Dr. Know: Why are Portland's walk and transit scores so low on Walkscore.com?

Portland has a large and beefy bike score on Walkscore.com. But I was stunned by our walk and transit scores. We're below Seattle, and even Los Angeles! What gives?

—Troy

I realize we've all gotten used to seeing Portland near the top of every "Most Awesome Cities" list, but sack up, people. So we didn't win Best Looking, Class Clown, and Mostly Likely to Succeed all at once—I bet they feel real sorry for us in Fort Wayne, Ind.

For the uninitiated, Walkscore.com is a site that uses rigorous-sounding algorithms to arrive at "walk," "transit," and "bike" scores for all addresses, then compiles them by municipality. Of America's 55 largest cities, Portland ranks No. 3 for bikes, No. 10 for transit, and No. 14 for walkability.

Given that Walkscore's raison d'être is real-estate ads, we might wish we'd done even worse. As far as I'm concerned, they can tell the world our streets are pools of toxic sludge from which tentacles emerge to ensnare the unwary traveler.

But I can see that you don't want to hear about our A+ in bikes or our A in transit, Troy—it's all about that disappointing B in walkability. Luckily, drilling down into the neighborhood data provides a clue as to what went so terribly wrong.

The Pearl District, for example, has a walk score of 96 out of 100. Hollywood comes in at 91. Buckman draws an 88. If Walkscore were assigning scores to Portlandia—the highly visible, overwhelmingly white portions of the city that get all the media attention—we'd have it nailed.

Unfortunately, while central-city residents have been enjoying their light rail, streetcar, frequent bus service, ubiquitous bike lanes, and a goddamned aerial tramway, plenty of folks in poorer neighborhoods—East Portland, say—are still waiting for sidewalks.

In fact, the walkability of many of our neighborhoods seems eerily proportionate to their median income. Come to Portland, where as long as you can afford a car, you won't need one!

QUESTIONS? Send them to dr.know@wweek.com

WWeek 2015

Marty Smith

Marty Smith is the brains (or lack thereof) behind Dr. Know and skirts the fine line between “cultural commentator” and “bum” on a daily basis. He may not have lived in Portland his whole life, but he’s lived in Portland your whole life, so don't get lippy. Send your questions to dr.know@wweek.com and find him on Twitter at @martysmithxxx.

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