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The phrase "walkable downtown" comes up again and again here, leaving me puzzled.
Compared to parts of the country where old downtowns have emptied and been replaced by strip malls on the outskirts, I'd say the majority of Westchester communities have walkable downtowns. By this I mean a downtown area, (usually in proximity to a train station) having such basic amenities as a dry cleaner, florist, barber and hairstylist, deli, hardware store, coffee shop of some kind, and a few restaurants/bars. Safety is a given but street crime is very low in most Westchester towns anyway. Next step up is to throw in a yoga studio, wine shop, cheese shop, butcher and a gallery or two, a sidewalk cafe, a green grocer, etc. After that add a few upscale store and botiques.
By this definition practically every actual city, town and village discussed on this board qualifies except Yonkers, Mt Vernon, Elmsford, maybe a couple others. So what's it mean? That you need to be within walking distance to the downtown? Or is that people unfamiliar with Westchester assume that it's similar to those areas that are just suburban sprawl with no downtown at all, just the malls?
Yonkers qualifies. We call it "walking to town" not downtown, and the kids say they are going "to the station". The Crestwood section of Yonkers is unique because it is not urban Yonkers, but rather quite suburban and we have our own "town" with a train station, dry cleaner, florist, barber, deli, restuarants, etc. Technically, it's in Tuckahoe, but since they named the train station and Pizzeria after us and we can walk to it, we claim all the amenities as ours as well!
No matter how you define "walkable downtown," they are slightly less prevalent even in Westchester, than you suggest. Yes, virtually every town with a train station, has at least a couple blocks of shops, around the train station. But that isn't true of towns without train stations -- Ardsley comes to mind as an example. It's also far less true of most of northern Westchester.
To me, when I hear a reference to a walkable town, I don't just think about having 1-2 blocks of shops around the train station. For example, Chappaqua has an area like that. But you aren't going to spend an evening strolling around the town, or spend hours walking around the town. Further, almost all residents would need to drive to get to the "walkable" town.
To me, when I think about a walkable town, it's not just having a few walkable blocks of shops -- But also about having lots of walkable residential areas. Nice single-family neighborhoods, from which people can walk to town, walk to parks, walk to the schools. Pleasantville and Larchmont are two very good examples in my mind.
Croton is another good example -- It doesn't have a massive walkable downtown. But it has an extensive village filled with parks and sidewalks.
So to me, when I hear "walkable downtown," I think of places where you can get out and keep busy, without having to drive anyplace. (In the morning, walk with the family to get bagels and coffee... then walk over to the park and let the kids play.. then walk to some errands, stop by the library... etc... Or in the evening, walk to dinner in a nice restaurant, then stop by a movie or gallery, and finally stop by a bar for a night cap, without having to worry about driving home under the influence).
Excellent, Havoc315, that's exactly what I was wondering. The point, I guess, is more walkable town, or that a walkable downtown has an associated town to walk from. Larchmont and Pleasantville certainly qualify, along with most of the river towns and Rye. Interestingly, I'd say most of Pelham Manor wouldn't qualify, too far from the actual downtown itself.
What one considers "walkable" depends on perspective. As someone who lives in a 'rural' area and drives to towns, I consider a town "walkable" if it has a downtown area in which one can park the car and then easily walk to stores, restaurants, playgrounds, coffee house, parks, etc. Back when I was a stay-at-home dad I discovered that putting a kid in the car was easy, but taking him in and out multiple times was a pain. So I soon learned that many towns that may seem walkable really are not walker-friendly as far as getting from one amenity to another goes. Then there is the perspective Havoc is talking about, which is not about having amenities nearby but rather about the layout of the residential areas and its proximity to the downtown areas and amenities. Towns that are walkable by this definition may not have walkable downtowns, and vice versa.
Yes... The "park and then walk" type of walkable is very prevalent. Scarsdale, Mt. Kisco and Katonah are all examples of pretty significant downtowns, but the vast majority of single family home dwellers need to drive first, to reach the significant downtown.
When my kid was younger Katonah and Mt Kisco actually didn't work well for me since there was no playground that one could easily walk to (let alone push a stroller to) from the coffee house, book store, or restaurant. Croton was a total dud on the park and walk front. It all depends on specific needs and perspective.
I can see what you mean. Mt Kisco has a very extensive walkable commercial downtown, but parks are elsewhere. Croton has very walkable neighborhoods, including nice playgrounds, but the commercial downtown is second rate.
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