Walk Score + Light Rail = Paradise
Estately.com has my favorite property search ever: find homes that have a Walk Score of 90 or above within 1/4 mile of the new Seattle light rail.
I have to be careful on Estately—I can barely resist moving to one of these walkable homes near transit! Any real estate investors out there? Walkable homes near light rail are some of the only homes that appreciated while the rest of the housing market tanked.
Check out how many Walk Score 90 or above homes there are in Seattle. Think walkability is only for big cities? Check out this collection of Walk Score 90 homes in Sacramento.
Another site we love is BaseEstate.com. They have the sexiest “Search by Walk Score” implementation yet. Just pick a city, adjust the Walk Score slider to your desired range, and then find a home where you can kiss your car-dependence goodbye.
And can anyone tell me the difference between a subway and light rail? Both can go under or above ground—is it that light rail crosses the street at grade?
February 18th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
I *love* the Estately search concept. I did a very crude mashup map of Walk Score with CTA stops at http://carfreechicago.com/node/510 . I’m working on a map with the Walk Scores of train stops themselves to help people pick their neighborhood.
February 21st, 2009 at 6:20 pm
the diff. between light rail and subway is shakey; – they could use different types of train cars, and powering systems. Subways typically use the third rail. at least in this country- but not in germany where their subway runs on an elevated catenary. So I think subway is a generic term for an underground system. they are still “light rail” in that they are not a heavy rail system- i.e. diesel powered or like the amtrak.
March 8th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Light rail (typically) arrives less frequently and carries less people per hour than a subway/metro. Light rail sometimes crosses streets at grade, while subways/metro run on grade-seperated tracks. Pretty much the only differences.