Community Corner
Poll Question: The Walkable Evergreen Park
Evergreen Park falls in the middle of the ranks of walkable communities nationwide; where do you walk and why?
Recently, I was reading a story about America's most walkable cities and it got me thinking: Where does Evergreen Park rank? Well, it turns out there's a web site for that: www.walkscore.com.
With a score of 74.3, Chicago ranks eighth in walkability among cities of all sizes in the United States (more on the scale in a moment). Cambridge, MA, ranks No. 1 with a Walk Score of 88.8. Among the 50 largest cities in the U.S., Chicago ranks fourth while New York is No. 1 with a score of 85.3.
Walk Score's scale reads thusly:
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- 90-100: "Walker's Paradise. Daily errands do not require a car."
- 70-89: "Very Walkable. Most errands can be accomplished on foot."
- 50-69: "Somewhat Walkable. Some amenities within walking distance."
- 25-49: "Car-Dependent. A few amenities within walking distance."
- 0-24: "Car-Dependent. Almost all errands require a car."
Evergreen Park's Walk Score is 66. That puts us squarely in the middle of the "Somewhat Walkable" category, which seems right to me. As I have mentioned before, Evergreen Park . Others have as well. Let's put this in the context of some other places we know about:
- The Beverly neighborhood has a Walk Score of 72.
- Lincoln Park has a Walk Score of 87.
- Oak Lawn has a Walk Score of 60.
- Alsip has a Walk Score of 55.
- Tinley Park has a Walk Score of 40.
- Orland Park has a depressingly dismal (but not surprising) Walk Score of 38.
Think about Tinley and Orland and how they're laid out from a planning perspective. They're not designed for walkability. They're designed for drivability, and they're even failing at that because their populations have exceeded the roadways' ability to handle the traffic.
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Exactly the opposite of Beverly and Lincoln Park. We're in the middle, which .
But here's what I want to know now: How often do you walk in Evergreen Park? When you walk, where do you walk? Why do you walk where you walk? What are your favorite destinations and routes?