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I don't think my daughter's ride was atypically slow. Some of that time did involve waiting. The bus picked them up in front of the school (on Main St, slightly south of South Boulder Rd), and it wasn't a long wait at all, but it all adds up. Then the bus wends through the downtown area. It's a "local" route, there are frequent stops. Then she had about a 1/4 mile walk from the bus stop to home.
As a regular transit user, I'd just like to hop on the bandwagon by also saying I don't think this is typical of public transit.
I live about 1.5 miles from my office. I can walk there in just under a half hour. But, when I take the bus, the total trip--from door to door--is about 15 minutes.
You don't seem to understand the growth of suburbs is a mere blip in the history of cities. You talk about it like it's a pattern of life that once you have kids, you buy a car and move to a single family home. Each family has their own preferences. You can't speak for everyone, only yourself. You really think that you can't live in the city with children? People all over the world raise families in cities, even in developed areas like Europe. If urban planners took families into consideration, then it might be easier here.
That's not a particularly fair statement. Modern settlement patterns are distinctly different than any previous era. The total level of urbanization is much higher now than they've ever been. Comparing with history is not reasonable.
When did I say anything about having to live in the suburbs with kids? Why, nowhere! I did say that having a baby could make going car-free difficult. In addition, almost as long as there have been cities there have been suburbs. Rant, rant, rant back atcha!
Those cars you see on Centennial are driving on it! Trust me, there is NO parking there. It's remotely possible since that is a construction site that some construction workers were parked there temporarily, but NO ONE parks there! This is the town where I live and you think you know more about it than me! The parking lot is for the shopping center and Alfalfa's. I went to some of the meetings about this development. The condo residents will not be permitted to park in the lot. Did you notice the ditch between the (now under construction) condo building and Fireside St.?
Also, you might play around with that map. Why wouldn't you consider that area "walkable"? Good grief, the shopping center has just about everything you would need except a clothing store right there! Alfalfa's is a "natural" grocery store plus they have a little restaurant and coffee bar, there's a Walgreen's, a restaurant (Mudrock's), two pizza parlors, a florist, several beauty shops, a shoe repair shop, a Pilates studio, and several other shops.
You guys are all just making excuses for this transit. It's typical. Look at any "local" line's schedule. And yeah, you have to wait for the bus to show up, and then walk that last distance home. Excuses, excuses, excuses!
Walkability is more than just the distance between things. It's also the built environment and whether it's pedestrian friendly. The built environment there is shaped around the automobile. Things can be close together but if it's not pleasant or enjoyable to walk in, then it's not walkable.
As a regular transit user, I'd just like to hop on the bandwagon by also saying I don't think this is typical of public transit.
I live about 1.5 miles from my office. I can walk there in just under a half hour. But, when I take the bus, the total trip--from door to door--is about 15 minutes.
How frequent is the bus? I also take public transit and find that once you factor in having to wait, walking can be pretty competitive with the bus, although not usually faster.
When did I say anything about having to live in the suburbs with kids? Why, nowhere! I did say that having a baby could make going car-free difficult. In addition, almost as long as there have been cities there have been suburbs. Rant, rant, rant back atcha!
Those cars you see on Centennial are driving on it! Trust me, there is NO parking there. It's remotely possible since that is a construction site that some construction workers were parked there temporarily, but NO ONE parks there! This is the town where I live and you think you know more about it than me! The parking lot is for the shopping center and Alfalfa's. I went to some of the meetings about this development. The condo residents will not be permitted to park in the lot. Did you notice the ditch between the (now under construction) condo building and Fireside St.?
Also, you might play around with that map. Why wouldn't you consider that area "walkable"? Good grief, the shopping center has just about everything you would need except a clothing store right there! Alfalfa's is a "natural" grocery store plus they have a little restaurant and coffee bar, there's a Walgreen's, a restaurant (Mudrock's), two pizza parlors, a florist, several beauty shops, a shoe repair shop, a Pilates studio, and several other shops.
You guys are all just making excuses for this transit. It's typical. Look at any "local" line's schedule. And yeah, you have to wait for the bus to show up, and then walk that last distance home. Excuses, excuses, excuses!
Maybe that is an old Google Image but it clearly shows cars parked on Centennial Dr, it also shows markings for parallel parking spots as well as cars up against the curb that clearly look parked. But who knows, maybe they removed those parking spaces to turn it into a four lane road for some reason.
Also, I never claimed I know more about your town than you do, I am just saying those cars along that road look parked, there are clear markings for parking spaces, and even curb cuts at intersections to suggest street parking. And even if there isn't parking on that street, there could be because it is more than wide enough to handle two lanes of traffic and street parking all along it.
Not sure what the ditch has to do with anything, one would just have to follow the sidewalk if they wanted to park on Fireside, unless that is a private street that doesn't allow non residents to park on it. Again, I don't know because I have never been there.
Okay, so the shopping center has everything one would need in walking distance, so by that definition, this is a very walkable development. In Google maps it just looks like a development next to a strip mall in a suburban auto centric area, but if you say it is walkable and someone could live without a car or needing a car regularly then I will take your word for it.
I am not sure if I follow you, are you saying the walking to and from the bus stop, the wait time at the bus stop, and the ride time 1.6 miles takes 45 minutes? Or are you saying the bus ride 1.6 miles takes 45 minutes? If the ride itself takes that long, then I can officially out walk your local bus. Though for me, if it took that long via bus, I would just walk that short of a distance to save myself time.
Not sure who is making excuses, it just seems like there is a misunderstanding here with what is being said....
How frequent is the bus? I also take public transit and find that once you factor in having to wait, walking can be pretty competitive with the bus, although not usually faster.
Unfortunately, it only runs once an hour, and that happens to work fine for me. But, this is one of the reasons I'm an advocate for improving transit. Even if it arrived every 20-30 minutes, it would become a lot more convenient for more potential users.
If the only thing to walk to is some boring, generic, Anytown USA strip mall, then few people will choose to walk. Too bad that so many NIMBYs and busybodies have put in place regulations that make it difficult to build more interesting developments.
As I explained, those three cars on Centennial may have been parked there for the construction, but in general there is no parking there! For God's sake, I live there! Whatever, with the transit. That bus was always crowded, it stopped at every stop and let off a pack of kids. I also lived about 1 1/2 miles from my high school and took a city bus. It wasn't that long, but it was probably more than 30 minutes.
Not this again! Now, nei is going to get angry here, but what do you want? Fire jugglers? Buskers? For God's sake, if you want to walk, you can walk! In fact, I live a bit farther west and we walk down there occasionally to go to Walgreen's, etc. There is sidewalk everywhere. Just no jugglers or buskers.
Note there are several stops not indicated on the schedule, e.g. Louisville Middle School. Closest stop on this list is Main/Spruce. You can read this as well as I can; it seems to be ~ every 15 min from 6:55 till 9:30 AM, then every half hour till 2:43 PM, then every 15 again till 7:04 PM. every half hour till 9:30, and then two late runs at 10:30 and 11:30 PM.
The main reason for my daughter taking the bus instead of walking was the convenience of being in a vehicle and out of the weather with her cello and her backpack while going up a one mile hill.
Are you sure you live here because when you look at Google Street view just a little bit up the road from this condo site, there is clearly cars parked on Centennial Dr that are not construction cars, they are just parked cars. https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9900...8i6656!6m1!1e1
Are you thinking of Centennial Parkway? That road I would believe doesn't allow parking on the street, but that is no where near this condo site you are talking about....
I get why your child takes the bus over walking, books and cellos are heavy and cumbersome to carry, but an able body adult such as myself would rather walk and get to where I am going in a shorter amount of time than take a bus if a bus takes 45 minutes to commute 1.6 miles, which I think is inaccurate because that would mean I am traveling faster on foot than a bus driving on a road.
For God's Sake, you guys! I feel like I'm in court, having to justify everything! I'm giving UP!
What do you need to make it "interesting"? I don't know about you guys, but when I go grocery shopping, I do not feel the need to be entertained. If I walk down the hill, I can look at the trees and shrubs along the way and be perfectly satisfied. On the way back, I can look at the mountains.
What regulations are keeping this area from being "ineresting"?
That's great for you that all you need are trees and shrubs to be satisfied. I have different preferences than you. I'm really glad that not everyone agrees with you and that we have very interesting neighborhoods in many places around the country that go beyond just the typical strip mall. But they are definitely the minority.
I don't know the regulations for that specific place in Colorado, but I can say that in many places around the country that look very similar to that there are tons of regulations in place that make it very difficult to build anything commercial other than strip malls. That doesn't mean this specific place has those regulations. I never said EVERY place like that is due to regulations.
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