Decatur Ranks as Georgia’s Most Walkable City
Decatur Metro | December 19, 2010Walk Score, the website that calculates how “walkable” any location is based on the proximity of surrounding amenities, has compiled a list of “walkscores” for Georgia’s 65 largest cities and guess who came out on top?
According to the list, Decatur ranked as the state’s most walkable city, followed by Augusta and Atlanta.
Of course, any list limited to “cities” in Georgia has inherent problems since much of the state’s populated areas aren’t even classified as cities, even in urban areas. Also, there are certainly parts of Atlanta with higher populations and Walkscores than Decatur – Atlantic Station comes to mind – but still, Decatur’s ranking is an impressive achievement for a city that wanted to replace the Old Courthouse with a parking lot just 50 years ago.
Thanks to the city’s Linda Harris for pointing this out!
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It’s why I moved here..nothing like Decatur anywhere else in the state.
Just another little thing that makes me adore this city. Major retroactive thanks, city fathers, for choosing not to replace the old courthouse with a parking lot!
A couple other cool things… Walk Score doesn’t (last I checked) factor in Marta data in Atlanta (they’re working on it). If they did, many of our addresses would score even higher.
Also, for those who don’t care about walkin’, a recent study from CEOs for Cities found each additional point of Walk Score is worth up to $3,000 in house value.
http://blog.walkscore.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/WalkingTheWalk_CEOsforCities.pdf
I am on Walkscore’s advisory board and live in Decatur. No connection to our designation because the algorithm does what it does, regardless. I’m just saying’. People who care about walkability make a difference, and we have a high concentration here. But we still have work to do. Commerce Drive. West Howard. Etc. Let’s not rest on our laurels.
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I have a real problem with the walkscore calculations. For example, my address is rated as “car dependent,” but if I put in an address that is just a block or so away, it registers as “very walkable.” Does a block really make that much difference?
Obviously, Decatur is more walkable than most places in Georgia or Metro Atlanta, but as DM said there are places in the City of Atlanta that are probably more walkable than anywhere in Decatur. Midtown or Virginia Highland come to mind are far more densly populated and has far more businesses and services than anywhere in Decatur. But since it is not its own city, it cannot win this award.
Not sure I’d agree with that because there are some things very difficult to walk to in VA Highland and Midtown that I’d think are considered vital to a good score: grocery stores and public transit (this one might easier in Midtown but not in VA Highlands). I also doubt that Midtown would be at all walkable to schools.
Depends on which schools, I guess. Grady High, for one, is pretty much center of Midtown.
Midtown has the best access to public transit in Metro Atlanta and also has far more retail (including grocery stores) than Decatur.
While Virginia Highland may not currently have a rail line (it does have much more frequent and reliable bus service in that area than Decatur) it is also located near the Beltline, which may one day.
What these two areas have that Decatur doesn’t is a lot of residential density.
I guess it comes down to exactly where you live. For someone who lives in downtown Decatur or withing easy walking distance, there is very little lacking. Though certainly there are pockets in Midtown that have more overall walking destinations, there are also spots that are very walker unfriendly in terms of sidewalks, etc. Really it would be more accurate to say that Decatur has the most walkable downtown.
Love walking to EVERYTHING I need in Decatur!
You must not ever need a printer cartridge.
A printer cartridge is in a specialty category, I think. There are so many varieties, it would be difficult for any retailer to offer that if office supplies weren’t their primary business. You could, without driving, order cartridges online, for example.
For that matter, can you buy a computer or printer within walking distance of Decatur? Vacuum cleaner? Does Big Lots count as walking distance? Does the Ace on Scott count as walking distance…I biked there once, but it meant I had to get on Scott. I have no problem riding on Scott, but I did notice that there weren’t sidewalks right up to the place. I don’t care for the Ace over on College, which is within walking distance, so I’ll go to the one on Scott every time.
I’ve walked to that Ace many times. You can walk/ride on Eastland, then a quick cross of Ponce, and you’re there.
A printer cartridge is indeed a specialty item in Decatur now, but in my dreams we have an office supply store, so it isn’t. I’m all for buying stuff online, but it doesn’t work for me when it comes to office supplies because I can’t store a large enough quantity to avoid paying out the wazoo for shipping.
Can’t remember ever having walked to either Ace location, but my point was that once I have to drive to Edgewood, I am unlikely to also drive to Ace and pay more into the bargain.
When my home search brought me to Decatur, sidewalks were at the top of my list. I love that our town is walkable, I totally believe that walkability factors into home values, and think this recognition is a great thing. BUT Decatur is a LONG way from offering everything I need. Therefore, once I’ve cranked the car and driven elsewhere, I tend to buy items that I could have found in Decatur because they’re less expensive elsewhere. Example: have to drive to Edgewood for certain office supplies, so go ahead and grab something at Lowe’s for less than would have paid at Ace. It would not be worthwhile to go all the way to Edgewood just to save a few pennies on the item at Lowe’s, but since I have to go over there anyway, it makes sense. And then there’s the bookstore, and Target and Kroger, and BB&B and Best Buy. And I can park just once (maybe twice, depending on how much I’m buying and what the weather is like) and walk around and get a bunch of things done.
If I could really find everything I need in Decatur and do away with the car, the money I’d save would probably more than cover the marginally higher prices I’d pay for many things. BTW, I’m not saying prices are unreasonable in Decatur, and I look for every opportunity to shop here. But I can’t afford to subsidize local merchants when I can’t totally depend on them collectively for my everyday needs.
Harking back to the DG discussion (hope I don’t regret this!), there are lots of ways that “big box” retail can negatively affect our community. But I believe there are also ways to bend it to our will. For example, the Office Depot at Edgewood is a small, stand-alone store with very limited parking. But they seem to do well, and in my experience it’s a very well-managed, customer-oriented store. Physically, it could easily fit in any of a number of vacant commercial locations in Decatur, and what a boon it would be to this town full of home-based businesses! Yes, it’s a national chain, but it would employ local people and keep that much more of our money right here.
BTW, I’m sure this is not anything the folks at DDA haven’t thought of. Anybody who agrees, here’s a chance to let them know you’re on board.
I lived without a car for a couple of years, and the Edgewood retail district was one of the places on my “outside of Decatur” shopping rounds. It really isn’t an issue to get there on MARTA – 3 stops / 10 minutes on the train & between 5 and 10 minutes walk from the MARTA station…. I’m probably not going to carry a 50″ TV back from BestBuy, but it works fine for a print cartridge and the like.
I admit that it’s not as handy as a local store, but not out of the question.
“Physically, it could easily fit in any of a number of vacant commercial locations in Decatur”
Where, for example?
I can’t think of anywhere outside of Suburban Plaza. Also, don’t you think online shopping is decreasing the likelihood of a new brick and mortar office supply store anywhere? Now, I could see something like a FedEX store being a great addition. I’d be against any big box store however, with the exception of existing spaces like Suburban Plaza.
The Big H! (Sorry– I couldn’t resist.)
Where? Well, good question, now that I try to think of specific sites, I need to go look and refresh my memory. Certainly, it would fit into one section of the Big H building. (Just remember, I didn’t crack that lid, Cuba did!) I’m thinking it might be about the same size as the CVS … maybe in that empty building on Church Street, north of Commerce? (or did that get occupied, finally?) It could absolutely fit at Suburban Plaza — remember, we’re talking about a mini version of an Office Depot.
For office supplies, I haven’t found online shopping to be feasible because shipping costs are prohibitive. In my tiny office in my tiny house, storing quantities is not an option.
I’d love to see a FedEx store in Decatur. Using the Kinko’s location at Clairmont/N Decatur is a terrible ordeal.
A small office supply store would be terrific in Suburban Plaza! Put it on the end (where Pharmor used to be.)
There IS a new mail/ship store there. It’s near the Chinese takeout spot. http://www.mailplusmoredecatur.com/
(In my dreams, printer manufacturers who force you to replace, not refill, cartridges would be lined up in front of a paintball firing squad! AGGGGH!!!)
Is there a pedicab business in Decatur? Do many people use
cargo bikes?
There is indeed! Here’s info:
http://www.easylivingpedicabs.com/
http://www.decaturmetro.com/tag/decatur-pedicabs/
printer ink I use cartridge world at clairemont/n Decatur. I see the owner at every dba meeting too! also for those who asked if you could buy a computer, isn’t there a place behind mcdonalds/Goodyear?
Super nice folks at Cartridge World! I go there to refill my ordered online Lexmark “special” refillable cartridge. (The one they don’t want you to know about. Love the printer, but I’ll never buy from them again because of this tactic.)