Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Nice statement and absolutely true! Wish there were more city-data members like you that add value to reading city-data posts. Unlike a very few posters that don't look at the big picture and only look to boost their city without any pure consideration.
Gosh, thank you. Although I can assure that I can become much surlier than I am demonstrating here.
When I saw the thread title, my first thought was "DC", because of all the museums & free attractions. But after reading your post, my answer is Boston, because IMO it has a more interesting & fine-textured urbanism.
I think its slightly Boston, but not as drastic of a difference as people on here are making it seem. DC has a bunch of neighborhoods that are all safe and so does Boston. The nightlife in DC is better for clubs/lounges and Boston has a great bar scene. This is definitely a win-win situation for seeking urbanism.
Why are people shocked when they see that DC was voted most walkable city? I tend to believe that 90% of the people on this board have never even been to DC. Or maybe they came here for work and stayed in Tysons and thought they were in DC proper. Almost all of DC sits on a continuous grid of streets like every other city in the N.E. I know Boston isn't on a grid per se but it's also very walkable. Someone made a statement saying that the DC metro runs on a commuter rail frequency! WTH? Some trains continuously run 1 to 5 minutes behind each other. Show me a commuter rail system that does that.
Why are people shocked when they see that DC was voted most walkable city? I tend to believe that 90% of the people on this board have never even been to DC. Or maybe they came here for work and stayed in Tysons and thought they were in DC proper. Almost all of DC sits on a continuous grid of streets like every other city in the N.E. I know Boston isn't on a grid per se but it's also very walkable. Someone made a statement saying that the DC metro runs on a commuter rail frequency! WTH? Some trains continuously run 1 to 5 minutes behind each other. Show me a commuter rail system that does that.
Not sure how anybody can compare metro to a commuter rail system. I think DC is extremely walkable and bikable, it's right there with Boston. I would just give Boston a slight edge in this thread. But if the OP decided to hit DC instead, I don't think it would be a loss for them. I don't think a lot of people know much about dc outside the mall area though.
Why are people shocked when they see that DC was voted most walkable city? I tend to believe that 90% of the people on this board have never even been to DC. Or maybe they came here for work and stayed in Tysons and thought they were in DC proper. Almost all of DC sits on a continuous grid of streets like every other city in the N.E. I know Boston isn't on a grid per se but it's also very walkable. Someone made a statement saying that the DC metro runs on a commuter rail frequency! WTH? Some trains continuously run 1 to 5 minutes behind each other. Show me a commuter rail system that does that.
I think the article that cited DC as the most walkable "city", actually meant most walkable metro area. Due to WMATA's metro being a hybrid city-suburban system, and the subsequent extensive transit-oriented development in the inner suburban areas, there are lots of suburban walkable clusters centered around a metro station (Bethesda, Silver Spring, Wheaton, Takoma Park, Pentagon City) or along a corridor (Rossyln-Ballston Corridor).
That being said, DC is not even close to the most walkable city. I feel that New York, Boston, Philadelphia and San Francisco (minus the hills) are more walkable; Chicago, despite being more dense, is probably less walkable than DC.
Dude, you lose all credibility with that statement. Everybody who rides the DC Metro knows that standing on the left side is a big no no in DC. People in DC drive slow? Are you serious. DC was just rated the worst place to drive along with NYC. See the correlation. DC's metro is hectic compared to Chicago's transit. There many more people on the trains and rushing to and from work. Plus, people in Chicago do not jaywalk so how is it fast paced? In DC, as well as other EAST COAST cities, jaywalking is a part of the culture. Chicago has a midwest vibe.
These two highlighted comments stand out to me. We agree that DC drivers are some of the worst, but FAST?!?! nobody knows where they are going in this town, I drive into DC a couple times a week, and I am constantly amazed how slow/bad the drivers in the city are. On top of that, driving on the Beltway, I66, GW Parkway is terrible; Virginia are the worst, Maryland are the best and DC somewhere in between. As somebody else mentioned, the cab drivers here are about as slow and non aggresive as you can get.
The main EL lines in Chicago (Blue, Red, Brown) are just as crowded as any line in DC from my experience (usually Red or Orange), bottom line more people commute by public transportation in Chicago than DC. Stand at the intersection of Chicago Ave and Michigan Ave in Chicago and tell me people dont Jaywalk.
These two highlighted comments stand out to me. We agree that DC drivers are some of the worst, but FAST?!?! nobody knows where they are going in this town, I drive into DC a couple times a week, and I am constantly amazed how slow/bad the drivers in the city are. On top of that, driving on the Beltway, I66, GW Parkway is terrible; Virginia are the worst, Maryland are the best and DC somewhere in between. As somebody else mentioned, the cab drivers here are about as slow and non aggresive as you can get.
The main EL lines in Chicago (Blue, Red, Brown) are just as crowded as any line in DC from my experience (usually Red or Orange), bottom line more people commute by public transportation in Chicago than DC. Stand at the intersection of Chicago Ave and Michigan Ave in Chicago and tell me people dont Jaywalk.
Do they run accross the flower beds in the median? But agree on the whole Chicago moves at a fairly quick pace but regardless I never really pay attention to if people are jay walking or not - I guess i do but never really thought about it.
Was in Chicago for 4 days starting last Friday and the numbers on the streets in this area was pretty significant. Chicago, DC and the Avenues in NYC are such wide damn streets guess harder to jaywalk overall when the streets are so wide - kind of like *******
Also agree on the transit in Chicago (the loop station by Gov't Center or on State that connect with the blue/green/red among others) are both very busy - would say Boston as well and even the philly subways are pretty packed at times. The Metro is a great system though - modern and efficient
Do they run accross the flower beds in the median?
Crossing Chicago Ave on Michigan (North-South)there is no median, people walk to and from watertower place via this route, it is a sh*t show most of the time.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
