Gas Price Check...

[CanadianChris 0]

Mine is 30, but that can't be very accurate, given that it missed the Wal-Mart, the grocery store and the multiplex theatre about a mile away.

[Steviekick 0]

Mine was 20. That's pretty accurate as there is nothing around me.

 

Ironically, it missed the elementary school that is at the end of my street.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

I got a 57. I don't think it's realistically that high...it lists for "clothing and music" a single men's clothing store that isn't even open for business anymore. For "movies and theater" it lists an outdoor theater that is only open seasonally with very limited showtimes, and for grocery stores it lists a Stop & Go (which I don't think even carries milk or bread). Seems like their criteria isn't too strict.

[NoCalMike 0]

I scored a 31...the problem though is a lot of stores you can walk to and back from if you are just browsing, but if you are buying more then a couple bags worth of stuff, you are going to need to drive anyway. I could technically walk to the grocery store but would feel akward pushing a grocery cart full of food down the road to my house.

 

25 - 50 = Not Walkable: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

I scored something in the early 50s, and my dream location scored mid-60s. Of course, my dream location sits on top of a subway line so I suppose I care more about fast mass transit than being able to walk to things.

 

Part of that, and it's something the site didn't take into account, is that I live in a place where the weather is unbearable seven months of the year. I would walk in CanadianChris' extreme colds any day after three summers here and heading into my fourth.

[Guest Smues]

My apartment got a 57, which sounds about right. There's a Carrs(Safeway) half a mile away which probably contributes greatly to the score. Several places to eat, and parks and schools nearby too, but no real places to shop besides the grocery store. And it says the movie theater is 2.5 miles away, but it's really closer to 5.

 

The sad part is my work got a 91. No wonder I practically live here!

[Red Baron 0]

An 18. It is a bit of a hike to get to a store, business. Took me 20 minutes walking to Staples from my place that includes cutting through a park.

[treble 0]

I got 25, but it's completely inaccurate when talking about grocery and hardware stores. All the ones they have listed are in the States, which isn't too convenient.

[fazzle 0]

I scored a 5

 

Which isn't too surprising, considering that you'd have to walk over 2 miles just to get out of my neighborhood.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

$3.09 - Northeastern NJ

$3.35 - Northeastern PA

$3.79 - Palisades Parkway, lower upstate NY

[Firestarter 0]

Pardon me, Marney.

 

Fresh water.

 

Salt gunks everything up.

I will grant you this as long as you in turn grant that desalinization technology has been making leaps and bounds in recent years; enough, in fact, to be almost comparable to the 25% increase in oil extraction since the '60s.

[EricMM 0]

I would be absolutely floored and excited to hear that to be the case.

 

As would everyone south of me

 

As it stands now, the Great Lakes may be one of our most valuable resources

[tekcop 0]

I got a big, fat 0 for my walk score, too.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

Scored a 25 at home and scored a 55 at school... explains why I walk everywhere except the supermarket.

[At Home 0]

$3.67 in HI.

[EricMM 0]

3.499 here.

 

Kind of creepy. This certainly isn't even summer proper yet.

 

Thank goodness for bicycles and the willingness to bike 10 miles a day.

[migoli 0]

Highest yet in Minneapolis, $3.45

[TSA09 0]

This morning it was $3.27, when I went to lunch it was $3.35

[Guest Vitamin X]

Thank goodness for bicycles and the willingness to bike 10 miles a day.

 

You said it, bud. Now if we could only get other road users to share the road better, especially in more car-centric places.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

My total commute daily to work is 14 miles. I last bought gas on March 23rd and I still have 3/8 (bars) of 11 gallons left in the tank which I can probably stretch to last one tank for an entire month. So really the gas prices at the pump aren't bothering me that much.

 

Of course, I hardly ever go anywhere other than work so..

[At Home 0]

You said it, bud. Now if we could only get other road users to share the road better, especially in more car-centric places.

 

In some European cities, street parking spots actually separate the road from the bicycle lane, making it much more safer to ride a bike.

[JaMarcus Russell's #1 Caucasian Fan 0]

Where I live (Santa Clarita Valley, north of Los Angeles) gas has finally hit $4.00 a gallon and is not looking back.

[tekcop 0]

Eric and VitaminX talking about biking kind of pissed me off, so I went an MapQuest'd how far I live from school and work.

 

School: Total Estimated Distance: 39.90 miles

 

Work: Total Estimated Distance: 11.62 miles

 

That, of course, is one way. Driving is my only option for anything. I mean, sure, there's two little convenience stores a couple of miles one way and and auction house/rodeo "stadium" in the other direction that are both within walking distance, but that doesn't exactly excite me.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Hey, I know there's people that seem to have a necessity for transportation, particularly in low-density/rural areas such as where you're probably at, tekcop. But you choose to live where you do, go to school where you do, and work where you do. 11.62 miles is a joke, even if you have to do it round-trip, on a bike. I'll give you that your school is pretty far, and my comment isn't directed so much to be indicative of anger of those who drive so much as the poor city planning that has gone into forcing people to drive those large distances rather than having any other affordable solution, particularly one that doesn't contribute so negatively to the environment or the livability/sustainability of community development.

 

But for every person out there like Invader3k, tekcop, or Agent where there's no other option but driving, there's several more people who CAN commute to work by bicycle and/or mass transit, and don't out of sake of convenience, or laziness, or even the perceived social status of not having a car. What really sparked my view on things wasn't just my living here in Portland, but when I visited Los Angeles and met up with a bunch of guys who rode their bikes everywhere and lived carfree in what has to be the most car-centric city in the country.

[AnnieEclectic 0]

$3.17 here which is the highest I've ever seen it. Sadly, it seems to be way under a lot of other people. Still, meh the higher gas rises, the quicker alternate fuel technologies seem attractive.

 

Economics control everything folks, we'll see in ten years if I was right. If I'm even still around

 

 

[Dr. Tom 0]

$3.37-$3.45 here.

 

I got a 57 on the walking test thing, but it also referred to a grocery store that closed last year, and a couple other random places that either closed or moved. I do live right around a lot of things that are pretty easy walks, though, and I generally walk to them anytime the weather is good.

 

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I got a 22 on the Walk score. Not much convenient, but I scored big points for having a library 0.05 miles from my house.

[Jingus 0]

I scored a 5

 

Which isn't too surprising, considering that you'd have to walk over 2 miles just to get out of my neighborhood.

Same here. And I think even that may be a bit high, since the website said it was counting gas stations as "grocery stores". If you don't have a ride and wanna buy so much as a pack of cigarettes, you gotta walk for over an hour. Lots of that on the side of a road with a deep ditch and no sidewalk.

 

Thank goodness for bicycles and the willingness to bike 10 miles a day.

 

You said it, bud. Now if we could only get other road users to share the road better, especially in more car-centric places the roads completely rebuilt so that they actually accomodate bikes, not to mention invent some affordable bikes for the millions of people who can't ride regular ones.

EFA.

 

Eric and VitaminX talking about biking kind of pissed me off,

You too, huh?

 

But for every person out there like Invader3k, tekcop, or Agent where there's no other option but driving, there's several more people who CAN commute to work by bicycle and/or mass transit, and don't out of sake of convenience, or laziness, or even the perceived social status of not having a car. What really sparked my view on things wasn't just my living here in Portland, but when I visited Los Angeles and met up with a bunch of guys who rode their bikes everywhere and lived carfree in what has to be the most car-centric city in the country.

Where all are you talking about where biking or mass transit is a safe and easy option, exactly? I've lived in almost a dozen different towns in three different states. I'd only say that one of them was safe for biking anywhere outside your own subdivision; in all of the rest, the roads simply aren't designed for it and biking would be hazardous at best. And only one of them (not the same one) had any form of public transportation whatsoever.

 

Plus, I can't ride a bike. Physically, I mean. I've got cerebral palsy, a mild case, but just enough to fuck up my balance and coordination enough that bicycling is an impossibility. And don't say "sure you could if you tried", I tried plenty, and am still amazed that I don't have scars or broken bones from the results. There are countless people with various problems and disabilities who can't ride a bike.

 

I lol'd at "perceived social status" of owning a car. In most places, it's a practical necessity. What happens when you stumble into a 40 Year Old Virgin situation where someone wants you to pick them up? What about when you have to carry stuff? How the hell do you bring home groceries or anything like that?

 

Would it be nice for society to figure out a way to be more accomodating to cyclists? Sure, since it is good exercise and can provide transportation without pollution. But only to certain people, in certain areas. It's not the cure for society's problems.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Where all are you talking about where biking or mass transit is a safe and easy option, exactly? I've lived in almost a dozen different towns in three different states. I'd only say that one of them was safe for biking anywhere outside your own subdivision; in all of the rest, the roads simply aren't designed for it and biking would be hazardous at best. And only one of them (not the same one) had any form of public transportation whatsoever.

There's several places in more progressive areas, although I suspect that for that same reason you haven't lived in any of those towns in which it's safer for biking and/or has a better public transit system. I won't blame you for relying on a car- fuck, I lived in Miami and it'd be nigh impossible to bike around there without getting totally dehydrated or being drenched in your own sweat. If I lived in Miami Beach it would be far different though, as most everything in within a short distance and it's safer. Not to mention the transit system is also pretty damn unsafe or nerve-wracking there, which I understand is another problem with public transit.

 

Plus, I can't ride a bike. Physically, I mean. I've got cerebral palsy, a mild case, but just enough to fuck up my balance and coordination enough that bicycling is an impossibility. And don't say "sure you could if you tried", I tried plenty, and am still amazed that I don't have scars or broken bones from the results. There are countless people with various problems and disabilities who can't ride a bike.

For many people, recumbent bicycles (especially for those with back problems) and trikes (for folks with balance issues) are an option, and for those that are far too disabled to do that and can barely walk, there is the option of mass transit. Which, again, I'll understand if it's not available- my point wasn't so much, "why don't people bike and use transit when they can?" but more "why do people drive so much when they don't need to?". In your case, and tekcop's, and Invader's, it's not an option and that's fine. The problem doesn't lie with you guys, it lies with the city governments and planners who haven't done a good job with making their respective cities more accessible. This is changing though, as more and more cities globally are re-developing their urban cores, especially in the U.S. and in Europe, and more and more people are moving back into downtowns and uptowns.

 

I lol'd at "perceived social status" of owning a car. In most places, it's a practical necessity.

 

There is a perceived social status behind someone who owns a car, and how they view people who don't. To not acknowledge this is completely ignorant. Cars themselves are status symbols- consider what the perception is of someone who drives around a brand new Mercedes or BMW compared to someone who drives around a beat up old Honda. The perception of people who use public transportation is that they use them because they have no other transportation options available to them because they're too poor or ineligible for a driver's license for whatever reason. This is true of most modern day American cities; that's not really the way it is in a lot of other places, particularly in Europe because the oil crisis has already hit them a lot harder a lot longer ago and they made a plan to do something about it. We're only just starting on that now, and it's yet another thing in the world that the U.S. is grossly behind on.

 

As to answer your other questions..

What happens when you stumble into a 40 Year Old Virgin situation where someone wants you to pick them up?

I don't remember that movie too well, but when someone needs to be picked up, there's usually cab/taxi services available in most cities. Is it nicer to have a car for situations like this? Probably. In my situation, I have a car-sharing service that I can use to rent out a car for an hour and use it for whatever, or we can take mass transit pretty much anywhere. I recognize that Portland is definitely not Texas though (and thank god for that), so you're kind of limited with options there.

What about when you have to carry stuff? How the hell do you bring home groceries or anything like that?

There's messenger bags, bike panniers, and bike trailers. Hell, there's even whole groups of people these days who are taking it all a step further and moving by bike. I personally just moved, and I don't think I would've done that considering the enormous hill I had to go up on and that it wouldn't be conducive to a bunch of cyclists hauling huge furniture, and using a Budget truck cost me $20 and only required myself, my girlfriend, and her brother, but it's not like people can't find ways of doing things without cars.

 

I shop at multiple places for groceries, so I don't usually need more than a bag or two of my own to carry stuff. Cars are definitely not a necessity for groceries, but they're certainly a convenience.

[EricMM 0]

VX, I think we make the status argument because where we live (apparently) it is NOT necessary to have a car. Thus it is a choice, and the status that comes with it. However, there are many more places in America, specifically any place built up after the fucking 19th century, it seems, where everything is simply designed around the car, not the foot, nor anything else.

 

And Jingus, there are definitely recumbant trikes and even four wheelers with pedals that anyone can use without any chance of falling over. I wouldn't know how to lock them up though. You would certainly be able to carry a bunch of shit because you wouldn't have a risk of losing your balance. Your quads and glutes would be fucking massive!