Even though Decatur scores only an 80 out of 100 on WalkScore.com (and that’s if you live at the very center of town – my house gets a 60), Decatur recently was singled out in a recent Marketbreak article about the website that evaluates how walkable your neighborhood/address is based on the proximity of necessary stores/activities.

“While acknowledging that people probably won’t want to give up their cars completely, Goldberg said it’s quite possible that neighborhoods that allow residents to be less car-dependent will become the new norm for many Americans in the coming years.

“We’re not talking about everybody moving downtown,” Goldberg said, adding that even in cities that aren’t very walkable there are neighborhoods that are friendlier to pedestrians.

Atlanta, for instance, has a reputation for being “the poster child of sprawl,” he said. However, there are places nearby, like Decatur, Ga., that offer amenities and transit options without being a high-density neighborhood, he said.”

As to why Decatur doesn’t score higher on the list…I’m gonna go out on a limb and say it has a lot to do with the lack of a real downtown grocery (and hardware store). We can have the Kroger debate again if anyone wants, but I can’t tell you how many times I hear unprompted comments from residents about the need for a downtown grocery.

And I, for one, am beginning to think we should stop begging TJ’s to show up, take the matter into our own hands, and look into starting a community-owned co-op. It a HUGE undertaking I know…especially for a bunch of hyperactives with no free time, but at its most functional, a co-op could cater to this community like no chain grocery store ever could.

At a minimum, I think its worth investigating and then maybe eventually even doing a feasibility study.

What do you think? Pie in the sky?