Peter M over at the Auckland Transport Blog did an interesting piece based on census data which showed some of the suburbs in Auckland with the highest rates of walking and cycling.
Perhaps unsurprisingly the suburbs with the highest walking and cycling rates are almost all in the isthmus. However, this is just for trips to work, so there might be a more even spread if you were looking at all trips.
Anyway, this reminded me that a few weeks ago I read about this site where you can judge the walkability of your local suburb.
It’s mainly designed for people who are buying or renting a house – so you can see how walkable your local neighbourhood is.
What has this to do with cycling? I hear you ask. Well, the link was that Walk Score have just released their list of the top 10 most bike friendly cities in the USA.
Sadly, you can’t yet judge the bikability of suburbs in New Zealand but you can play around with the walkability rating.
For example, Mount Eden has a walkability rating of 87 (very walkable) whereas Flat Bush scores a 12 (car-dependent).
And, perhaps, if we vote online they will extend their bikability ratings elsewhere.
Or, on the other hand, maybe an organization in New Zealand could rate the bike friendliness of our major cities each year? Could be fun…
What do you think? Are you surprised at your suburb’s walkability score? Would you like to see a bikeability score?
from memory, Paremoremo had the highest rate of walking to work on the North Shore, not much scope for driving within those walls!