get to a Vernon/Marlborough type environment, you would have to move to an older, more rustic setting. I'm afraid that is difficult to find in the area you're looking at. I could only think of downtown Waxhaw with little shops and restaurants, but of course that is in NC. I doubt that there are sufficient busses for you to go to the places you want to reach in either state.
Baxter is a master planned community where you can walk from your house to a salon, restaurant, some medical offices, the library, but you would still take your car to go to the corner Walgreen's or CVS or grocery shop at Harris Teeter. It has more of a downtown West Hartford/Blue Back Square feel inside of its confines.
My family and I have walked, biked and have driven our golf cart across Hwy. 160 to Harris Teeter and Lowes hundreds of times. There are crosswalks and crosslights, and I have never feared for my safety. The roads in and around Baxter are no more busy or congested as any slightly dense area of Charlotte, Fort Mill, Tega Cay etc. (including the area behind Wal-mart). The benefits of Baxter with its miles of trails and sidewalks, parks, library, schools, restaurants, shops, urgent care, salons, dentists, doctors, dry cleaners, and most every daily convenience far outweights a weekly trip to the grocery store - 2 minutes outside of the neighborhood. I can't think of anywhere in the Charlotte Metro area where you don't have to cross a major road or a huge sea of parking lots to get to at least something that is found in Baxter Town Center. I encourage you to come spend an hour in the neigborhood - park your car, walk around, do lunch and talk to any of the hundreds of residents milling around any given weekend. I think you'll get a much more positive reaction from the people that actually chose to live here. Good luck with your move. The Carolina's are a great place to live - especially Fort Mill with our lower taxes and excellent schools!!
To get to a Vernon/Marlborough type environment, you would have to move to an older, more rustic setting. I'm afraid that is difficult to find in the area you're looking at. I could only think of downtown Waxhaw with little shops and restaurants, but of course that is in NC. I doubt that there are sufficient busses for you to go to the places you want to reach in either state.
Baxter is a master planned community where you can walk from your house to a salon, restaurant, some medical offices, the library, but you would still take your car to go to the corner Walgreen's or CVS or grocery shop at Harris Teeter. It has more of a downtown West Hartford/Blue Back Square feel inside of its confines.
All the best in your search.
Bibit/an ex-Nutmegger
Hey, ex-Nutmegger! Actually something like West Hartford center (with a supermarket) would be fine. At least you can take a bus into Hartford if you need to (not that we go there much for anything anymore, except The Bushnell). I don't remember if there's one which goes to Westfarms Mall.
In any event I think I've identified some neighborhoods in Charlotte which are a little bit like that: near Park Road or Cotswold shopping centers, and near the Arboretum. (Sorry if I'm getting off-topic). I'll just have to look at Baxter more closely when we come down in May and check out these other neighborhoods as well.
Thanks for reply!
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