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FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. How frequently do you walk the main promenade of your town? Is it easy to get to? For many towns in Fairfield County, the town center isnt quite as easy to reach as the town might like.
A website, walkscore.com, has rated towns all over the country for their walkability. The sites goal it to provide people looking for homes with another factor in their search: how easy is it to get around town without a car.
Scored out of 100, towns are graded on public transportation, ability to do daily errands on foot and the necessity of having a car.
Of all the towns in Fairfield County, only two scored above 60, Fairfield and New Canaan, both of which were graded as walkers paradise, with grades of 97 and 98, respectively.
I believe Fairfields walk score is very high because our downtown has a great many amenities within a few blocks, said Alyssa Israel, secretary of the Fairfield Bike Walk Coalition. Fairfields Town Hall, the YMCA, the public library, bookstore, grocery store, theatres, train station and many restaurants and coffee shops are all within a short distance.
Israel conceded that Fairfields score might not be as high if the website had taken into account its commercial areas of Black Rock or Tunxis Hill, or the poor quality and quantity of sidewalks.
The cities of Norwalk, 56, and Stamford, 59, were graded as somewhat walkable. But most of the towns were graded as car dependent, with scores under 49 points.
Wiltons First Selectman Bill Brennan has often talked about making the town center more walkable and more attractive to people shopping there. Since Brennan took office, an effort has been made to make the town more walkable.
"What's important about this is as weve added sidewalks, weve added trees, weve added benches " Brennan said. "It's encouraging walking. We want people to park their car and do their shopping on foot."
Even so, Wilton scored a 43, because its walking space is limited to about a mile on River Road and Old Ridgefield Road.
Similar towns, Darien, Greenwich and Westport, scored 41, 48, and 36, respectively. Easton and Weston received the lowest scores, with 2 and 5.
What do you think about your towns walkability score? Leave a comment below or contact your local reporter.
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