The Long Road

Well, can anything beat a twilight stroll through the neighborhood? I don't think so. The streets are still busy; workers coming home, workers leaving home, happy hour revelers, sports bar patrons, business owners working and dog walkers, well, walking. I love walking Mt Pleasant's streets and had a pretty sweet one last night.

Just kept going actually and ended up in Adams Morgan. Took in a little people watching and started back to the hood. I was tempted to catch a 42, but with only a few blocks walk, I passed it up and took my time. Forget sitcom reruns, gossip websites, nightly news and yes, blogs. Walking the town is free, refreshing and reminds one of why its so great to live here, and free. Here's to soaking up the early spring weather and soaking up the beat of the street.

Sections of Park Road Sidewalk Reopen

Good news for you folks living on Park Road between 16th and Mt Pleasant Streets. Sections of the sidewalk are starting to be released back into the public domain. And they are much wider now than before. I'd say a good two feet wider. That formerly narrow stretch of sidewalk is much trafficked and was due for an upgrade any year now. Enjoy it. Car traffic shouldn't suffer much. Well, after the construction anyway. Not so fun to drive on Park Road right now in its current condition. There's basically a little less than one complete lane available. Stay away; unless you're walking!

Reasons to Be Car Free in DC #9: Walkability

Walk to: movies, haircut, school, groceries, clothes, beer/wine, pizza, pupusas, laundry, coffee, hardware, car share, and more! All his adds up to a high "Walk Score" on walkscore.com for Mount Pleasant. According to the website, we aren't even the most walkable neighborhood in DC. The Mount P score seems to be a bit low at 77/100, but I understand why Dupont is higher: buses galore, Metro, full service groceries, all of Connecticut Ave, et cetera. But Mount Pleasant shows pretty well. The ratings don't always seem on point. For example, all of Southwest gets an 81/100. If you've been, you know its barely drivable, let alone walkable. FYI, Dupont, with a 99/100 rating, is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in the nation. Not surprisingly, the most walkable are in New York City.

Occasionally I get neighborhood envy and venture out to A/M or Columbia Heights for wants and needs, but most of the time I realize that we pretty much have it all here in terms of necessities. As long as you can get tp when your roommate forgets (always the roommate, eh), a bottle of wine for guests on short notice, or a nice meal out when you don't feel like cooking, you should be happy. Well, we have all that and more. Having a car is nice if you need to get somewhere like Georgetown in a hurry (I know, an exreme and unlikey scenario) or buying an HDTV from Best Buy (what, you don't want to walk it down Irving Street?). Car share and cabs are apporpriate for those instances. Otherwise our walkability is reason number 9 to be car free in DC.