Allentown rates as a “Walker’s Paradise”
That's the news that came across 'my desk' this morning along with a link to the Walk Score website. One look at all of the little blue icons means that there's just about anything that you can think of when it comes to walkable needs for Allentown residents.
The center-point used when calculating the 92 scoring result (extremely high) was the corner of Elmwood and Allen. From there residents can easily get to schools, shops, theaters, live music, bars, eateries, day care, parks, libraries, services, and so forth. Of course Elmwood also scored high (86 out of 100), when calculated from the Lexington Co-op (between Auburn and Lafayette), but Allentown can rest assured that it is leading the pack when it comes to being walk-friendly.
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Comment Options
sbrof
Hertel got a score of 89 when centered at Hertel & Norwalk.
One of the factors that this doesn't rate is comfort of the walk. Allentown and Elmwood are much more comfortable walks because of share and clustered development (more closer) while Hertel is stretched out down along a single road with few reprieves from the sun and wind (since it is a wide East West road) it becomes a sun baked wind tunnel where biking 1 mile is like biking 3 in Allentown / The West Side or Elmwood.
Still a good rating overall though, so it is a really about the options that a person wants. Living in Allentown for years and now off of Hertel it is much nicer being closer to Delaware Park for sure. While I love the smaller pocket parks, it is nice to have a place where you can actually throw a Frisbee or ride a bike around.
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wizardofza
Lots of bars and restaurants to walk to in Allentown but nary a place to grab fresh produce or basic grocery items.
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MEC
Wizard- I recommend you walk up to Elmwood and North (1 Block from Allen) and visit the Elmwood Market- great food, reasonable prices and theres even parking (although this article is about walking).
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eliz
Yeah and the Holly Farm on Allen does have basic stuff. I won't advocate for the other "delis." I like the Elmwood Market--it is a nice addition.
I've even walked to the Niagara St. Tops on occasion. It is not as far as you would think. And on a bike, it's nothing.
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yellowed
Does the site also factor in the number of times you'll get mugged or asked for change or smokes?
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carl
why are so many people (suburbanites?) in buffalo so afraid of being pan handled? I have never been to a major city in North America, Europe, or Latin America, where that was not just a part of street life.
and i have lived in buffalo for 16 years and have never been mugged, and i walk everywhere. sorry that happened to you i guess.
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JLWBflo
Thank you Carl.
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yellowed
I haven't been mugged, but two of my friends have had their walletts lifted on Allen in the last week. I live on Richmond, not the 'burbs. I'm not afraid of the bums, but I can understand how folks might not like it when "Chief" gets into your face looking for change, or how he'll be the 4th or 5th person to do so in the minute it takes to walk from Staples to the Pink. Many of the people I have encountered in that area are very aggressive.
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GDC
You know it's your right to call the police at anytime you feel threatend by a panhandler or if they even tap you on your shoulder it's against the law. Start taking action instead of complaining about them.
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Genghis
Also, the survey doesn't take into consideration how desirable the nearest grocery store etc is. I suspect the "Allentown Food Shop" isn't a full-service grocery store. Also, I suspect not many regulars get their latest fashions at "Krudmart".
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GDC
maby more locals SHOULD shop at Krudmart, they have up-date fashions , unlike what most people out here are wearing (90's wanna be's)
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MP1
Hertel and Colvin scores a walker's paradise of 94. Main Street and Niagara Falls Blvd scored 78. 998 Broadway scored a 66. HSBC Arena scored a 71 (imagine how much higher it will be once the canal district gets built). Buffalo Creek Casino scored a 58 Main and Chippewa scored a walker's paradise of 95. Our Lady of Victory Basilica scored a 62. Grant and Amherst scored a 66, Elmwood and Amherst scored a 72. Rhode Island and Busti scored a 6 with all the stuff on the Canadian side. Ouch!
This is pretty neat!
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carl
I look at it this way...
People love walking around Paris and Rome...and i can tell you, they are amazing cities.
They also have some of the highest rates of pickpocketing in the world.
I still can't wait to go back.
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Biniszkiewicz
I love Allentown. It is eminently pedestrian friendly. Applauds for the ranking. It has continued to improve over the past decade. I used to own an apartment building on Allen. Next year our oldest son goes to Kindergarten at Elmwood Village. I'm a Buffalo booster and Allentown supporter.
But it doesn't serve us to deny that there are too many vagrants who badger people for money, especially around feeding time at Night People. I have personally been threatened, and I'm a tall (6'5") fit guy. Friends of Night People attracts ne'er do wells like moths to a flame. It should be relocated out of this residential neighborhood and onto a more commercial street such as Main or Niagara. This relocation would be no burden to those seeking free dinner (it's a few blocks one way or another). But soup kitchens make bad neighbors for residents.
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JSmith
The thing with this website is that it doesn't really take into account the nature of the roads. It basically just does a Google Local Search to see what businesses are within a couple of miles. So my office on Maple near Niagara Falls Blvd gets
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JSmith
(Hit the button too fast, sorry!)
The thing with this website is that it doesn't really take into account the nature of the roads. It basically just does a Google Local Search to see what businesses are within a couple of miles. So my office on Maple near Niagara Falls Blvd gets a 75 ("Very Walkable"), because there's so many stores nearby. But I certainly wouldn't call the area a walkable neighborhood - there's not even sidewalks on certain stretches of those roads!
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JLWBflo
It is true that there are some issues with the methodology. A quick check of the WalkScore Web site shows that they themselves are aware of the limitations of their technology.
The key is that this is used both as a both starting point and to make a point.
The starting point uses Google Maps to look at clusters of businesses and amenities and makes a determination of walkability based on that.
The point is that, while it is true that Allentown Food Shop is not a full line grocery, the Elmwood Market and Holly Farm both fill substantive needs. A full-scale Tops Market is just a half mile from the corner of Elmwood at Allen - and that is the point that the Web site makes. Walkscore is aimed not at those who look only for the negaitive aspects of a neighborhood and dwell upon them but rather it is for those to whom a half mile walk to a full service grocery store (which takes me 2 minutes by bicycle) contributes to a livable, walkable neighborhood where a car trip is not a requirement each time one leaves one's home.
Other elements that make Allentown a well rounded neighborhood (which can also be argued for Hertel and some others mentoned here) is the walkable proximity of other amenities including several restaurants, the Theatre of Youth, Kleinhans Music Hall, Market Arcade Cinema, Shea's Performing Arts Center and even HSBC Arena if weather permits.
Below is an honest assessment from the WalkScore site that admits some of the limitations of this broad-brush view of a location, but that is not really the point. Walkability is based on many factors and Allentown is fortunate to have an abundance of the positive attributes. It is these that we should focus on, not the negative.
How It Doesn't Work: Known Issues with Walk Score
We'll be the first to admit that Walk Score is just an approximation of walkability. There are a number of factors that contribute to walkability that are not part of our algorithm:
Public transit: Good public transit is important for walkable neighborhoods.
Street width and block length: Narrow streets slow down traffic. Short blocks provide more routes to the same destination and make it easier to take a direct route.
Street design: Sidewalks and safe crossings are essential to walkability. Appropriate automobile speeds, trees, and other features also help.
Safety from crime and crashes: How much crime is in the neighborhood? How many traffic accidents are there? Are streets well-lit?
Pedestrian-friendly community design: Are buildings close to the sidewalk with parking in back? Are destinations clustered together?
Topography: Hills can make walking difficult, especially if you're carrying groceries.
Freeways and bodies of water: Freeways can divide neighborhoods. Swimming is harder than walking.
Weather: In some places it's just too hot or cold to walk regularly.
As MarlonBain said, "You should use the Web 3.0 app called going outside and investigating the world for yourself" before deciding whether a neighborhood is walkable! And if you can't go there in person, Walk Score includes Google Street View so you can use your own eyes to evaluate the walkability factors that our algorithm doesn't yet include.
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sbrof
I like it.. web 3.0, Go Outside...
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pgf1948
And, you, Queenseyes, never mention anything but, "as we were driving", or " while driving by." Hypocrite.
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benfranklin
Bini is correct about 'Friends...". I looked at property on St. Johns a number of times, but never pulled the trigger because I kept looking at the line outside of Friends of the night people. I'm sure they do good work, but it's holding back that section of Allentown.
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eliz
Well, it's tough. FONP is here because it is easy for most of their clients to get here. Where should they be? If anything needs to be "walkable" it is a service like this. BTW, I have never been threatened by any of their clients and I am much less prepossessing than Bini says he is.
On the other hand, I wouldn't live next door to it. Could there be a better waiting area INSIDE the facility? Is there a way to fix it?
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sbrof
pdf, you obviously haven't been reading many of his articles often he is talking about . While biking home or out on a bike ride etc etc...
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fill
I live in Virginia near Delaware and I can walk to Tops Niagara St. in about 7 minutes.
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HudsonHarmony
Eliz,
Most of the clients for FONP do NOT live anywhere near the location. In fact, you can observe many of them come in cars or be dropped off. I should know - I live just down the street. This summer we have had the police on Hudson and Wadsworth Streets due to the "clients" of Friends of the Night - so many calls have been made that I have lost count.
Don't be so naive - there are some DANGEROUS people who look for a meal at the soup kitchen.
Those who live on Hudson Street are very often threatened physically by FONP clients - they are very aggressive people. The overwhelming number of robberies, fights thefts, break-ins and vandalism is due to FONP clientele. They are a negative presence in a neighborhood that is desperately trying to revitalize.
Furthermore, if you think FONP is so benign then why don't you lobby for them to relocate down the street from you? It's easy to sign the praise of Night People when you don't have to deal with negative spin-off directly caused by them. Vagrants are a big problem in Allentown.... let's be honest.
Go for a walk down Hudson and talk to any of those who actually live near FONP and see how your statement above is very inaccurate.
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Biniszkiewicz
What is now the New Phoenix Theater on Johnson Park was the first real estate deal for which I earned a sale commission. It used to be a soup kitchen.
I lived down the street. Richard Lambert bought it from the American Rescue Workers, a Christian evangelical organization which had operated 95 Johnson Park since 1947 (this being then 1995) as a church and a soup kitchen. (They had bought the place in 1947 for $12,000 from an association of women teachers in Buffalo, who in turn had bought it when it was about ten years old for $12,000 from the Buffalo Seminary girl's school. The building was built in 1895. The original Buff Sem was located where Elmwood Avenue and Hutch Tech are now. Buff Sem was demolished shortly after the turn of the century as part of the extension of Elmwood Ave from Virginia Street to downtown. 95 Johnson Park had been built as lecture hall, theater, guest quarters for Buffalo Sem. Then it served as meeting hall and lecture and banquet hall for the teachers organization. Then the Rescue Workers operated this location as a church and soup kitchen and they simultaneously operated another soup kitchen/church on Franklin near Chippewa which has since become a bar. I eventually sold them a place on Genesee near Walden to replace Franklin. Don't know if they're still in business. But I digress).
I lived a half block from that soup kitchen for a long time (five years before Richard bought it). A soup kitchen is a bad neighbor. People relieving themselves in all manner on lawns and in the park, littering, walking in yards to scope easy pickings, scaring your tenants away by approaching them for money. The majority of the patrons are harmless. But a significant proportion of the rest are drunks. Or just bums. Or ex cons. Or casualties of war who haven't been able to get it together and live in society anymore.
The guy who threatened me in Allentown was a combination of drunk and angry veteran. I was telling him to stop loitering in front of the building I owned, panhandling. He was pissed. He came after me. My tenants had complained to me about bums. I didn't want them in front of my building badgering people. Probably in his estimation it was a free street and he could earn however he saw fit. But this particular guy was very aggressive. And he was fit. He looked too old to be recently discharged (maybe late thirties or early 40s). But he was in good shape. Maybe he was also ex con. Don't know. Lots of ex cons are muscular, jail being a relatively bad place to be for the physically weak. Anyway this guy had had a few, too, bolstering his bravado.
Many of the patrons of soup kitchens are not the kind of people who help solidify a neighborhood. If you live next to a methadone clinic or soup kitchen you tend to get jaded about the clientèle.
At least on a major street there are apt to be less residences as immediate neighbors to a soup kitchen. I applaud the location of the City Mission for exactly that reason. Everybody can get to it. It's accessible. But they impact the fewest possible number of neighbors because of their location.
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blackrocklifer
I have compassion for most street people. Many are mentally ill and usually harmless but a few are just losers taking advantage. The problem is the CONCENTRATION of the ENTIRE REGIONS most undesirable citizens in the city (and especially Allentown).
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