Is living without a car in Sante Fe manageable? (Santa Fe: how much, home)

[matisse12]

And depending upon the bus system for transportation?

[loborick]

Where's Sante Fe??

Just giving you crap. It will depend on where you live and where you work. Also, because of the financial crisis, the transit system is cutting back on some routes, eliminating some and running buses less frequently.

[cynanthus]

I wouldn't try it. The bus system here is decent, but routes don't go to all of the places I shop or visit so it wouldn't work for me. However, if you're willing to limit yourself to places the bus runs and you aren't pressed for time, you could make it work.

[lalahartma]

How about a bike?

[Santa Fe]

I wouldn't do it unless I could find a home and a job where I could meet my basic transportation needs by walking. That is, walking distance of your job and basic shopping like groceries and pharmacy. Buses run infrequently and are being cut back -- nobody knows how much before the current crisis is over. The city is profligate and the current cutbacks are deeper rooted than just the recession.

A bike would be useful, but you wouldn't want to use it for necessary travel during a snow storm or for some indefinite time afterward as the city is not great about plowing.

[mortimer]

Note that the whole Paseo de Peralta/Saint Francis loop is only about three
miles around the whole thing. If you liked to walk and lived within two miles
of the town square, it would be quite doable because Santa Fe is small.

The whole length of Cerrillos Road from I-25 to the center of town is less
than six miles.

It is possible to live in a place where the walk to Trader Joe's, Whole Foods,
Smith's, and a whole host of other stores are only from 1/4th to 1/3rd of a
mile away.

There are lots of developments around Santa Fe where people say they
*live* in Santa Fe, but the main ( congested ) part of the town is really
compact. If you are going to live in there, expect to live in an old
building. That's not bad or good, but for some it's not acceptable.

I like to walk and I like to use the bus. I also bike,
but I wouldn't bike in Santa Fe because it's too congested.

I'd be OK using the bus to get into town if I had a job there,
but only if I lived on one of these lines:

Route 1 - Agua Fria
Route 2 - Cerrillos Road
Route 4 - Southside ( St. Francis )

Here is the official site:
Santa Fe, NM - Official Website - Transit

[Santa Fe]

Mortimer's post (above) is excellent. But don't count on the public transit to be or to remain what you find at the website. The city has committed to annexing areas that as I understand it are almost entirely residential. That is, the city will have additional requirements for services, without any significant increase in gross receipts tax. Where will they cut to make this possible? Public transit has so far been a favorite target.

Also forget about the plaza area -- there is nothing there that you need for daily living -- it is for tourists. Go west, nearer to the grocery stores. You could walk not that far north to DeVargas mall for more shopping and the movies. Also you would be near to the Sanbusco shopping mall and the restaurants etc on Guadaloupe.

You'd need the bus (or a traffic dodging long walk) for big box shopping on Cerrillos and for medical care at the hospital or medical specialists and services clustered around hospital drive.

[SanfordR]

If you lived around the railyard you could walk to restaurants, downtown, Trader Joes, whole foods, devargas mall and take the train to ABQ. If you're up for walking distances of 1-2 miles it's doable. Or around St Francis is an option too.