What does "walkable" mean in the Orlando area? (neighborhoods, subdivision)

[masssachoicetts]

Originally Posted by langelgjm

Hi - I currently reside in Waltham (Boston metro), MA and am contemplating a move to the Orlando area. Professional couple with 1 toddler. We both have permanent WFH jobs so commute is not a concern. We're thinking about Florida because COL is much lower, and Orlando specifically because of the major airport, less hurricane risk, lots of local attractions and nearby natural attractions... and I work for Disney so we can visit the parks for free

We will rent, not buy. We really want to be in a walkable neighborhood, so the common suggestions seem to be places like Winter Park, Baldwin Park, College Park, etc.

My question - what does "walkable" mean in the Orlando area? Where I currently live, I walk to two different grocery stores (regional chain + ethnic), the doctor, the dentist, the post office, a Guatemalan bakery, many restaurants of all price ranges, a bike shop, a large playground, a spray park, a movie theater (before the pandemic), thrift store, public library, etc. In other words, most typical errands can be accomplished by walking.

Is this true of the commonly suggested walkable areas around Orlando? Or does "walkable" mean something more like: I can easily/safely take a morning or evening walk around my neighborhood, or I can walk to a local park/pool, but in general I'm still getting in my car to do typical errands?

I'm familiar with Walk Score, but both it and the national walkability index have some well known flaws. We are planning a visit soon to see for ourselves, but thought I'd get some opinions here.

Boston native. Moved to Orlando. Parents hated it and move back. Im in urban planning and value walkability, transportation and QOL.. I found Orlando to not have these things to my degree. Im not saying Orlando is a bad place.. but its a wayyy different world than BOS. Make sure you are absolutely sure when moving down.

Also.. Id wait a bit to sell in Waltham. That city is just going up and up. Nowhere near a peak IMHO.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

There is a 0.5 mile strip of businesses along Edgewater Drive that is dominated by cars. All the surrounding areas are just houses. Many parts of College Park is a 20 minute walk to Publix on car dominated streets. You'll likely be the only person walking to get groceries and might pass some joggers and people getting in and out of their cars. It would be like saying Dr. Phillips is a walkable community because of restaurant row, which stretches much further than the half mile section of Edgewater Drive. Not in my books lol. Baldwin Park and downtown/lake eola are the only areas where I see a lot of people walking from their residences to get groceries, go to bars, restaurants, banks, etc.

As stated what other people are doing doesn't affect how walkable an area is. In most instances the definition refers to whether or not one could comfortably live in a location and access daily needs on foot within close proximity. College Park definitely presents that with every need imaginable and if anything having all of it condensed within a .5 mile strip only solidifies the desirability, if one has any grasp of the walk-friendly concept.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

As stated what other people are doing doesn't affect how walkable an area is. In most instances the definition refers to whether or not one could comfortably live in a location and access daily needs on foot within close proximity. College Park definitely presents that with every need imaginable and if anything having all of it condensed within a .5 mile strip only solidifies the desirability, if one has any grasp of the walk-friendly concept.

That's your opinion. If you live next to a strip mall or a shopping mall, then you'd consider that walkable too with that logic, but not me. We each have our own definition of walkable.

[drive carephilly]

Originally Posted by Arcenal813

This is true... I've used Bus 13 before, and it has a stop at the corner of Bennet/New Broad, but I believe it only passes once every hour, and the latest bus is somewhere around 10PM... So it's VERY easy to miss. That said, I was happy to find that the general clientele on that route were not as rough as some of the nonsense I've seen on 48/49... () lol

It is a pretty chill bus route. Pre-Covid I was using it a few times a month to go downtown for concerts and ball games but then would Uber home (because it was late).

If you're up on General Rees (or at least within walking distance of General Rees/Corrine) you get both the 13 and the 313 so you get 30 minute off-peak service to downtown. The 313 breaks east to go down Bumby. It's kind of weird because the least useful place gets the most service.

IMO - the 13 should be terminate at the VA Hospital or WP Hospital and run every 15 peak/30 off peak. We also need something that runs east/west along Princeton/Corrine that connects BP to CP and the AdventHealth Station.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

That's your opinion. If you live next to a strip mall or a shopping mall, then you'd consider that walkable too with that logic, but not me. We each have our own definition of walkable.

It's not my opinion, it's more the generic definition. Walk Score operates via the same principle as it's not an emotional factor, rather physical/distance.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

It's not my opinion, it's more the generic definition. Walk Score operates via the same principle as it's not an emotional factor, rather physical/distance.

I'm going to have to agree with BMW here... Not so much that I am disagreeing with you (I could live car-free in College Park) but more so that I define walkable as a place that has a significant amount of foot activity as well. I had a whole message typed up earlier but deleted it, but basically boiled down to several factors including safety.

Example: In Baldwin Park, I could walk to Publix at 9PM and still see lots of people either doing the same, or walking to bars, restaurants, etc., and would not feel like I'm "the only one" out there. Being the only person to do anything can raise red flags, from residents thinking you look suspicious for whatever reason, to being an easy robbery target. Couple that with the fact that I am a minority, and there you have it. College Park does not (yet) have much of an inviting walkability aspect to it. That is changing slowly, but it's not there yet. CAN you live there car-free? Sure. You can do that virtually anywhere in Orlando. But if one is used to an urban landscape from a more traditional city such as Boston, one will have to make MAJOR adjustments there. Baldwin Park and Downtown/Eola (and surrounding areas such as Colonialtown North/South -- including Mills/50) provide as close of an environment to those urban landscapes as possible.

When I moved to Baldwin Park, I did not have a car, and was in no hurry to get one. I wanted a place where I could accomplish virtually everything on foot, and was set on either Baldwin Park or South Eola (almost got a condo at "The Jackson" https://www.google.com/maps/@28.5390...7i16384!8i8192) THIS is walkable... You can wake up, go to the corner and grab your morning coffee and/or breakfast at the coffee shop. You can go for a jog around Lake Eola. You can go to Publix and grab a quick packaged salad. You can go grab a beer after work. You can WALK to your downtown office. You can go smoke a cigar at the lounge. You can go to the wine shop down the block and grab a bottle after work. You can get fresh bread at the local bakery around the corner. You can take the kids, or your dog(s) to the park. You can walk to the bank. Your dentist is around the corner. And you are not the only person randomly walking around with shopping bags.

I believe I was looking for exactly what OP is looking for. Maybe I'm wrong, but that is my definition of "walkable."

Parts of Sodo could work too I guess... If one is close enough to the major shopping center where the Super Target is... Novel and that entire block fit the bill. https://www.google.com/maps/@28.5311...7i16384!8i8192


College Park lacks that urban landscape.

My opinion, this is what OP is looking for:

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.5404...7i11000!8i5500

*South Eola

As for walkscore... well, I've learned to dismiss much of their numbers, particularly when I saw that they rank Miami overall significantly higher than Montreal, which is asinine.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

It's not my opinion, it's more the generic definition. Walk Score operates via the same principle as it's not an emotional factor, rather physical/distance.

It’s your opinion. Having one tiny stretch of a single road does not make an entire area walkable. You really need to travel more to open your eyes to the rest of the world lol.

[brinkofsunshine]

Originally Posted by masssachoicetts

Boston native. Moved to Orlando. Parents hated it and move back. Im in urban planning and value walkability, transportation and QOL.. I found Orlando to not have these things to my degree. Im not saying Orlando is a bad place.. but its a wayyy different world than BOS. Make sure you are absolutely sure when moving down.

Also.. Id wait a bit to sell in Waltham. That city is just going up and up. Nowhere near a peak IMHO.

Where did they live in Orlando? I don’t think anyone would claim Orlando to be comparable to Boston.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by brinkofsunshine

Where did they live in Orlando? I don’t think anyone would claim Orlando to be comparable to Boston.

Pretty sure he said somewhere around Lake Nona, which explains a lot.

[brinkofsunshine]

Originally Posted by Arcenal813

Pretty sure he said somewhere around Lake Nona, which explains a lot.

Yeah it really baffles me when people move to some new subdivision in a suburb/exurb and then are upset that it isn’t like old Northern neighborhoods.