I’ve done well over an hour before (one way), but it definitely takes planning so not anywhere close to casual. At that point, perhaps other transportation may be used to return. And/or even if a daily/weekly occurrence, it takes discipline to do things like leave on time and stay informed throughout the day to handle weather events, plus wearing certain clothing to handle sweat and sun and rain etc. Biking is definitely preferable to walking for that level of distance/time, though I’ve done both.
More routinely, and perhaps with little notice, maybe… 20 minutes? (one way) It’s hard to say bc it depends on what stores are where, whether the purchases will fit comfortably into my bag, etc. But I’d leave at a moment’s notice for such a trip if need be and the conditions are conducive to it.
What about you: what’s your cutoff?
I have a grocery store close enough I could walk, but it’s not walkable because it’s a busy road with no sidewalks.
I currently live in just about the least walkable place I have ever lived and I dislike it. Work is less than a mile away, unwalkable because if safety. I can walk to a Dunkin Donuts, a dive bar, a church, a mosque, and that’s about it. Distance isn’t the factor.
Aw that sucks - I’m sorry to hear that!:-(
Yeah I presumed that walkability was possible for the question. There are a lot of places where like literally to go a tenth of a mile, e.g. across a highway, you’d have to go multiple miles around to get to a place that you could cross over.
I agree that walkability should very much be a consideration in making places to live.
Yeah, it really depends on a lot of factors, so it’s not like there’s one supreme answer.
Where I live now, which is a rural area, there’s basically nothing within a viable walking distance aside from neighbors. Even then, there are no walkways or sidewalks between houses/properties, so I would be taking my life into my own hands (for those not familiar, that’s an idiom) to walk along the roadway to another house. And yes, we’ve literally had people get hit by vehicles and die out here while walking on/along the roads.
When I lived in suburban and urban areas, my tolerance for walking places was much higher as longer, weather permitting. When I lived off campus during my college years, for example, I didn’t mind walking 45 - 60 minutes to get to campus. And if I was having car trouble, it wasn’t uncommon for me to walk that much or more to get to a grocery store or the mechanic’s shop.
I don’t know how representative my preferences are for the rest of the USA, but I live in a dense city.
I have a bicycle (and my city has plenty of bikeshare rentals scattered all throughout) so I’m usually not willing to walk more than 10 minutes.
When the weather is nice, I will walk within 5 minutes (roughly 0.25 miles or 0.5 km), bike within 30 minutes (roughly 5 miles/8km, depending on lights and traffic), and drive or Uber/Lyft beyond that.
When the weather is bad, I usually take mass transit if I can do it with less than 2 transfers, or I’ll drive/Uber/Lyft otherwise.
My choice between driving and Uber/Lyft is usually driven by some combination of cost (including parking), convenience, and whether I intend to drink.
I will walk only if getting a couple of things, about a mile or so? Electric bike if 2 bags or less and it’s a nice day. Car for weekly shopping, better store 5 miles or so, sadly my path home from work on bike doesn’t pass any grocery.
I don’t understand the question. You’re asking how far a walk is too long before I consider alternate transit? Or how long before I require alternate transit?
If the first, seven minutes.
If the latter, about four hours.
