Walkability of Atlanta neighborhoods (Reynolds, White: live, shop, safe)

[arjay57]

I'm not always in agreement with these "walk scores" but this list is probably roughly accurate.

Atlanta Neighborhoods | Walk Score

Overall the ATL is in the top 20 among U.S. cities.

http://www.walkscore.com/rankings/

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I'm not always in agreement with these "walk scores" but this list is probably roughly accurate.

Atlanta Neighborhoods | Walk Score

Overall the ATL is in the top 20 among U.S. cities.

Most Walkable Cities in the United States and Canada on Walk Score

There are some walkable neighborhoods. Downtown, Midtown, Poncey-Highland, Inman Park, Candler Park, and Edgewood all have modern amenities within a short walk.

[noah]

I am not surprised. Despite what we read on here other cities as a whole generally are not super walker friendly either with a few exceptions. I am surprised the neighborhood with the biggest population (Midtown) didn't score higher, thanks to Midtown Alliance's work over the years it is very walkable.

Originally Posted by arjay57

I'm not always in agreement with these "walk scores" but this list is probably roughly accurate.

Atlanta Neighborhoods | Walk Score

Overall the ATL is in the top 20 among U.S. cities.

Most Walkable Cities in the United States and Canada on Walk Score

[ATL Urbanist]

Originally Posted by noah

I am not surprised. Despite what we read on here other cities as a whole generally are not super walker friendly either with a few exceptions. I am surprised the neighborhood with the biggest population (Midtown) didn't score higher, thanks to Midtown Alliance's work over the years it is very walkable.

Yeah, I wonder what's bringing the Midtown score down. There is a pretty vast, single-use (residential) area of the historic Midtown neighborhood and also Ansley Park/Sherwood Forest, so that might be a factor.

I'd knock ViHi down a couple of notches because of the uneven sidewalk pavers on many streets. We lived there for a couple of years when our kid was born and I tripped over those things all the time. And forget pushing a stroller on them -- you're better off taking your chances in the street. Sorry to be a grump about it, but uneven pavers really get me riled up.

Walkscore has some problems with its system in that it grades by proximity and not by the reality of how safe or pleasant the walking experience is (unless they've changed since I last explored it). But it's a good tool to use as long as you follow it up with real world experience to get the full story on how walkable a neighborhood really is.

My favorite places to walk in Atlanta:
Downtown
Central part of Midtown along the Peachtree Street corridor and including Tech Square
Old Fourth Ward, particularly the parts near Freedom Path
Cabbagetown/Reynoldstown
Inman Park and Little Five Points

Least favorite:
West Midtown around White Provisions. That place needs some serious improvement, starting with the need for a sidewalk on the east side of Howell Mill.

[arjay57]

It's interesting to see how they rank the walkability of various neighborhoods.

The top 30 or so I can easily understand.

But I might not have guessed that Ridgedale Park, Mechanicsville, South Tuxedo Park, Kirkwood and Lake Claire all come in at the same level.

[ATL_GUY]

I'm not a fan of the walk score thing either and they're not always accurate. Sometimes I'm puzzled at how they come up with their conclusions. Top 20 is not bad but I'm still questioning this. I'm sure when they say Atlanta, they're only talking about the actual city and not the suburbs. The city itself is actually walkable for the most part except for few areas. The suburbs is another story. I still would like to see Atlanta move up on that list and be in top 10. I don't see, though, how a city with a subway system and public transportation can only rank number 20. Los Angeles has to be the least walkable major city I have ever seen. It's like a huge suburb.

[ATL_GUY]

Originally Posted by ATL Urbanist

Yeah, I wonder what's bringing the Midtown score down. There is a pretty vast, single-use (residential) area of the historic Midtown neighborhood and also Ansley Park/Sherwood Forest, so that might be a factor.

I'd knock ViHi down a couple of notches because of the uneven sidewalk pavers on many streets. We lived there for a couple of years when our kid was born and I tripped over those things all the time. And forget pushing a stroller on them -- you're better off taking your chances in the street. Sorry to be a grump about it, but uneven pavers really get me riled up.

Walkscore has some problems with its system in that it grades by proximity and not by the reality of how safe or pleasant the walking experience is (unless they've changed since I last explored it). But it's a good tool to use as long as you follow it up with real world experience to get the full story on how walkable a neighborhood really is.

My favorite places to walk in Atlanta:
Downtown
Central part of Midtown along the Peachtree Street corridor and including Tech Square
Old Fourth Ward, particularly the parts near Freedom Path
Cabbagetown/Reynoldstown
Inman Park and Little Five Points

Least favorite:
West Midtown around White Provisions. That place needs some serious improvement, starting with the need for a sidewalk on the east side of Howell Mill.

Totally agree about Howell Mill. That is such a busy area and definitely could use sidewalks.

[K-SawDude]

Originally Posted by ATL_GUY

Totally agree about Howell Mill. That is such a busy area and definitely could use sidewalks.

As a resident in this neighborhood, I agree completely. But we can't do anything to fix and add sidewalks in the neighborhood unless our elected officials feel political pressure.

So please WRITE them--both your councilmember and Mayor Reed. The pedestrian advocacy group PEDS has a lot of useful advice on how to proceed here: PEDS » Fix Atlanta’s Sidewalks

[AtlJan]

A little skewed--Peachtree Heights West gets a 71, Peachtree Battle Alliance gets a 41. That doesn't make much sense. Some areas of PHW have no sidewalks and no walkability to shopping and nightlife. Almost all of Peachtree Battle Alliance has walkability to all of these and sidewalks on major roads.

[ATL_GUY]

Originally Posted by K-SawDude

As a resident in this neighborhood, I agree completely. But we can't do anything to fix and add sidewalks in the neighborhood unless our elected officials feel political pressure.

So please WRITE them--both your councilmember and Mayor Reed. The pedestrian advocacy group PEDS has a lot of useful advice on how to proceed here: PEDS » Fix Atlanta’s Sidewalks

Thanks for the info.