Getting Around Port Angeles (Roy: sale, city hall, community college)

[Michael Way]

Hi all. I'm thinking about moving to Port Angeles in a few years and I would like to know how easy it is to get around town? Can you get by without a car? Would it be considered a walking town? I checked the Challam Transit website, but I would like to get the views of those who live there on the quality of the bus service. Also, I didn't see any mention of any bus service up to Hurricane Ridge. Is there any? Thanks in advance.

[Dendrite]

Originally Posted by Mike555

Hi all. I'm thinking about moving to Port Angeles in a few years and I would like to know how easy it is to get around town? Can you get by without a car? Would it be considered a walking town? I checked the Challam Transit website, but I would like to get the views of those who live there on the quality of the bus service. Also, I didn't see any mention of any bus service up to Hurricane Ridge. Is there any? Thanks in advance.

Is it easy to get around town? Sure. Without a car? Ummm... well probably not particularly easy. Not impossible, just not "easy" (read "convenient"). Of course a lot is going to depend upon where or which part of town you live in. Since you're thinking of moving to PA, I'll assume you've spent time here or at least have visited the area. As you recall, the town is more or less built on a hillside (with the exception of the "flatter" downtown and waterfront areas). So it would be a lot of up the hill and down the hill walking without wheels of your own.

The downtown and waterfront area are "walkable" and there are several nice little shops to visit down there. The problem is that many of those shops are, IMO, a little more oriented towards tourist traffic than for "locals" shopping. Let's use grocery shopping as an example and talk about the chain store options. You have a Safeway in the middle of town across from City Hall, an Albertsons at the top of the hill above that Safeway, another Safeway at the east side of town and a little further out a Walmart (with a new super Walmart being built across the street from it). OK, with that mental image of those options, we're not talking blocks apart here, we're talking miles apart. So it would be harder to shop multiple stores for particular items or various things on sale and so forth. Again, not impossible, just not as easy as hopping in your Ford F-150 and heading out when ever and where ever you please. And that's just for the grocery shopping-
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My point is, I suppose you could live in PA without a car but you would be totally dependant upon waiting for one bus and then the next to get to various spots around town. Many of the people riding the bus are doing so to commute to work, the community college etc. I've been on the transit bus a few times and their buses are nice enough. I just couldn't imagine having my life revolve around the bus schedule without an alternate and independant means of getting from point A to point B in this somewhat spread out town, e.g. a car, truck, motorcycle or if nothing else a moutain bike. If a mountain bicycle sounds like it might work for you without having to own a car, remember to factor in fall, winter and spring weather: fall rain, winter rain, ice and some snow, and then rain again in the Spring.

There are no city bus lines up to Hurricane Ridge but there are private bus tours that take people up to the top (Royal Tours Company, etc.).

My $0.02 worth. YMMV.

[Michael Way]

Originally Posted by Dendrite

Is it easy to get around town? Sure. Without a car? Ummm... well probably not particularly easy. Not impossible, just not "easy" (read "convenient"). Of course a lot is going to depend upon where or which part of town you live in. Since you're thinking of moving to PA, I'll assume you've spent time here or at least have visited the area. As you recall, the town is more or less built on a hillside (with the exception of the "flatter" downtown and waterfront areas). So it would be a lot of up the hill and down the hill walking without wheels of your own.

The downtown and waterfront area are "walkable" and there are several nice little shops to visit down there. The problem is that many of those shops are, IMO, a little more oriented towards tourist traffic than for "locals" shopping. Let's use grocery shopping as an example and talk about the chain store options. You have a Safeway in the middle of town across from City Hall, an Albertsons at the top of the hill above that Safeway, another Safeway at the east side of town and a little further out a Walmart (with a new super Walmart being built across the street from it). OK, with that mental image of those options, we're not talking blocks apart here, we're talking miles apart. So it would be harder to shop multiple stores for particular items or various things on sale and so forth. Again, not impossible, just not as easy as hopping in your Ford F-150 and heading out when ever and where ever you please. And that's just for the grocery shopping-
-
My point is, I suppose you could live in PA without a car but you would be totally dependant upon waiting for one bus and then the next to get to various spots around town. Many of the people riding the bus are doing so to commute to work, the community college etc. I've been on the transit bus a few times and their buses are nice enough. I just couldn't imagine having my life revolve around the bus schedule without an alternate and independant means of getting from point A to point B in this somewhat spread out town, e.g. a car, truck, motorcycle or if nothing else a moutain bike. If a mountain bicycle sounds like it might work for you without having to own a car, remember to factor in fall, winter and spring weather: fall rain, winter rain, ice and some snow, and then rain again in the Spring.

There are no city bus lines up to Hurricane Ridge but there are private bus tours that take people up to the top (Royal Tours Company, etc.).

My $0.02 worth. YMMV.

Thanks Dendrite. That's good information you provided. No, I've never visited Port Angeles. I'm trying to gather information on different places I might like to move to in a few years. It didn't occur to me that it might be hilly in Port Angeles. I know the Olympic Mountains are inland, but I had assumed that being right on the water, it was fairly flat in town. I would probably want to have a car then. I appreciate your answer.

As I write this, it is 61 degrees in Port Angeles compared to almost 100 degrees where I am. I'd rather have the 61 degrees. I'm getting older, and I'm tired of the desert and would rather have the water and greenery and coolness of the Olympic Peninsula.