Walkability

My house has a walk score of 60.  What's a walk score?  I'm glad you asked!  As the website explains, your Walk Score answers two questions:  "What can I do to improve my personal health?" and "What can I do to improve the health of the planet?"  Two pretty important questions!  Your walk score takes into account where you live and determines how far you have to walk to certain amenities.  With that information, a walk score is assigned.

From my house, I can walk to the library, church, the coffee shop, three parks, the ice cream shop and the gas station in 10 minutes or less.  If I'm really ambitious, I can walk further and hit the grocery store, a major shopping area and several local restaurants.  For me, that's a pretty walkable neighborhood.  If you live in the Dudgeon-Monroe neighborhood your score shoots up to 70 or more!  My old neighborhood on the near east side has a walk score of 75!  And of course, if you live downtown, you can expect and even higher walk score.  Add biking to your repertoire of transportation and you can cast an even wider net.  You can find out your Bike Score at Walk Score, too.

Proximity to amenities is an important aspect of how people decide where to live.  It's especially significant in an active community like Madison.  The near west side and the near east side neighborhoods lend themselves to walking and biking.  These neighborhoods are also within close commuting distance to the University and downtown.  As the Walk Score website says, Drive less. Live more.  What's your Walk Score?