Why is walkability to public schools & stores so hard to find?

[Anonymous]

Hyde-Addison and Stoddert catchment areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Much of the area zoned to Murch is walkable to stores and all three schools! But agree this is super hard to find.

Zoned to where?

Murch Elementary in NW DC.

[Anonymous]

We’re in Ashburn and my kids bikes to school from ES-HS. We also can walk to a grocery store, a half dozen restaurants, and a drug store.

Just don’t buy a new hike in a New community. I could care less about being able to walk to stores or restaurants, but have been very grateful over the years the kids have been able to bike to school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in an "undesirable " neighborhood in S. Arlington. We can walk to ES and Shirlington (so restaurants, groceries ans the movie theater). We can bike to the MS ans HS easily (and could wall if we weren't always rushed lol).

We also often go fishing in the stream near us. But again "undesirable " neighborhood.

South Arlington looks so drab and poor and run down.

Got it

[Anonymous]

Reston is very walkable.

[Anonymous]

Look in Arlington. It's dense enough. We are 5 mins walk to ES, 20 mins to middle school, and 10 mins to HS.

[Anonymous]

Look in 20910. There are homes zoned to both SCES > SSIMS and ESS > TPMS that are walkable to those schools as well as shopping and restaurants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because schools are big. ES have 500+ kids instead of small ones. And it only gets bigger from there.

+1

Everything is on a massive scale.

Yes. And even if you do find something walkable it's very rare to be walkable to ES and MS and HS.

This was our item #1 on our wish list. We finally found a house where we can walk to ES, MS and HS. The key point is that MS/HS is a combined secondary school.
And we can walk to grocery but rarely do because we always have 100 bags to carry. I'd love to buy a bigger home but the walkability to all levels of schools (and sports practice) for kids is why we stay. Makes life so much easier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The short answer to your question is 50+ years of poor urban planning and car-centric design. In most cases, the decision to make things unwalkable was very much on purpose. We've (mostly) realized the error of that approach by now, but walkable spaces are now pretty scarce outside of pre-WWII neighborhoods, and they're enough in demand that they go for a large price premium even though walkability doesn't really cost more to build.

We're starting to retrofit walkable infrastructure into suburban neighborhoods, but it'll take decades, and we're limited with what can be done within the constraints of many of the choices that are already baked in.

Ding ding ding. Basically op, it’s literally illegal to build walkable neighborhoods in most of America. That’s the reason AU Park is so absurdly expensive

I'm sorry... ILLEGAL??
Please cite your sources or explain.

Yes, literally illegal. do you understand that land use regulations and zoning codes exist?

Clarify how zoning makes it illegal to build walkable neighborhoods.

Here you go!
https://gprivate.com/63tl5

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because schools are big. ES have 500+ kids instead of small ones. And it only gets bigger from there.

+1

Everything is on a massive scale.

Yes. And even if you do find something walkable it's very rare to be walkable to ES and MS and HS.

My kids had a bus to ES but are walkable to MS and HS and I really appreciate that. ES kids still need parents to take them to/from school so the walkability is of limited value IMO. But the independence for teens in getting to/from school has been great.

??? My children walked/biked/scooted/took the bus to their ES school starting in 1st grade. Can't imagine taking them to school through ES if it was walkable...

My kids took the bus but I didn't know a single child who walked to ES without a parent before 4th or 5th grade. I agree that kids should be able to get to school on their own but, at least in our area, it is not at all socially acceptable to allow a k-3rd grader to walk to school unattended.

You must live in a weird neighborhood, everyone walks here in 22043. I mean, what are they going to do to you if you let your kids walk like god intended, tar and feather you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Much of the area zoned to Murch is walkable to stores and all three schools! But agree this is super hard to find.

Yes, we live a 5 min walk from Murch, 10-15min from Deal and JR, and can also walk to restaurants, grocery stores, etc.

We could also easily walk to the local elementary and many stores and restaurants when we lived in Capitol Hill. It's very normal in DC, not so much in the suburbs though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The short answer to your question is 50+ years of poor urban planning and car-centric design. In most cases, the decision to make things unwalkable was very much on purpose. We've (mostly) realized the error of that approach by now, but walkable spaces are now pretty scarce outside of pre-WWII neighborhoods, and they're enough in demand that they go for a large price premium even though walkability doesn't really cost more to build.

We're starting to retrofit walkable infrastructure into suburban neighborhoods, but it'll take decades, and we're limited with what can be done within the constraints of many of the choices that are already baked in.

Ding ding ding. Basically op, it’s literally illegal to build walkable neighborhoods in most of America. That’s the reason AU Park is so absurdly expensive

I'm sorry... ILLEGAL??
Please cite your sources or explain.

Yes, literally illegal. do you understand that land use regulations and zoning codes exist?

Clarify how zoning makes it illegal to build walkable neighborhoods.

Because you aren't allowed to build commercial/retail developments in neighborhoods that are zoned residential

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The short answer to your question is 50+ years of poor urban planning and car-centric design. In most cases, the decision to make things unwalkable was very much on purpose. We've (mostly) realized the error of that approach by now, but walkable spaces are now pretty scarce outside of pre-WWII neighborhoods, and they're enough in demand that they go for a large price premium even though walkability doesn't really cost more to build.

We're starting to retrofit walkable infrastructure into suburban neighborhoods, but it'll take decades, and we're limited with what can be done within the constraints of many of the choices that are already baked in.

Ding ding ding. Basically op, it’s literally illegal to build walkable neighborhoods in most of America. That’s the reason AU Park is so absurdly expensive

I'm sorry... ILLEGAL??
Please cite your sources or explain.

Yes, literally illegal. do you understand that land use regulations and zoning codes exist?

Clarify how zoning makes it illegal to build walkable neighborhoods.

Because you aren't allowed to build commercial/retail developments in neighborhoods that are zoned residential

In addition, in areas zoned for SFH, there are minimum lot sizes of at least 1/4 acre and often more (2 acres where I live), so houses have to be spaced out. You aren't allowed to build rowhouses in those areas. The large majority of the land in the suburban counties around DC is zoned SFH. That significantly limits the density, which in turn affects the viability of having schools/stores/retail that is walkable.

[Anonymous]

We live in Arlington- near ballston and have to drive to hs.
Everything else is walkable- but really if I am doing a real shopping trip I am not walking back from Harris teeter or target with 5 bags.
I guess the nice thing about living here is that if I do drive anywhere in the county or dc max is 20 minutes, normally under 10.

[Anonymous]

In MoCo, there are some schools situated very close to retail areas, such as BCC, Blair, and RM.