Mount Pleasant DC Forum

[MTPresident]

DCCharles makes some excellent points and I agree with pretty much all of it. What I've tried to point out in the past especially with regard to the "poll" about the ban on singles sales is that the poeple posting on this discussion board represents probably less than 1% of the people who actually live in Mt. Pleasant, and even that 1% is skewed, I mean really how many of our Latino or even African American residents are posting or even reading this discussion board???? And something tells me that the MPNA and even the ANC don't especially represent those residents either.

[Mrs. B]

[zrathore]

[Eugene]

And the bistek ranchero at Don Juan's with homemade tortillas -- mghty tasty!

[kelly5612]

[Laurie]

Take a visit to www.walkscore.com and you will find that Mount Pleasant is a very walkable community. I found this fascinating.

Walk Score: 72 out of 100 — Very Walkable

How It Works
Walk Score helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. Walk Score measures how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle—not how pretty the area is for walking.

What does my score mean?
Your Walk Score is a number between 0 and 100. Here are general guidelines for interpreting your score:

90–100 = Walkers' Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car.
70–89 = Very Walkable: It's possible to get by without owning a car.
50–69 = Somewhat Walkable: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car.
25–49 = Car-Dependent: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must.
0–24 = Car-Dependent (Driving Only): Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!

The Walk Score™ Algorithm
Walk Score uses a patent-pending system to measure the walkability of an address. The Walk Score algorithm awards points based on the distance to the closest amenity in each category. If the closest amenity in a category is within .25 miles (or .4 km), we assign the maximum number of points. The number of points declines as the distance approaches 1 mile (or 1.6 km)—no points are awarded for amenities further than 1 mile. Each category is weighted equally and the points are summed and normalized to yield a score from 0–100. The number of nearby amenities is the leading predictor of whether people walk.1

Your Walk Score may change as our data sources are updated or as we improve our algorithm.


Grocery Stores
0.05 Mi Argyle Convenience
0.05 Mi Best Way Supermarke
0.05 Mi Los Primos
0.06 Mi Samber Food Store
0.07 Mi Elprogreso Market
0.08 Mi 7-Eleven Food Store
0.18 Mi Brown Street Market
0.38 Mi Target Store

Restaurants
0.04 Don Juan Restaurant
0.05 Mi Marleny Restaurant
0.05 Mi Marx Cafe
0.05 Mi Pollo Loco
0.05 Mi Don Jaime Restauran
0.07 Mi Radius
0.14 Mi Dos Gringos

Coffee Shops
0.36 Mi United Coffee Shop
0.38 Mi Sticky Fingers Bake
0.4 Mi Potter's House Coff
0.46 Mi Crumbs & Coffee Inc
0.61 Mi Starbucks Coffee Co
0.61 Mi Caribou Coffee
0.66 Mi Tryst Coffee House
0.71 Mi Ventnor

Sports Cafe Bars
0.57 Mi Adams Mill Bar & Gr
0.66 Mi Asylum
0.66 Mi Tryst Coffee House
0.71 Mi Left Bank Vistor Lo
0.71 Mi Bedrock Billiards
0.73 Mi Spy Lounge
0.78 Mi Bourbon
0.97 Mi Chi-Cha Lounge

CasMovie Theaters
1.07 Mi AMC Loews Uptown 1
1.11 Mi Visions Cinema Bist
1.15 Mi Spooky Action Theat
1.32 Mi Theater Studio
1.4 Mi Theater J
1.58 Mi AMC Loews Dupont Ci
1.91 Mi Washington Perform
2.5 Mi E Street Cinema

Schools
0.05 Mi Preparatory School
0.13 Mi Sacred Heart School
0.13 Mi Sacred Heart Adult
0.14 MiElsie Whitlow Stoke
0.21 Mi Lincoln Middle Scho
0.23 Mi Bancroft Elementary
0.27 Mi Bell Senior High Sc
0.33 Mi Little Flower Monte

Parks
0.17 Mi Recreation & Parks
0.36 Mi Park East
0.51 Mi Piney Creek Park
0.67 Mi Meridian Hill Park
0.77 Mi Rock Creek and Poto
0.77 Mi Rock Creek National
0.8 Mi Kalorama Park
0.85 Mi Smithsonian

Libraries
0.15 Mi Mt Pleasant Library
0.86 Mi National Library Se
1 Mi Cleveland Park Libr
1.04 Mi Petworth Library
1.13 Mi Population Referenc
1.2 Mi Hillwood Museum & G
1.22 Mi The Supreme Council
1.34 Mi German Historical I

Bookstores
0.87 Mi Teaching For Change
0.92 Mi House of Khamit
0.96 Mi Sankofa video and b
0.99 Mi Sisterspace & Books
1.23 Mi Howard University B
1.35 Mi Lambda Rising Books
1.44 Mi Kramerbooks & After
2.33 Mi Politics & Prose Bo

Fitness
0.05 Mi Curves
0.25 Mi Into Afrika Inc
0.36 Mi Quiet mind yoga
0.38 Mi Washington Sports C
0.66 Mi Studio Serenity Yog
0.67 Mi Even Keel Yoga
0.75 Mi One On One Fitness
0.83 Mi Unity Woods Yoga Ce

Drug Stores
0.05 Mi Mt Pleasant Pharmac
0.05 Mi ShoppingMallDC.com
0.34 Mi Columbia Heights Pr
0.38 Mi Target Store
0.41 Mi CVS/pharmacy
0.42 Mi CVS Pharmacy: Store
0.43 Mi Western Union - Gia
0.48 Mi Safeway Food & Drug

Hardware Stores
0.07 Mi Pfeiffer's Hardware
0.4 Mi Cooper Hardware
0.64 Mi Around the Corner
0.7 Mi Duron Paints & Wall
0.79 Mi The Brass Knob
0.86 Mi Adams Morgan Hardwa
0.87 Mi Capitol Locksmith C
0.97 Mi Greater Goods

Clothing & Music
0.04 Mi Simplysoles
0.05 Mi ShoppingMallDC.com
0.49 Mi Foot Locker
0.55 Mi Ritmo Latino Inc
0.56 Mi Payless Shoe Source
0.65 Mi Footaction
0.65 Mi C D Game Exchange
0.67 Mi Even Keel Yoga

Walkable Neighborhoods
Picture a walkable neighborhood. You lose weight each time you walk to the grocery store. You stumble home from last call without waiting for a cab. You spend less money on your car—or you don't own a car. When you shop, you support your local economy. You talk to your neighbors.

What makes a neighborhood walkable?
A center: Walkable neighborhoods have a discernable center, whether it's a shopping district, a main street, or a public space.
Density: The neighborhood is compact enough for local businesses to flourish and for public transportation to run frequently.
Mixed income, mixed use: Housing is provided for everyone who works in the neighborhood: young and old, singles and families, rich and poor. Businesses and residences are located near each other.
Parks and public space: There are plenty of public places to gather and play.
Pedestrian-centric design: Buildings are placed close to the street to cater to foot traffic, with parking lots relegated to the back.
Nearby schools and workplaces: Schools and workplaces are close enough that most residents can walk from their homes.

Streets Designed for Everyone
Complete Streets are roads are designed for everyone who uses them, including bicyclists, pedestrians of all ages and abilities, and people getting on and off transit vehicles. These streets are:

Accessible: There are wheelchair ramps, plenty of benches with shade, sidewalks on all streets, etc.
Well-connected: Streets form a connected grid that improves traffic by providing many routes to any destination.
Built for the right speed: Lanes are narrow or traffic calming is in place to control speed.
Comfortable: Pedestrian medians at intersections, count-down crosswalk timers, bicycle lanes, protected bus shelters, etc. make the street work better for those outside of a car.

[Eugene]

Laurie, that was a really sweet post – it’s nice to be reminded how walkable Mount Pleasant is – and I applaud you for posting on the forum under your own ID! However, questions remain:

[jl]

Eugene,
I don't know you or Laurie or any of your beefs, but am new to the neighborhood and would like to use this forum effectively.

As an outsider, I can tell you that you are embarrassing yourself. More importantly, you are wasting our time.

I am Begging for no response from laurie (even a response that pretends to be a non-response with subtle jabs) or anyone else that doesn't have something pertinent to say.

jl

[zrathore]

[mha]

Very walkable, no doubt. But "walkable paradise" is something to strive for. After all, Mt. Pleasant is at the heart of urban density in the region.

[Eugene]

[Laurie]

Yes, "walkable paradise" would be something to strive for. Walk Score ranked 2,508 neighborhoods in the largest 40 U.S. cities and Washington DC is ranked "7" out of the top "10". I think Mount Pleasant does well even with the "what doesn't work" factor. See below.

How It Doesn't Work: Known Issues with Walk Score
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.

[jack]

[zrathore]

[jl]

DCCHARLES wrote