Killer Cul-de-sacs
1km in 2 neighborhoods
It seems reasonable to seek a little solace in the suburbs – buy a home on a cul-de-sac, and you get reduced traffic and a more neighborly feel. The kids can shoot hoops in the street without risk of being run down, and you can keep your eye on how high the Jones’s grass is growing.
But be prepared for a visit from our old friend, the law of unintended consequences…
The same traffic patterns that make a cul-de-sac quiet (read: difficult to drive), also make it difficult to walk. Typically plopped down on old farm land or a large, cheap tract on the edge of town, the modern “neighborhood” development is a winding and serpentine sprawl. In most cases, it’s fully separated from restaurants, grocery stores, music venues, and the other commercial outlets that we patronize.
That’s why a 2007 study of Atlanta transportation found that residents drive an average of 35 miles a day, and that distance is just 6% lower on the weekends. It should come as no surprise that people in more “walkable” neighborhoods drive 30% less on weekdays and almost 40% less on weekends. Instead, they opt for walking, biking, or taking transit. That adds up to a savings of $640 per year for a two person household living in a walkable neighborhood.
Of course, the benefits don’t stop there. Walkable neighborhoods have lower levels of NOx, VOCs, and ozone per capita, and they generate lower CO2 emissions. As for the health effects of all that ambulatory action, residents in the walkable areas are 7% less likely to be obese as more of them get the recommended levels of physical activity. In fact, the study concluded that
Every additional hour spent in a car each day translated into a 6 percent greater chance of being obese. In metro Atlanta, 31 percent of SMARTRAQ travel survey participants on average spend more than an hour and a half a day sedentary in a car.
In the maps at the top of the post, you can see where a 1 km walk will take you in two neighborhoods in the Seattle area. The truth is, the cul-de-sac layout makes it harder to get from Point A to Point B, so you’re less likely to try.
What do you think? Do the pros outweigh the cons, or should we return to the predictable grid of our grandparents’ neighborhood?
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