3 ms·

OK, it sounds like we may be in violent agreement then. University Avenue is a good place and the only trouble is that places like it are too few and too far a

by enf 17y ago

OK, it sounds like we may be in violent agreement then. University Avenue is a good place and the only trouble is that places like it are too few and too far apart.

anamax 17y ago
> University Avenue is a good place and the only trouble is that places like it are too few and too far apart. What's your basis for "too few and too far apart"? All of "suburb" SF Bay Peninsula has grocery stores and neighborhood restaurants within 20 minutes walking from residences. (The rural areas, Woodside, Portola Valley, the Santa Cruz mountains, Ladera, etc. don't.) The same is true of the Sacramento valley towns that I know, Davis, Sacramento, Woodland, Roseville. That's why I asked where these "grocery stores are miles away" suburbs are. Downtown PA is arguably the worst (on the Peninsula) when it comes to grocery access by foot because its store is Whole Foods. (Atherton may be as bad. I don't know about Monte Sereno.)
- enf 17y ago
  The conventional wisdom is that people are generally willing to walk about 5 minutes. I think that is probably a little too low, but I don't believe people will generally walk 20 minutes (1 mile) except in the most interesting of places. In the case of Palo Alto, Santa Cruz Avenue in Menlo Park is 1.3 miles away. I have walked there once but am unlikely to ever do it again. In the other direction, California Avenue is 1.5 miles away, and then after that it's another 4 miles to Castro Street. People are certainly capable of walking these distances but I don't believe that they actually do.
  - anamax 17y ago
    > I think that is probably a little too low, but I don't believe people will generally walk 20 minutes (1 mile) That may be, but you get to argue that detail with the folks above. (We can then get out a map and see how much of the Peninsula qualifies.) > In the case of Palo Alto, Santa Cruz Avenue in Menlo Park is 1.3 miles away. So what? There are closer restaurants and grocery stores. (It's not possible to have everything within 1 mile, or even 10 miles.) The requirement was that "a grocery store and restaurants within walking distance". Peninsula cities satisfy that requirement, even though, like everywhere else, there are restaurants and grocery stores that aren't within that distance. For example, no one would argue that SF doesn't have restaurants within walking distance of most residences even though most SF residences are not within walking distance of Zuma.

by enf 17y ago

OK, it sounds like we may be in violent agreement then. University Avenue is a good place and the only trouble is that places like it are too few and too far apart.

anamax 17y ago

> University Avenue is a good place and the only trouble is that places like it are too few and too far apart. What's your basis for "too few and too far apart"? All of "suburb" SF Bay Peninsula has grocery stores and neighborhood restaurants within 20 minutes walking from residences. (The rural areas, Woodside, Portola Valley, the Santa Cruz mountains, Ladera, etc. don't.) The same is true of the Sacramento valley towns that I know, Davis, Sacramento, Woodland, Roseville. That's why I asked where these "grocery stores are miles away" suburbs are. Downtown PA is arguably the worst (on the Peninsula) when it comes to grocery access by foot because its store is Whole Foods. (Atherton may be as bad. I don't know about Monte Sereno.)

enf 17y ago
The conventional wisdom is that people are generally willing to walk about 5 minutes. I think that is probably a little too low, but I don't believe people will generally walk 20 minutes (1 mile) except in the most interesting of places. In the case of Palo Alto, Santa Cruz Avenue in Menlo Park is 1.3 miles away. I have walked there once but am unlikely to ever do it again. In the other direction, California Avenue is 1.5 miles away, and then after that it's another 4 miles to Castro Street. People are certainly capable of walking these distances but I don't believe that they actually do.
- anamax 17y ago
  > I think that is probably a little too low, but I don't believe people will generally walk 20 minutes (1 mile) That may be, but you get to argue that detail with the folks above. (We can then get out a map and see how much of the Peninsula qualifies.) > In the case of Palo Alto, Santa Cruz Avenue in Menlo Park is 1.3 miles away. So what? There are closer restaurants and grocery stores. (It's not possible to have everything within 1 mile, or even 10 miles.) The requirement was that "a grocery store and restaurants within walking distance". Peninsula cities satisfy that requirement, even though, like everywhere else, there are restaurants and grocery stores that aren't within that distance. For example, no one would argue that SF doesn't have restaurants within walking distance of most residences even though most SF residences are not within walking distance of Zuma.