Discuss Detroit » Archives - July 2007 » New Website that calculated walkability « Previous Next »
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Apbest
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Username: Apbest

Post Number: 596
Registered: 03-2006
Posted on Monday, July 30, 2007 - 4:44 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

http://www.walkscore.com/

The website calculates how walkable your hood is. The only problem I have is that this doesnt take into account how conducive the streetscape is to walking or things like transportation and street-fronted development, street lighting, street trees, bike-friendliness or other things that increase quality of life and walkability

Downtown (1225 Woodward): 88
Midtown - North Cass Corridor (55 West Canfield): 95
Midtown - Brush Park (John R and Edmund): 74
New Center - 3011 W Grand Blvd (Fisher Building): 88
Indian Village - Seminole and Jefferson: 46

SUBURBS

Downtown Birmingham (Old Woodward and Maple): 92
Downtown Ferndale (9 Mile & Woodward): 75
Downtown Royal Oak (Main and 4th): 89
West Bloomfield: Orchard Lake and Lone Pine: 62
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Apbest
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Username: Apbest

Post Number: 597
Registered: 03-2006
Posted on Monday, July 30, 2007 - 4:49 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

It should also be noted that I played around with most of the north midtown cross streets with Cass Ave an d it looks like the most walkable intersection in that hood is Cass and Canfield
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Livernoisyard
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Username: Livernoisyard

Post Number: 3541
Registered: 10-2004
Posted on Monday, July 30, 2007 - 4:55 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Cass Corridor, eh? Is easy walking distance to the party er... deposit redemption stores a factor?

Why would anybody even write some bogus program like this? The weighting of factors and the algorithm are pretty subjective, I'd bet.

It's a joke, right?
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Bearinabox
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Username: Bearinabox

Post Number: 244
Registered: 04-2006
Posted on Monday, July 30, 2007 - 5:00 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

For the purposes of this score, it seems to make no difference whether you're walking on a sidewalk along a residential street or on the shoulder of a 55 mph state highway. Which is probably how Orchard Lake and Lone Pine scored higher than Indian Village.
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1953
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Username: 1953

Post Number: 1435
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Monday, July 30, 2007 - 5:01 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Hamtramck is uber-walkable, but my house only received a 75.
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Danindc
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Username: Danindc

Post Number: 2916
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Monday, July 30, 2007 - 5:04 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

It seems like it just calculates the score based on how much "stuff" is within a certain radius.
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Gumby
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Username: Gumby

Post Number: 1593
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Monday, July 30, 2007 - 5:06 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

not very accurate. my neighborhood only ranked a 32. A lot of the stuff nearby me didn't even show up.
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Focusonthed
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Username: Focusonthed

Post Number: 1193
Registered: 02-2006
Posted on Monday, July 30, 2007 - 5:35 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I have heard of this, and it usually counts 7-11s and liquor stores as "grocery stores" and things like that. My neighborhood in Chicago got an 86, and it is exponentially more "walkable" than the Corridor.

State and Division in Chicago scored a 97. Compare that to Cass and Canfield.
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Livernoisyard
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Username: Livernoisyard

Post Number: 3544
Registered: 10-2004
Posted on Monday, July 30, 2007 - 5:40 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

State and Division probably had an abundance of party stores, check cashers, and bike racks. Maybe even a couple of wig stores and pawn shops. And a bus stop on each corner.
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Charlottepaul
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Username: Charlottepaul

Post Number: 1334
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Monday, July 30, 2007 - 7:08 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Downtown Detroit seems to beat downtown Charlotte, NC (1 West Trade St, 28202)!
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Detroitplanner
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Username: Detroitplanner

Post Number: 1341
Registered: 04-2006
Posted on Monday, July 30, 2007 - 7:45 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Lame! It says my neighborhood gets a 68, but it also says that Phoenix Theatres is located at Michigan Ave in Dearborn!
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Jimaz
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Username: Jimaz

Post Number: 2778
Registered: 12-2005
Posted on Monday, July 30, 2007 - 7:53 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

quote:

It seems like it just calculates the score based on how much "stuff" is within a certain radius.

Yeah. That seems to be what it's doing.

It would be fun to try to find a place with the lowest score.
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Detroit313
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Username: Detroit313

Post Number: 416
Registered: 02-2006
Posted on Monday, July 30, 2007 - 7:54 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Wow, want to see a perfect 100???

60 Columbus Circle
New York, NY 10018

Time Warner Building.

BTW, my condo in Detroit was more walkable than the apartment I'm renting in Brooklyn. 86/84 <313>
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Andylinn
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Username: Andylinn

Post Number: 477
Registered: 04-2006
Posted on Monday, July 30, 2007 - 7:55 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

my apartment is an 80, campus martius park is an 84 (300 woodward.) interesting... I can WALK to a good grocery store from my apartment... (UNIVERSITY) but from campus martius, you'd at least need a bike to get to harbor town or something...
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Detroit313
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Username: Detroit313

Post Number: 417
Registered: 02-2006
Posted on Monday, July 30, 2007 - 7:56 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

And oh if you want to see a perfect "0"

102 Christina Dr.
Columbia, TN 38401

Old parents house! Please no junk mail!

<313>
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Ecksie
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Username: Ecksie

Post Number: 1
Registered: 06-2007
Posted on Monday, July 30, 2007 - 8:00 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

http://www.walkscore.com/get-s core.shtml?street=&loc=kyle%2C +SD&go=Go
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Jimaz
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Username: Jimaz

Post Number: 2779
Registered: 12-2005
Posted on Monday, July 30, 2007 - 8:17 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

There's an "Old NO Flesh Road" on that map. I wonder what the story is behind that name?!
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Fishtoes2000
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Username: Fishtoes2000

Post Number: 259
Registered: 06-2005
Posted on Monday, July 30, 2007 - 9:27 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

My parent's house on the outskirts of Rochester scored a 22.

My sister's house in northern Rochester Hills scored a 5. Seems fair.

My Downtown Royal Oak office snagged a 92.
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Iheartthed
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Username: Iheartthed

Post Number: 1242
Registered: 04-2006
Posted on Monday, July 30, 2007 - 9:36 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

My address in NYC scored a 97.

My parents address in Detroit scored a 35.
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Detourdetroit
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Username: Detourdetroit

Post Number: 329
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - 8:12 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

It's funny, I live 200 feet from the Detroit epicenter, Canfield and Cass. What's so sad is that there is no urban fabric on any of those corners.

For Detroit, I would agree that this neighborhood is pretty walkable, but it's the quality of the environment that has so far to go...

Interesting! Thanks for sharing
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Scs100
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Username: Scs100

Post Number: 1294
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - 8:18 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

My house scored a 51, yet if I go up half a block it scores an 82.
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Johnlodge
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Username: Johnlodge

Post Number: 1443
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - 8:30 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I lived by Orchard Lake and Lone Pine at one time. There is nothing walkable about it. Unless you like walking from the gas station to the strip mall.
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Iheartthed
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Username: Iheartthed

Post Number: 1251
Registered: 04-2006
Posted on Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - 8:39 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

"Unless you like walking from the gas station to the strip mall."

Well, using the apparent algorithm from this app would make a strip mall very walkable...
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Andylinn
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Username: Andylinn

Post Number: 480
Registered: 04-2006
Posted on Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - 10:02 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

yeah, this site seems to get some things right, but is mainly BS. Walkability includes more than simply proximity to stores...

one of my jobs, book beat book store (one of Metro Detroit's last independent book stores) scores a 60/100... may sound low, but it is actually WAY too high...

http://www.walkscore.com/get-s core.shtml?street=26010+greenf ield+Rd%2C+oak+park%2C+michiga n&go=Go

that is the LEAST walkable area i've ever seen... walking accross greenfield road during rush hour is not only dangerous, it can take literally 15 minutes... and the parking lot between greenfield road and most of the stores is about the size of a football field... there is no greenery... it sucks! how is this walkable at all? yet it still gets a 60%... BS...
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Ray
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Username: Ray

Post Number: 964
Registered: 06-2004
Posted on Wednesday, August 01, 2007 - 6:45 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Palo Alto scored a perfect 100. I love Palo Alto. I work there 2 weeks a month and wish that people from Detroit could spend time there to understand what is possible. I can't understand how they can have walkable communities in Silicon Valley but not in Detroit
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Hudkina
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Username: Hudkina

Post Number: 33
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Wednesday, August 01, 2007 - 8:21 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

My house in Downtown Trenton got a score of 63/100. That's higher than it really is. I do walk to the dime store, the corner store, a diner, and several nearby parks, but I need a car for just about everything else.

Interestingly, they listed downtown Wyandotte as getting a lower score of 60/100.

I'm sorry but if I lived in Downtown Wyandotte, I could easily go about without a car, at least more so than where I live in Trenton.

I haven't been to every downtown in the Tri-County area, but I would say that Wyandotte easily has one of the greatest mixtures of "every-day" shopping as well as entertainment destinations in a true walkable community.

They should base it on only the nearest of each type of store, and only count those within a mile. Most people don't want to walk more than a mile, so there's no point in listing the grocery store if it is 3.5 miles away.

(Message edited by hudkina on August 01, 2007)
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Johnnny5
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Username: Johnnny5

Post Number: 550
Registered: 06-2005
Posted on Wednesday, August 01, 2007 - 8:32 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

My place scored a big 0! 1761 East Dawson (Actually the address for a neighboring home.)
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Tomoh
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Username: Tomoh

Post Number: 309
Registered: 11-2004
Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 11:55 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Ray, I see you've never been to Ann Arbor. I think many others in Detroit, however, have.
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Detroit313
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Username: Detroit313

Post Number: 425
Registered: 02-2006
Posted on Sunday, August 05, 2007 - 12:04 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

As the great Shaquille Oneal once said......

I think this course is culturally bias! :-)

"Blue Chips"

<313>
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French777
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Username: French777

Post Number: 195
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Sunday, August 05, 2007 - 9:19 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Downtown Rochester got an 85

but my house in Rochester hills got a 48
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Miss_cleo
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Username: Miss_cleo

Post Number: 738
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Sunday, August 05, 2007 - 1:52 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

My address could not be found!
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Steelworker
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Username: Steelworker

Post Number: 953
Registered: 02-2004
Posted on Sunday, August 05, 2007 - 3:08 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

because it sucks
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Patrick
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Username: Patrick

Post Number: 4776
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Sunday, August 05, 2007 - 3:33 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Miss Cleo, I don't think cardboard boxes are counted.
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Tayshaun22
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Username: Tayshaun22

Post Number: 371
Registered: 02-2005
Posted on Sunday, August 05, 2007 - 4:53 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

85 for my house in Allen Park.

Suburbs > Detroit
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Miss_cleo
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Username: Miss_cleo

Post Number: 739
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Sunday, August 05, 2007 - 6:11 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

but I sure love my cardboard box on 35 acres
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Crawford
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Username: Crawford

Post Number: 104
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Tuesday, August 14, 2007 - 1:53 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Cleo, double-wide trailers haven't yet been added to the system, though I hear they're coming soon. You'll undoutedly get bonus points for 35 acres of rusting cars and Michigan Militia training grounds.
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Saintme
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Username: Saintme

Post Number: 52
Registered: 08-2006
Posted on Tuesday, August 14, 2007 - 2:15 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Hudkina - I 2nd your sentiments on downtown Wyandotte.

My boyfriend's home in New Boston scored a 2. Beautiful area but there is NOTHING out there.
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Miss_cleo
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Username: Miss_cleo

Post Number: 788
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Tuesday, August 14, 2007 - 2:49 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

WTF is your problem, I dont live in a trailer or have rusting cars on my property....but if you want to paint with such a broad brush, Detroit sucks, is ugly as sin, full of crime and stupid lazy people.
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Detroitbill
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Username: Detroitbill

Post Number: 285
Registered: 09-2006
Posted on Tuesday, August 14, 2007 - 3:16 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Now Cleo be nice, you are being criticized for no good reason I agree , Northern Michigan is great but where I am at in Detroit is not ugly - its beautiful, crime is low and the people are far from stupid and lazy,, I dont think many of them got their masters and doctorates being stupid and lazy, nor would the many hardworking people in the area who do not have these degrees appreciate the slander. To blanket everyone in a city like that is as unfair as you being criticized. Two wrongs do not make a right.
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Miss_cleo
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Username: Miss_cleo

Post Number: 791
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Tuesday, August 14, 2007 - 3:18 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

yes, I know, I am sorry. But damn, stop attacking me for no reason! I said nothing that deserved the snide comments I received.
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Jt1
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Username: Jt1

Post Number: 9813
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Tuesday, August 14, 2007 - 3:28 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Cleo - I would suggest trying addresses (or just your street) around your house.

The stupid thing abotu this 'calculator' is that all things in a group are equal. TomBoy groceries is the same as a large grocer or upscale grocer. It also assumes an area of strip malls is as walkable as a true downtown.

It's a neat tool but to say 'walkability near my home is in the 80s is silly when I randomly checked other areas in more walkable cities that came in lower. Add in that the DB of business looks pretty outdated.

Neat tool but there is no reality in it.

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