Hey, when I lived in exurban Geauga County, I walked almost 1,000 feet a day to the mailbox at the top of our driveway and back. :)

Interesting story about a recent rash of car-pedestrian accidents in Columbus.  But, of course, the Columbus Dispatch takes the easy story that puts the blame on pedestrians and doesn't even bother to examine the fact that we have designed our local roads & highways around the movement of motor vehicles and not the movement of people.

 

To be sure, there are stupid people who walk along or cross highways and streets at night, while wearing dark clothing.... or jaywalk.  But we have also designed a system that is (at it's roots) pedestrian unfrendly...once you walk out of your immediate neighborhood.

 

Into the crossfire

Pedestrians outside crosswalks and in dark areas or wearing dark clothing put themselves in deadly peril

By  Josh Jarman

The Columbus Dispatch Saturday February 4, 2012 10:03 AM

 

Laura Robinson said she no longer will jaywalk across Morse Road. The North Side resident watched a man die Thursday night after he darted across the busy roadway near Kingshill Drive and was struck by three vehicles.

 

Four signs warn pedestrians not to cross, yet Robinson, who lives in a nearby apartment, acknowledged that she and others regularly jaywalk there. Otherwise, they would have to walk about 100 yards in either direction to use a crosswalk.

 

Robinson recognizes the risks.

 

“People speed up and down Morse Road all the time,” she said. “It’s just crazy.”

 

Read more at: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/04/into-the-crossfire.html

Americans Want a Walkable Neighborhood, Not a Big House

 

http://www.good.is/post/most-americans-want-a-walkable-neighborhood-not-a-big-house/

Lakewood rocks, er walks!

 

"Walk Score ranks #1LKWD as most walkable city in Ohio. http://t.co/4rGQIB9PRS http://t.co/eXXOM7MIA3"

Here's the full list:

 

http://www.walkscore.com/OH

 

Not surprised that Cleveland Heights is ranked #7.  But kind of confused by East Cleveland's ranking.  Yes the city is "walkable," but what amenities are people really walking to?

Lakewood rocks, er walks!

 

"Walk Score ranks #1LKWD as most walkable city in Ohio. http://t.co/4rGQIB9PRS http://t.co/eXXOM7MIA3"

 

Cool, although it is sad 64 wins most walkable city in Ohio. Things are much better on a neighborhood level throughout the state though.

 

I do have a problem with Walkscorr though as it gives places like the mentor mall a walkscore of 82!

^^ they count even the crappiest of convenient stores as grocery stores. Fun site but majorly flawed IMO.

Live malls always do well due to their store variety. Imagine back when malls weren't mostly just clothing, housewares and jewelry -- All those pet shops, electronics stores, pharmacies, supermarkets, arcades and such that used to be in malls would probably blow Walkscore's top.

From what I've seen some places get artificially inflated walkscores because crappy stores get counted and towns with a lot of small businesses not listed in google tend to get artificially low scores. Still it can give you a vague idea of the area. If a neighborhood gets a score above 75 it's going to be at least somewhat walkable and if one gets a score below 25, might as well assume everyone is going to be driving.

Lakewood rocks, er walks!

 

"Walk Score ranks #1LKWD as most walkable city in Ohio. http://t.co/4rGQIB9PRS http://t.co/eXXOM7MIA3"

Congratulations, Lakewood! (and, in turn, Cleveland.)  But realize that Norwood literally sits in the very center of Cincinnati.  (I ought to know; I live there.)  :wink:

Why are Cleveland 'burbs so terrible? Is it just because there's a lot more of them? You'd think Columbus' would be the worst, but Columbus only has 3 in the worst 20 (scores: Pickerington 14, Dublin 17 and Hillard 20). I can see why Cincinnati's wouldn't be so bad (hills, old). I mean, Green and Solon: 8?

Solon barely has sidewalks, no identifiable town center, and really, no place to walk to even if you were so inclined. I'm surprised it scored as highly as it did.

okay, there's something not right about the walkscore list. Does anybody remember a couple of years ago when this was posted here? I remember distinctly that Painesville was in the upper 40's--I believe it was 48 to be exact; now it's only 37. Have these scores been revised recently? I think some other towns have changed as well (well, maybe not Solon :-( I guess they all move around in their Range Rovers).

I've never been to either Green or Solon so I don't know how bad they were.

Solon barely has sidewalks, no identifiable town center, and really, no place to walk to even if you were so inclined. I'm surprised it scored as highly as it did.

 

So like Boardman or Lewis Center. Man I bet Lewis Center would have got like a 2 but it's not even incorporated so it didn't make the list.

as a matter of fact things have changed--check out the first post by Keith M. in 2011 in which he states that Chicago is #4 and Minnapolis is #9--it's not the same in the new list. I suspect they've all been altered to some degree. What's up with that?? http://www.walkscore.com/cities-and-neighborhoods/

 

"Walkscore released their 2011 Ten Most  Walkable Cities rankings and the Great Lakes made a showing with Chicago at #4 (typical) and Minneapolis at #9 (I knew they made some serious improvements, but wow). No city in the region has the density of Chicago at their disposal, but they do have under-utilized, walkable urban business districts whose potential has unfortunately largely been left ignored. No Ohio city made enough improvements to squeeze their way in to #10."

 

Read more: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,26125.0.html#ixzz2l20Q7pHG

Different methodology perhaps.

Different methodology perhaps.

I'd love to know what that is. As a matter of fact I think even Lakewood's score was a little higher on the older list.

I'm sure they changed the parameters in their black box. Also, Google Maps results have certainly changed somewhat (which I think is what they use for their input).

 

Good luck finding out the formulas/algorithms they use. Keeping those a secret is what keeps other people from copying their model, or improving upon it.

Maybe rivers, walls, elevation changes and fences are reflected now.

Geez!  Exactly what is it about "Norwood, Ohio" (alias, the very center of Cincinnati) that you fellas don't understand?  (Like Lakewood=64/Norwood=61)  :? :wink: 

I don't think anyone is saying Norwood isn't walkable.

The scoring has definitely changed and I honestly haven't found anywhere that I think has gone up, so maybe they've shifted to a generally stricter scale all around.  For example, I know from personal experience living in Akron's Downtown that Downtown is a more livable neighborhood today than it was in 2009, and yet in 2009, when I was moving to Akron, the WalkScore of my apartment building in Downtown was a 92.  Now the same address gets an 85.  This is with almost nothing nearby closing and many new restaurants and other businesses opening up within walking distance of the place since then.

 

I wish they were more transparent about their methodology as well.  For example, one gap in my old apartment's WalkScore coverage was that it did not have a full-service grocery store (just a convenience store) within easy walking distance.  Aldi was about 0.9 miles, which is a long walk for most people carrying groceries.  If they changed their methodology so that grocery store coverage was more important, that could explain the drop in score.  Alternatively, if they added entirely new categories of businesses that they hadn't thought of the first time (or that Google couldn't pick up and categorize separately back then but can now), and Downtown was missing those, that would do it as well.

The most likely solution is for someone to make an open-source WalkScore competitor. I don't think WalkScore publishing their methodology is likely to ever happen.

My house has actually gone up in the last couple years, but I think it has to do with a few smaller stores getting added to Google's data that weren't there previously.

CEOs for Cities ‏@CEOsforCities  19m

 

Report: Businesses do better in a walkable areas than in areas attracting mainly drive-to patronage @GOOD

 

http://ow.ly/rflvr

Car-centric sprawl hurts social mobility but walkable, transit-friendly neighborhoods increase it:

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/57764440-90/areas-compact-costs-growth.html.csp

 

A Leading Expert Shares his Vision for a Transit Friendly Northeast Ohio

 

15 MAY 2014 NO COMMENT

 

This post was written by Jason Segedy, head of the Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study — Akron’s metropolitan planning organization. It was originally published at his blog Notes from the Underground.

 

Marc Lefkowitz of GreenCityBlueLake was kind enough to ask me to share my views on the future of public transit in Northeast Ohio with him.

 

Because I think it such an important topic, I’d like to share some of the same thoughts here at Notes from the Underground.

 

Q: Do we need a big, transformative vision for transit in Northeast Ohio, or do we manage the best we can within our current realities and chip away at needs as they arise?

 

I think we need a little bit of both:

 

I think we do need a big-picture vision for transit, both at the metro-by-metro (Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Youngstown) level, but also at the regional (12 county level).

 

The key elements of the big-picture vision should involve the following: a) how can we improve cross-county express service between our core cities and our job centers – this should include express bus in the short term and commuter rail in the longer term; b) how can we improve cross-county local service for shorter trips (i.e. going from Bedford to Macedonia); c) how can we make transferring/transitioning from one RTA to the other as seamless, easy, and convenient as possible; and d) how can we improve the sharing of services (and service) between RTAs so that their county sales tax based sources of revenue are not such an impediment to providing service across county lines.

 

http://rustwire.com/2014/05/15/a-leading-expert-shares-his-vision-for-a-transit-friendly-northeast-ohio/

A Leading Expert Shares his Vision for a Transit Friendly Northeast Ohio

 

15 MAY 2014 NO COMMENT

 

This post was written by Jason Segedy, head of the Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study — Akron’s metropolitan planning organization. It was originally published at his blog Notes from the Underground.

 

Marc Lefkowitz of GreenCityBlueLake was kind enough to ask me to share my views on the future of public transit in Northeast Ohio with him.

 

Because I think it such an important topic, I’d like to share some of the same thoughts here at Notes from the Underground.

 

Q: Do we need a big, transformative vision for transit in Northeast Ohio, or do we manage the best we can within our current realities and chip away at needs as they arise?

 

I think we need a little bit of both:

 

I think we do need a big-picture vision for transit, both at the metro-by-metro (Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Youngstown) level, but also at the regional (12 county level).

 

The key elements of the big-picture vision should involve the following: a) how can we improve cross-county express service between our core cities and our job centers – this should include express bus in the short term and commuter rail in the longer term; b) how can we improve cross-county local service for shorter trips (i.e. going from Bedford to Macedonia); c) how can we make transferring/transitioning from one RTA to the other as seamless, easy, and convenient as possible; and d) how can we improve the sharing of services (and service) between RTAs so that their county sales tax based sources of revenue are not such an impediment to providing service across county lines.

 

http://rustwire.com/2014/05/15/a-leading-expert-shares-his-vision-for-a-transit-friendly-northeast-ohio/

 

Agree about 300% with the suburb-suburb and intercounty parts.  Though Bedford to Macedonia may not be the best example.  Solon to Independence may be better, RTA's own trip planner requires a trip downtown at over two hours and it's a 15 minute drive.

 

Summit County's extended it's SR-8 route north to the casino, but when I leave late I still see RTA passengers hiking south from Alexander. 

I rode down a median parkway bike lane on which the physical setup demanded that I dismount and walk over to a pushbutton at every intersection.  I couldn't help thinking that motorists would never be treated with that disregard.

Walkable cities have an average of 38% higher GDP per capita than the rest. #FootTrafficAhead http://t.co/HSLbt4v2pp http://t.co/sUKz1miyb8

The Bright Future of the Pedestrian Bridge

Top engineer Ted Zoli says the era of shared-use structures has arrived.

ERIC JAFFE @e_jaffe Jan 30, 2015

 

A decade ago, it was unusual to design a bridge with space for pedestrians or cyclists, says Ted Zoli, National Bridge Chief Engineer for the architecture and civil engineering firm HNTB. Today it's unusual not to give these modes space—or, in some cases, the entire structure. Even bridges that seem primarily suited for vehicle traffic must include what Zoli calls, in the parlance of engineers, "shared-use path facilities"; the new Tappan Zee Bridge will have one, he points out, as will a bridge HNTB is designing on I-95.

 

"Now every major project I'm working on has a shared-use path—a bicycle- or pedestrian-defined path—integrated into the design," says Zoli. "I would say the future of pedestrian bridges is significant in the practice of bridge design in urban areas."

 

When Zoli talks bridges, people listen. He earned a MacArthur genius grant back in 2009, and in a lengthy Esquire profile that followed, was named "the engineer of the moment." (The title doubles as an inside joke, as "moment" is a physics term describing force at a given point.) He's compared bridge design to poetry in the sense that both should try to do a whole lot with very little.

 

MORE:

http://www.citylab.com/design/2015/01/the-bright-future-of-the-pedestrian-bridge/385016/

Yes, that nasty nasty pedestrian who "knows his rights." 1935-era shaming of uppity ppl on foot http://t.co/OgdTkxzgeu

America's past is a foreign country.....

 

When the Sidewalks Were Wider Than the Streets

Compare footage of New York's 23rd Street, shot by Thomas Edison in 1901, to today.

THE EDITORS Feb 20, 2015

 

In this striking short film from City Walk, footage of a busy New York street filmed by the Thomas Edison Company in 1901 makes for a stark juxtaposition to the same stretch of road today. Can you spot the difference?

 

http://www.citylab.com/design/2015/02/when-the-sidewalks-were-wider-than-the-streets/385718/?utm_source=SFFB

Back in 1901, Boston knew its priorities for shoveling snow.

Where I live (Northfield Village) there should be a quite high walkability score, except when there is snow cover.  The sidewalks on 8 are right up against the street and they get plowed under.

Love this picture!!! Pedestrians are often smarter than planners....

 

#streetoftheday 2fer: Santorini, Greece....

 

 

Love this picture!!! Pedestrians are often smarter than planners....

 

 

Russian?  Might be different in the winter....

Russian?  Might be different in the winter....

 

Maybe. But my personal experience is they view such luxuries as for wimps.

Russian?  Might be different in the winter....

 

Maybe. But my personal experience is they view such luxuries as for wimps.

 

Is that a stand alone structure, or is it connected to a train station?

Then there's this thing  :-D

 

Is that a stand alone structure, or is it connected to a train station?

 

Appears to be stand-alone.

 

 

Then there's this thing  :-D

 

 

That's whacked.

Is that a stand alone structure, or is it connected to a train station?

 

Appears to be stand-alone.

 

 

Then I truly don't see the point.

 

On the other hand, it's completely empty.  I wonder if it's closed for repair....

Or people are smarter than we give them credit for. We are people, not gerbils.

Or people are smarter than we give them credit for. We are people, not gerbils.

 

Everyone is comfortable with different things.  Some would be attracted by the lack of crowding, some put off by the semi-confined space. Others might be crossing between two places "down picture" and the walk would be closer to the intersection.  No one in there suggests it's closed.

 

Or......it's a subway station, and the walk is designed so that people can exit/enter on either side of the street despite there only being one down-tunnel.

 

Excuse the mental gymnastics, it makes a nice break from PPAP data fog.....

 

Actually, stand-alone pedestrian flyovers are very common in many countries -- it's not uncommon for them to be covered, but probably rare for them to be completely enclosed. The biggest inconvenience  -- and probably the main reason people avoid them -- is the steps. That's a hindrance especially to the elderly, but also to kids and large groups. Also, such flyovers only reinforce the idea that Car is King, and pedestrians must go out of their way to cross the street.

Perhaps there are times when the crosswalk is closed.

Perhaps there are times when the crosswalk is closed.

 

Doesn't look like an actual crosswalk - just one created by the pedestrians.