Mar. 17: What’s your walk score?

Victor stumbled across this web site today: Walk Score. It’s really interesting and also kind of pathetic and sad (to me). Here’s how they describe what they do:

Walk Score helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. Walk Score measures how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle—not how pretty the area is for walking.

Yeah, I think if we were scoring on “pretty for walking,” that our neighborhood would get a high score—lots of trees, good sidewalks, gorgeous views of Mt. Hood—but-cept please don’t walk past the yard across the street from us or we’ll flunk big-time.*

And here’s what your Walk Score results mean:

Your Walk Score is a number between 0 and 100. Here are general guidelines for interpreting your score:

• 90–100 = Walkers' Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car.
• 70–89 = Very Walkable: It's possible to get by without owning a car.
• 50–69 = Somewhat Walkable: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car.
• 25–49 = Car-Dependent: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must.
• 0–24 = Car-Dependent (Driving Only): Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!

No surprise that our address way out here in disturbia scores a whopping 29. That’s the part I find pathetic and sad. I love the city and even though I’m perfectly happy with our neighborhood, reminders that I live not very close to the city make me cry sad clown tears. Also, many of the nearby businesses that give us that 29 are—as far as I know—either nonexistent or not actual business addresses. The nearest movie theater listed is one that has been torn down for many moons. I’m thinking this site is Zillow-like in its accuracy. It’s still kinda cool though.

I predict Dan’s address will get a nice, high score. ♥Sherilee♥, yours will likely fall close to zero, won’t it? I’m curious to see what y’all get—please post your score in a comment.

* I’m not complaining about their yard; there are days in the spring and summer when it makes ours look like a well-maintained city park. If not for them we’d be the shithole yard of Addington Place.