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Enjoyed the video. We want to relocate and the Triangle area is high on our list for climate, COL, etc. The scarcity of walkable neighborhoods is probably the biggest drawback for us, places with higher Walkscores. We're done with suburbs where you have to drive everywhere. YMMV
Loop, I think you are being overly generous. I LOVE this idea and think it's fantastic for Raleigh and even other locals in The Triangle. But there are several US cities both smaller and larger than Raleigh that far exceed Raleigh on being a "leader in getting america to walk". Sorry not being negative, just a realist.
I personally love that this piece showed that suburban infrastructure here does not always lend it self to walking. I felt the woman's frustration in being able to see the shopping center but having no way to safely get there.
Some cities in the US have used sidewalk poetry projects to reward those that walk and bike certain routes. I LOVE these. A great combo of art and promoting walkability. Maybe the guy who posted the distance signs and can branch out.
I live in Midtown Atlanta and enjoy a full life without a car. I have everything within walking distance (about a 2 mile radius) including an IKEA. I am able to take MARTA to the mall (Lenox Square) when I need to.
I commend the guy for his attempt to get Raleighites to walk, except for the distances/times he quoted. "A 45 minute walk" isn't very compelling to me, personally, even though I walk further distances than that every day.
As an NCSU graduate I can attest that students and Cameron Village residents can live completely normal lives without a car. The area is also served by Zipcar, the car sharing service where you can use strategically parked cars near NC State for about $8 per hour. I use them here in Atlanta when I need to buy $100 worth of groceries.
He should have erected a few signs in Glenwood South that read, "You can walk to Cameron Village in 10 minutes", or, "You can walk to City Market in 15-20 minutes."
I live in Midtown Atlanta and enjoy a full life without a car. I have everything within walking distance (about a 2 mile radius) including an IKEA. I am able to take MARTA to the mall (Lenox Square) when I need to.
I commend the guy for his attempt to get Raleighites to walk, except for the distances/times he quoted. "A 45 minute walk" isn't very compelling to me, personally, even though I walk further distances than that every day.
As an NCSU graduate I can attest that students and Cameron Village residents can live completely normal lives without a car. The area is also served by Zipcar, the car sharing service where you can use strategically parked cars near NC State for about $8 per hour. I use them here in Atlanta when I need to buy $100 worth of groceries.
He should have erected a few signs in Glenwood South that read, "You can walk to Cameron Village in 10 minutes", or, "You can walk to City Market in 15-20 minutes."
I tried some of his routes and timed myself against them. I found the signs to be VERY conservative estimates. I can easily walk his routes in 2/3 of the time he listed. If the city does erect permanent signs, I sure hope they give a range of walk times so as to not discourage brisk walkers like me.
I have also found that the city's concentric ring, "walking time" maps downtown to be overly conservative.
I personally love that this piece showed that suburban infrastructure here does not always lend it self to walking. I felt the woman's frustration in being able to see the shopping center but having no way to safely get there.
This and "sitting at a red light at 2am an empty intersection that should be a roundabout or a yield line" could be the slogans of my life in America so far
This and "sitting at a red light at 2am an empty intersection that should be a roundabout or a yield line" could be the slogans of my life in America so far
I remember a few decades ago when many of the lights in Raleigh would go to flashing yellow, "late-late" at night.
Because I've been a little too sedentary for my own good lately, I've been doing a "hybrid" of sorts concerning walking. I park the car in one lot, walk down to a few stores down the streets to shop, then shop at the stores in the lot where I've parked before returning home (since it would be rather rude to park in a parking lot otherwise, and some of those "YOU WILL BE TOWED IF YOU'RE NOT A CUSTOMER!" signs sound a little insistent).
Walking is wonderful, and I truly enjoy doing it, but there needs to be a few other aspects put into play here if we are to be a more walker-friendly city.
First of all, cars really need to understand crosswalks and "walk" and "do not walk" signs. According to the law here, if I start crossing in a crosswalk in a crosswalk with a "yield" sign in it while you're barreling down the street several miles back, you are supposed to yield to me if you approach me while I'm crossing, not speed up and swerve around me while I'm still in the crosswalk. Yield. Stop, even, if need be. I believe, though I might be wrong, that on a four-lane road, you have a bit more leeway if I'm on the other side, or if there is an island between the lanes, and of course, I'm supposed to use my brains and not dart out in front of you, but this is not a real-life ******* game, and I don't appreciate being the frog. Time for some public service announcements ... among other measures.
Secondly, pedestrians need to understand these signs as well. If I had $10 for every pedestrian who decided to cross against the "walk" sign (while the "Do Not Walk' or the red hand is up) at their own peril, I could buy dinner for a dozen of you at a mid-price restaurant. Pedestrians cross on un-signalled crosswalks WITH traffic on their side. They are not supposed to start crossing while the red hand with the seconds counting down is lit. That is to tell people already in the crosswalk to hurry it up before they wind up being turkey vulture food. (Some drivers are very impatient here.) And they are to use their brains and not think that a car can stop on a dime if they decide to use the crosswalk right as a car is a few feet away from them.
I like the idea of walker-friendly sidewalks and signs in Raleigh, and it's great that the city encourages walking. But I think we need a few other bits of info as well.
NOTE: No, I did not cuss. I was naming a popular video game back in the 80's involving an amphibian. That's odd!
Loop, I think you are being overly generous. I LOVE this idea and think it's fantastic for Raleigh and even other locals in The Triangle. But there are several US cities both smaller and larger than Raleigh that far exceed Raleigh on being a "leader in getting america to walk". Sorry not being negative, just a realist.
no, i get that. i agree with that, actually. i had a short bit to place the title in & actually wanted people to see the video out of curiosity because areas outside of most of the downtown raleigh districts aren't particularly walkable. i do see some revitalization coming into downtown that seems to be pointing in that direction of pushing for more downtown businesses & living spaces that will eventually add to more walkability.
so, yes, i see your point. i'm a realist, too. definitely not a dreamy-eyed stargazer who sees things differently than they exist.
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