PDX Transit

Finding Walkable Neighborhoods

Thursday, 07. 19. 2007  –  Category: Walk

Walk Score helps you rate housing based upon its proximity to public transportation, shopping, parks, and schools.   The site has a pretty slick and intuitive user interface and utilizes google maps for displaying results. 

Using walk score takes 3 steps:

The higher the score, the better the walkability of the neighborhood. 

I tried out Walkable on my street address.  It gave my address a score of 16 out of 100, extremely poor.  A bit surprising as I live less than one mile from a Max stop, shopping at the Streets of Tanabourne, walking trails, and a couple of parks.  The website may have been having some problems as it listed only one grocery store in my area although their are at least 3 within a few miles of my house.   

In general, I think the website has a lot of potential and will provide useful information to newcomers to the Portland area and those seeking to drive less and walk more.  As transportation costs continue to rise, walkability will become a greater factor in where we choose to live. 

More information is available at Walk Score or http://www.walkscore.com/index.shtml

Related posts:

1. National Walk To School Day
2. Live traffic condition for Portland on your cell
3. Walking Into The 1950’s
4. An Easier Walk-About Portland
5. Transportation Film Festival