OKC is NOT walker friendly...

[betts]

I got a 40, but I'm movin downtown (as soon as I can drug my husband into a mild stupor and get him to sign the papers) and I'll be up there with j brown in the 90s. Woohoo.

[metro]

betts, glad to see the vote pass, you staying, and you moving to downtown! Please feel free to come to an Urban Neighbors meeting and get involved with the downtown community!

[betts]

Planning on it metro! I'd love to meet the downtown people.

[betts]

After having spent a week in Chicago, I'm much more inspired to walk. I bet we logged ten miles a day just walking between to the bus stop, to the bank, to restaurants, etc. I walked to my local coffee shop today and wondered why I'd never done it before. It's all of five blocks. The most annoying thing during this first time walk was the absence of sidewalks, but it was still silly that it had never occurred to me to walk before. How many places do all of us go in our cars that people in other cities would never think to drive to?

[proud2Bsooner]

You need to tell this to the couple of folks that were whining about parking in regards to the DVN building. Maybe they could then get excited about the construction.

[Pete]

I was just in Milwaukee (family reunion) and purposely planned a extensive walking trip.

I started at their historic Third Ward (just south of downtown and similar to Bricktown but all the old buildings had condos above and there were a bunch of art galleries and theaters), walked up their great Riverwalk, up to their eclectic Brady Street district, through my parents' old neighborhood (replete with taverns and local shops) and then to UW-Milwaukee and all the surrounding historical neighborhoods. Then, back down the waterfront and through many of the cool eastside 'hoods.

Ended up stopping at a bunch of different places (an urban ecology center, a sidewalk cafe) and seeing things I never would have noticed had I driven through.

I really look forward to the day where you can do the same thing in OKC, starting at the river, walking up through the C2S parks and developments, over to Bricktown, up through the Triangle, over to Auto Alley and Midtown and all the way to the 23rd Street district. Can do that now but there are lots of gaps in sidewalks and some pretty big gaps in development, too.

But that is rapidly changing!

[angel27]

I work four blocks from my bungalow in the Paseo, which rated a 66 and I'm suprised it wasn't higher. I love to walk to work except when its hot or when its cold or when I have things to carry or when its raining or snowing or when I have trips to make during work... which doesn't leave many walking days. I supose I should make myself more because I really do enjoy its benefits. Early on for fun I gathered some kids and we caught the bus to bricktown. Well, I thought it would be fun because I hadn't been on a bus in years. They, however, weren't impressed and informed me they were on one every day for school. Well anyway our adventure encountered poor people with their case of beer traveling back from the grocer, a grumpy driver who wasn't happy we didn't know how to work our ticket, grumps that shooed the kids from climbing and jumping off the rails at the bus terminal and other underwhelming occurrances. But BT is much improved since then, exciting changes are in the works and I remain undaunted and look forward to mass transit when we have many directions, times and destinations from which to choose...

[HOT ROD]

OKC will get there.

Perhaps the city could create public service type messages that encourage people to 'Get Out and See OKC' type of thing. The city is spending millions on street and sidewalk improvements - so the commercials could not only celebrate and inform citizens on the progress on that front but also SUGGEST to citizens that they should get out and see it at the same time.

I agree it's often too hot in the summer to do a lot of long distance walking in OKC, but maybe neighbourhood associations could create walking groups or even tourist walks of 'hoods? Especially downtown, there should be walking clubs, where people team up and walk, then all attend a dinner event or game or such.

Fun, cool ideas like that are what will continue to make OKC more cosmopolitan and keep young people from moving away - regardless of what job they end-up getting. Having a fun city with LOTS of options to do, most people desire that moreso than making (and paying) a lot of money in a "desirable city".

[BailJumper]

Why would a state known for inventing the parking meter want for sidewalks?!!?

I seriously know a person that was given a ticket by OKC's finest for "walking the wrong way on the side of the street when no sidewalk is present."

Apparently, if there is not a sidewalk and you are walking on the grass (not the road), you MUST walk facing traffic!

[Midtowner]

I got a 40