<p>That would make sense if they do it on a zip code level. Hell, some of my zipcode encompasses significant mountain canyons that are walkable only if you’re a mountain goat.</p>
<p>Arabrab, are you near a school?</p>
<p>We are 1.2 miles from the bus stop. I can tell you a 30 lb backpack of books up a steep road definitely prepared D2 for hiking/camping . However only 12 minutes by car to the grocery store. Not moving. Hiking 10 feet from the house with mountain sheep. Plan on looking at them from the window seat at 90. Until then -’ if you rest you rust '.</p>
<p>Wow, where S lives has a very high walkability score, transit score and a good biking score. That tallies well with our experience visiting him there (tho we never saw many bikers). It is a very convenient location.</p>
<p>Downtown St. Petersburg, Fl. has an 89 walkability index…90 for bikes. Nice spot in Florida sunshine where retirees can walk to most everything on Tampa Bay waterfront. Few residential/business mixed locations in Florida have as good walkability. </p>
<p><a href=“Downtown St. Petersburg Apartments for Rent and Rentals - Walk Score”>http://www.walkscore.com/FL/St._Petersburg/Downtown</a></p>
<p>DS enjoyed his summer location close to Cambridge. Walkscore gave it 88/walk, 68/transit, 75/bike. That jives pretty well with his experience. He survived ok without a car, although I think there was sometimes shopping help from roommate’s car. He could walk to The T, about 10 min away. But usually he opted to ride his bike the 3 miles to work. </p>
<p>Sidebar - When we were all in rental car together, he new the area well to direct us… EXCEPT for crucial info that cars need to know, like one way streets and parking lot entrance/exits. </p>
<p>@dstark – about six blocks from the elementary school, eight from the high school, and twelve from the middle school. And about 10 from the university. Truly, I don’t understand how they compute those scores. My friends all rave about how walkable my neighborhood is. Heck, we even have a kayak-your-way-to-work day. </p>
<p>Arabrab, Ok…I don’t get it. My place’s walking score is way too low also. We are changing hospitals. Otherwise we would almost never need a car. The walking score is 69. </p>
<p>May not have enough bars. :)</p>
<p>Loved this! (Didn’t do it myself. Didn’t even do the popular bike to work day) - <a href=“Boulder – Boulder Daily Camera”>Boulder – Boulder Daily Camera;
<p>* Bus stops are either three or four blocks away, depending on direction. Not real sure what the heck would make it a lot more walkable?*</p>
<p>I wonder if it is the spacing of bus stops.
I live in ( probably same neighborhood) as Walk score and our address has a 83, but the bus stops are two blocks away, they used to be almost every block.
The transit score is 55, meaning there are 13 nearby routes.
Virtually everything noted is within .5 miles.
I actually had to re download the app as I had deleted it.
I like that they now mention problem areas.</p>
<p>Oh my- my area is ZERO score and the city about 15 minutes away is 19.</p>
<p>My mom lives in a rural area with my sister, and lost her license a few years back. She feels stuck, though has neighbors she likes and gets out a few times per week. . There is no local transport option, aside from one van costing $25 or so each way for a trip to the Dr. Between friends and my sister, she gets out, but certainly not as much as she’d like. </p>
<p>My grandmother lived in Britain, never drove, and took the buses everywhere from her village, till she could no longer pull herself up the steps. Then she felt stuck, though also had great neighbors who helped out. No matter what you do, it becomes problematic at a point, which is why senior housing, with a van, makes sense. However most of us boomers are not enthused about senior living. Keep active is the solution, but human bodies do wear down after a time, and stop working, causing this to become an issue. </p>
<p>Our walkability score is only 14. I thought it would be a lot better, less than a mile to grocery store, park, gym and restaurants. About a mile to a bus stop. But I guess they are looking for blocks, not miles.</p>
<p>I don’t actually understand the system, though. One of the most walkable cities I’ve seen, Kirkland, WA, which has many amenities close by, is rated at less than 50. Maybe you need to have access to sports arenas. arts and the opera? But most everything is right there, close by.</p>
<p>Someone living in a place where s/he walks a lot may retain strength, health, and fitness longer than someone living in a place where s/he drives everywhere.</p>
<p>I’m a block from a bus stop and it doesn’t mean the busses run when you need them to. Doesn’t mean you can climb up their stairs. Better is that I’m two blocks from CVS, some good restaurants and shops, and close to a small Whole Foods. But when we talk about old age, we can’t count on walking options. I’m thinking a mobility scooter would do it for short escapes. </p>
<p>I pick up a spry 82 year old for a weekly class. The class is around the corner from her, (one short, one long street.) What takes my family 7 minutes, she needs 30 minutes to walk. That’s reality.</p>
<p>It’s not just the neighborhood, it’s the home you live in.</p>
<p>When she was in her 80s (she lived to 90), my aunt got poor medical care because of the difficulty of getting down the steps of the townhouse she lived in to get out for medical appointments. She lived with another elderly family member who could drive, but he was not strong enough to securely help her get up and down those steps. So she would postpone office visits over and over, and as a result she ended up hospitalized several times for problems that probably could have been dealt with much more simply if she had been able to get to the doctor.</p>
<p>On the other hand, my daughter lived for three years in an apartment complex that also had many elderly residents (it was rent-controlled, and most had lived there for decades). They may not have been able to manage the subway or buses, but if someone was picking them up or if they were using a taxi, they could get right to the place where the car would stop without a single step impeding them. If my aunt had lived there – and if her doctor’s office had also been in an accessible building – I think she would have enjoyed much better health.</p>
<p>Post #33, my MIL was a brisk walker, she had a lot of bounce in her steps even in her 70s but toward the end of her life she was house bound, rarely got out. </p>
<p>Every single bus in NYC is wheelchair-accessible, with lifts and access to those with every kind of walker as well. And virtually all of them come at least every 10-15 minutes, usually much more frequently. Even for those who can still walk unassisted, the bus driver lowers the threshhold to the bus routinely to a very short step for passengers. I remember when the lifts were first installed, everyone hated them, but now no one blinks an eye when the bus stops to pick up a wheelchair/walker person and it takes just a couple of minutes to get them onboard.</p>
<p>My walk score is a 2. My inlaws address is given a 0. My oldest who lives in a major city gets a 98. I think my inlaws are better off in there 0 scored home. They still drive and are very healthy. FIL just bought a new car and is probably the best driver I know. He has always loved cars and driving. But we are aware that no one lives or drives forever. They have investigated moving into a town but for now they are happy. I think they can age gracefully in their present home( which they built as a retirement home when they were in their 50s). It is 1 story with easy access with wide halls and large doorways. No steps at all even at entry. They live on a small ranch and have a live on site property caretaker. They have had the same couple of 25 years and I don’t think they are going anywhere. They love my inlaws and will help them as they age. I think that is key. They have already in place caretakers plus family 30 minutes away in each direction. Good quality health care.
Whereas my parents lived in an area with a good walk score, good healthcare but they had limited mobility.my Mom did not go out of her house for the last 3 yrs of her life unless it was to the Dr.
One key thing I have noticed as I watch my family and neighbors age is that it helps tremendously if you have planned well financially for your future. </p>
<p>Can’t plan for everything in retirement. A few years ago in downtown St. Pete, with its 89 walk-index, an elderly gentleman was sitting in his wheelchair on covered stoop by front door of his apartment building watching an afternoon thunderstorm…lightning bolt hit him in his chair and he was killed.</p>