How Walkable is Your Home?

What is Walk Score?

Walk Score shows you a map of what's nearby and calculates a Walk Score for any property. Buying a house in a walkable neighborhood is good for your health and good for the environment. The walk score of the Space Needle, for example is 89. Bill Gates’ house walk score is 6. Our house is 65. The higher the score, the more walkable the location. How does the site calculate walkability?

How It Works

Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. Your Walk Score is a number between 0 and 100. The walkability of an address depends on how far you are comfortable walking—after all, everything is within walking distance if you have the time. 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 - 90 = Very Walkable: It's possible to get by without owning a car.

· 50 - 70 = Some Walkable Locations: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car.

· 25 - 50 = Not Walkable: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must.

· 0 - 25 = Driving Only: Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!

WalkScore.com

Lynette Hensley
Associate Broker

Splashes of Sun, Seattle Valentine

I can report three gorgeous sunny days in a row and everyone saying winter has turned the corner...I even drove down to Richmond Beach yesterday after a showing and just sat on a driftwood log for an hour staring at the waves and watching people walking, running with their dogs, building things with driftwood and stones, and of course taking pictures of each other doing it...since it is Puget Sound, and not really the Pacific, the breakers don't get as big as they do out around the actual ocean shores, but it is still the Pacific Northwest. That means when you are staring out where the sun is going down over the water, you know that past the snowcapped Olympics standing up seemingly out of the waves to the west, is nothing for a very long time, and then ... the Far East. It really does feel like the edge of the world.

Also, regrettably I am now 5 pounds fatter than I hoped to be going into spring, which is the fault of my daughter who gave me a huge box of the loveliest truffles I've ever had for Valentine's Day! (Thank you, dear Mia!) In Seattle when this happens, the traditional thing is to call up all your friends and make numerous dates to walk around Green Lake, both catching up with all the important people in your life and shedding the five pounds in a couple of weeks. As long as I stay away from the truffles.

Edy Kizaki, Realtor

Olympic Sculpture Park

I have finished the virtual tour I took of Olympic Sculpture Park.

This was a wonderful day when Krista, a client that was relocating from California, and I went to the Olympic Sculpture Park with her dog Bella.

A bit later I will fill in my impressions and some history of the park...there's a great website the city has for it which I'll put in too...

Edy Kizaki, Realtor