Least walkable, a death trap for bicyclists, and no real mass transit should make us #1 for the auto industry :D !QuoteJacksonville ‘least walkable’ city in U.S.
Jacksonville Business Journal
Jacksonville is the least walkable city in the nation, according to a Web site that measures walkability.
Walkscore.com ranked the largest 40 cities in the nation on a scale of zero to 100 based on how easy it is to live a “car-lite†lifestyle. Jacksonville, at number 40, had the lowest ranking on the list with a score of 36. According to the Web site cities that scored between 25-49 were car-dependent with only a few destinations within easy walking distance.
The few walkable neighborhoods in Jacksonville, according to the Web site, are Downtown, San Marco and Fairfax.
San Francisco ranked No. 1 on the list with a score of 86, followed by New York at No. 2, Boston at No. 3, Chicago at No. 4 and Philadelphia at No. 5. The four cities ranking at the bottom just above Jacksonville were Oklahoma City at No. 36, Indianapolis at No. 37, Charlotte at No. 38 and Nashville at No. 39.
Jacksonville was the only Florida city on the list. The state with the most cities on the list was California, with a total of eight.
I agree with the "bicycle death trap comment," but much of the time the reason is bicyclists either don't know how to ride bikes in traffic or simply want to commit suicide.
My Dad taught me how to ride a bicycle more than 60 years ago. Some of my first experiences were riding on tennis courts in a park nearby my home on Camp Campbell (later Fort Campbell), KY, when the nets weren't up. I learned some simple rules.
You are the same as a car, you just don't use gasoline. You obey the same rules as the driver of a car. That includes stop signs and traffic signals. You use the proper signals for turns and stopping. You ride on the right side of the road. You wear light colored clothing at night and you have both a headlight and taillight on that bicycle.
Nowadays, many bicyclists also wear helmets for safety but they either don't know or care about the rules. They don't obey traffic signals or signs. They ride on the wrong side of the road. They don't use signals. They don't have head or tail lights and they wear dark clothes at night. My worst fear re: bicycles is hitting some idiot who jumps out in front of me or hitting something or someone else because I tried to avoid the first idiot.
I think bicycles should be registered and the riders licensed: different ages and experience get different licenses and what you can do depends upon your license. If you do it wrong you get a ticket from the police and you can lose your license and even your bike..
Just think, the Mayor probably wouldn't have to raise taxes. Anyone care to comment?
Although we do have our problems, there is something wrong with the Jax Business Journal using that title for Walkscore.
1. Walkscore's list only evaluates the country's 40 largest cities by population. Cities like Orlando, Tampa and Miami aren't even on the list because their municipal populations are less than "county consolidated" Jacksonville.
2. Because land area isn't a factor in their data, all county consolidated cities in the Walkscore list fall to the bottom, because more suburban areas exist in their extensive limits.
So in short its not a true apples to apples comparison. The Biz Journal should have been able to see this.
Quote from: macbeth25 on July 10, 2009, 06:12:45 AM
I agree with the "bicycle death trap comment," but much of the time the reason is bicyclists either don't know how to ride bikes in traffic or simply want to commit suicide.
My Dad taught me how to ride a bicycle more than 60 years ago. Some of my first experiences were riding on tennis courts in a park nearby my home on Camp Campbell (later Fort Campbell), KY, when the nets weren't up. I learned some simple rules.
You are the same as a car, you just don't use gasoline. You obey the same rules as the driver of a car. That includes stop signs and traffic signals. You use the proper signals for turns and stopping. You ride on the right side of the road. You wear light colored clothing at night and you have both a headlight and taillight on that bicycle.
I disagree with you about 80% there. I *DO* agree that there are a lot of cyclists that don't obey the rules. But you have to look at the layout of roads and the attitudes of drivers here in Jax. There's a severe lack of bike lanes in this city, intermittent bike lanes, and roads with no bike lanes at all. You also have to look at the attitudes of drivers. They don't know or just don't care that Cyclists are legally allowed to be on the roads as well. Look at Abhishek's latest blog (http://www.sheksfootprint.com/archives/255) to see that.
There's nothing like being yelled at for doing something you're legally allowed to do. In fact, it's ILLEGAL to ride your bike on the sidewalk.
But yes, you are correct in that there are a lot of cyclists that tend not to obey traffic laws. But there are always bad apples. Most of the blame for these problems lays with city planners and lack of bike lanes to protect cyclists from aggressive and impatient drivers.
QuoteNowadays, many bicyclists also wear helmets for safety but they either don't know or care about the rules. They don't obey traffic signals or signs. They ride on the wrong side of the road. They don't use signals. They don't have head or tail lights and they wear dark clothes at night. My worst fear re: bicycles is hitting some idiot who jumps out in front of me or hitting something or someone else because I tried to avoid the first idiot.
Yeah, I blame this purely on the "casual cyclist" usually "fixie" and "beach cruiser" crowd. They tend not to care about the traffic laws or just plain don't know. That's a matter of education. Some of them DO want to be educated. And I don't want to call out my friends here, because I have a lot of friends in the fixie crowd. But riding two abreast in the road, not obeying traffic laws/signage, etc seems to be "cool" with them.
QuoteI think bicycles should be registered and the riders licensed: different ages and experience get different licenses and what you can do depends upon your license. If you do it wrong you get a ticket from the police and you can lose your license and even your bike..
Just think, the Mayor probably wouldn't have to raise taxes. Anyone care to comment?
That's the dumbest idea on the face of the planet, bro. Making people register and license their bikes is crass and would do nothing but reduce and discourage bike ridership. You want to be inclusive as possible in the cyclist community, you want more people to ride. But you want to keep them educated. Punishing people by making them pay a tax to do something that's good for yourself and good for the environment just stinks. Cyclists can already be ticketed for not following road laws. But our police force is not educated on cycle laws and even tend to be the ones yelling at cyclists to "get on the sidewalk!"
Advocacy, advocacy, advocacy. Help and support groups like Bikejax and others that are working to educate both drivers AND riders and helping to bring bike lanes and bike valets to events.
If bicyclists have to follow traffic laws... how does bicycling factor into the "walkable" factor?
It doesn't surprise me that the second largest city land-wise with highways going in every direction falls to the bottom of the “walkable†city list
Quote from: RiversideLoki on July 10, 2009, 10:26:19 AM
But yes, you are correct in that there are a lot of cyclists that tend not to obey traffic laws. But there are always bad apples. Most of the blame for these problems lays with city planners and lack of bike lanes to protect cyclists from aggressive and impatient drivers.
Cyclists can already be ticketed for not following road laws. But our police force is not educated on cycle laws and even tend to be the ones yelling at cyclists to "get on the sidewalk!"
I can't agree with all your comments, but you certainly have some excellent points. I have often wished the police would ticket some of those cyclists, especially the ones who ride on the wrong side of the road at night with no lights, etc., and ignore traffic rules. What really irritates me is many of these are adults. How can you expect children to learn if the adults don't know or care.
Wrong side of the street with no headlights... auto drivers aren't any better.
Quote from: thelakelander on July 10, 2009, 07:23:45 AM
Although we do have our problems, there is something wrong with the Jax Business Journal using that title for Walkscore.
1. Walkscore's list only evaluates the country's 40 largest cities by population. Cities like Orlando, Tampa and Miami aren't even on the list because their municipal populations are less than "county consolidated" Jacksonville.
2. Because land area isn't a factor in their data, all county consolidated cities in the Walkscore list fall to the bottom, because more suburban areas exist in their extensive limits.
So in short its not a true apples to apples comparison. The Biz Journal should have been able to see this.
How many times are we going to have to point this out. Apparently media outlets here don't realize what they're talking about by not mentioning that it's only the 40 largest. The Chamber of Commerce though issued a statement talking about our land size and the fact other cities in the state aren't large enough to appear on the list.
Doesn't matter -- Jax is still shite to walk in. In downtown Orlando (God I know, I'm praising the land of the Mouse) you can walk around lovely lakes and parks and stop at restaurants and even a Publix. Where's that here? Riverside? Hardly. When Riverside is the most "walkable" part of town (and it is), you know we have a huge problem, irrespective of the cities included on the list.
ok...how about walking along the riverfront (on both banks)O and not have to cross a street for over 2 miles!
and does Orlando have a dining/entertainment complex along the water with and adjacent pedestrian path?
come on...all we would need to do to meet your issue of parks, retsurants, and Publix is extend the Riverwalk 1/3 of a mile from under I-965 to memorial Park!
Orlando doesn't count......its not on the list ;)
Seriously though, Jax has larger walkable sections of town than Orlando. Get away a few blocks from Lake Eola and walking in Orlando becomes an oxymoron.