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

[Anonymous]

In McLean, some of the areas zoned to Kent Gardens and Haycock ES are walkable to the ES (Kent Gardens or Haycock), the MS (Longfellow) and the HS (McLean), but not really to the commercial area.

And then there are some areas zoned to Kent Gardens and Franklin Sherman ES that are walkable to the ES and the HS, and to the commercial area, but not really to the MS.

All things told those are fairly high levels of convenience for being relatively close in and in areas zoned to good schools, but appreciate it may not be the same as some parts of DC and Arlington. But it still is more convenient than not being walkable to any of the schools and/or the commercial area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the US, developers build neighborhoods around the car. And so very little is walkable. Yet when people are searching for houses, they say they want to live in a neighborhood where they can walk to amenities. It seems like there is a disconnect between what developers think people want, and what people actually want.

But there's also a disconnect between what people way that they want and what compromises they're willing to make. Walkability to lots of things = high density = multifamily house and no/small yards. Most people want their single family houses with large yards AND easy ability to drive where they want to go AND walkability. In most cases, you're just not going to get everything, unless you luck out with the one or two SFHs in a district that are relatively close to the schools (but not right across the street where you get the bus traffic) and close to a couple of stores.

Honestly though jurisdictions like Arlington do manage to balance offering SFHs and density. I live 2 blocks from metro on the orange line and can get the restaurants, our pediatrician’s office, my DD’s preschool, trails, parks, etc. and we have a 2,400 sq ft SFH with a nice flat yard. Most my DS’s elementary friends live right near us because the neighborhood school zone is small.

I don’t think the disconnect is that people don’t want density. It’s that there aren’t enough options at price points people can afford. Not wanting a condo in DC doesn’t mean they want a large SFH with giant yard outside the beltway. There should be more in between dense/small/attached housing and SFH sprawl.

And even the small SFH and townhomes in places like Arlington are so expensive that I get many people give up on affording them and just figure they may as well drive farther and get a bigger/newer house.

[Anonymous]

Go for high school walkability!! It's the most useful time. After school activities are way more plentiful and the hour or two after school and before an activity starts is annoying as hell to get the kid over to the school. Ask me how I know!

[Anonymous]

Living near high schools is the best. We are right across from Bethesda Chevy Chase and it's great!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I have 5 years of wonderful memories of walking together to school.

this. Being right down the street from the schools has been great for us. I can count on my hands how many times in 12 years I have had to deal with kiss and ride.

My house was exactly 300 feet from entrance to elementary school. My 3 kids walked to school maybe a grand total of 2-4 times.

Why first of all they open the doors at a set time at an assigned door where teacher comes to get class. Can’t leave a six year old alone on sidewalk. On way out for legal reasons they won’t release younger kids without parent or guardian.

I did walk with them on nice days. But most days I drove the 300 feet.

I don’t understand what is going on here. You can’t walk them to the door and wait with them?

They open the school doors at our school at a set time. If we arrive a minute or two early, we wait. I schedule around pick up and drop off times. They do have the kids who come in in the first 15 minutes after the doors open sit in the gym together, then they release them to go to their classrooms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m seeing listings on Redfin that are 3+ miles away from the zoned school!

This is called desegregation.

I am not sure where you are looking, but where I live there are very, very few areas that are more than 3 miles from an ES and it is uncommon to see this anywhere in US. Whether or not you go to that ES is another matter.

However, I don’t think you are here to actually raise a valid issue because otherwise you would know that. You are here to argue (or proselytize) about “15 minute cities” and I think you are in the wrong forum. There is a sub forum called “politics” that would be more appropriate for you.

[Anonymous]

Elementary Schools typically have from 300-700 students.

Middle Schools typically feed 2-4 Elementary Schools and have 800-2000 students.

High Schools feed 1-3 Middle Schools and typically have 1500-3500 students.

There is a limited geometry where all of the people who attend a High School can walk to all three. As a result, it is rare. Even in highly dense cities like NYC or Paris.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need urban density to walk to everything. Very few places in DMV have that sort of density. And with that density, you're more looking at condos, apartments, and maybe townhouses - not a sfh.

Downtown Bethesda, ringed by nice neighborhoods so the apartment and condo dwellers can move into South Bethesda, Chevy Chase, East Bethesda, or Edgemoor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I have 5 years of wonderful memories of walking together to school.

this. Being right down the street from the schools has been great for us. I can count on my hands how many times in 12 years I have had to deal with kiss and ride.

My house was exactly 300 feet from entrance to elementary school. My 3 kids walked to school maybe a grand total of 2-4 times.

Why first of all they open the doors at a set time at an assigned door where teacher comes to get class. Can’t leave a six year old alone on sidewalk. On way out for legal reasons they won’t release younger kids without parent or guardian.

I did walk with them on nice days. But most days I drove the 300 feet.

You... Drove 300 feet? Were adults not allowed on the sidewalks either?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in a neighborhood that was built a little over 100 years ago and made to be walkable - because cars barely existed. We LOVE it. DS can walk to schools, libraries, parks, stores, restaurants and friends houses. However, we aren't in the DC area. I couldn't image living spread out where Ds couldn't navigate himself around so easily. And being able to walk home from dinner is great.

Where do you live, PP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need urban density to walk to everything. Very few places in DMV have that sort of density. And with that density, you're more looking at condos, apartments, and maybe townhouses - not a sfh.

Downtown Bethesda, ringed by nice neighborhoods so the apartment and condo dwellers can move into South Bethesda, Chevy Chase, East Bethesda, or Edgemoor.

“South Bethesda”? WTH is that? South of Bethesda is Chevy Chase, Kenwood, Drummond, Somerset, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m seeing listings on Redfin that are 3+ miles away from the zoned school!

Because outside of anything built before 1955, our urban growth patterns have been auto-centric, hence minimal utilitarian walkability.

[Anonymous]

AU park is exactly that. We got less close than we thought we could for our $ but absolutely love it here

[Anonymous]

Wildwood Manor and area surrounding the overcrowded Ashburton ES has all of this. Easy access to 495 and 270, walk to Wildwood and Georgetown Square shops plus the Davis Library. Still get bussed to North Bethesda MS, but 2 out of three ain't bad