5 ms·

Yea, 2-3 miles is a very long walk in LA. Walking from los feliz to the reservoir would be especially tedious since the most direct paths are on boring resident

by maceo 11y ago

Yea, 2-3 miles is a very long walk in LA. Walking from los feliz to the reservoir would be especially tedious since the most direct paths are on boring residential streets. No one would ever do that walk unless they 1) dont have a car 2) are looking to get exercise.

bpyne 11y ago
For me, the residential streets were even pretty cool. There was some great graffiti art, lots of Mexican food available, etc. I found a good comic bookstore to get something for my daughter. Overall, it's a pretty nice walk.
- smelendez 11y ago
  I've had similar experiences in other U.S. car-oriented cities, too. I have a driver's license, but I've lived in big cities and literally haven't driven in years and always walk or take transit anywhere I visit. I think people with cars in those cities often just don't know what routes are walkable and which aren't and assume the worst. People do the same with "the bus," I've found--I've been to many places where people who don't take public transit and don't even know how much it costs or where the routes go assume that it's dirty, unreliable, filled with criminals, etc. But I'm probably doing the same with renting a car when I travel--overemphasizing the expenses and inconveniences and discomforts involved. One problem I have had walking in various car-oriented cities is poor-to-nonexistent signage for pedestrians. A busy, curvy street might suddenly go from having sidewalks on one side to sidewalks only on one with no prior notice pretty far from the last crosswalk, forcing you to backtrack half a long block, walk on the shoulder of the road or jaywalk-sprint through traffic. Or a complicated highway interchange running through the middle of a city might be easily circumvented on foot, but there's no signs telling you how to do it, leading to a lot of backtracking and meandering through no-man's-land. I think the transportation planners unfortunately fall into the car-only group in a lot of cities, so they don't notice the need for pedestrian signs, or to adjust traffic lights so they're more visible to pedestrians, or trim foliage encroaching on sidewalks.

by maceo 11y ago

bpyne 11y ago

For me, the residential streets were even pretty cool. There was some great graffiti art, lots of Mexican food available, etc. I found a good comic bookstore to get something for my daughter. Overall, it's a pretty nice walk.

smelendez 11y ago
I've had similar experiences in other U.S. car-oriented cities, too. I have a driver's license, but I've lived in big cities and literally haven't driven in years and always walk or take transit anywhere I visit. I think people with cars in those cities often just don't know what routes are walkable and which aren't and assume the worst. People do the same with "the bus," I've found--I've been to many places where people who don't take public transit and don't even know how much it costs or where the routes go assume that it's dirty, unreliable, filled with criminals, etc. But I'm probably doing the same with renting a car when I travel--overemphasizing the expenses and inconveniences and discomforts involved. One problem I have had walking in various car-oriented cities is poor-to-nonexistent signage for pedestrians. A busy, curvy street might suddenly go from having sidewalks on one side to sidewalks only on one with no prior notice pretty far from the last crosswalk, forcing you to backtrack half a long block, walk on the shoulder of the road or jaywalk-sprint through traffic. Or a complicated highway interchange running through the middle of a city might be easily circumvented on foot, but there's no signs telling you how to do it, leading to a lot of backtracking and meandering through no-man's-land. I think the transportation planners unfortunately fall into the car-only group in a lot of cities, so they don't notice the need for pedestrian signs, or to adjust traffic lights so they're more visible to pedestrians, or trim foliage encroaching on sidewalks.