Walkability is often on the mind of buyers, when choosing a location to buy into. But, it has also been a bit of trending topic in town planning discussions lately. I recently checked out the walk scores in the Ginninderra district, to see which are the most walkable suburbs in this area, at least according to this website. I was a little surprised by some of the results.
Not surprising, I suppose, was that every suburb in Ginninderra was rated as 'car-dependent.' The motor car and the suburban project go somewhat hand in hand. But, I was very surprised that HALL Village was rated so badly, when it is actually the nicest place in Ginninderra to walk around. I guess that it should be no surprise, though, that CHARNWOOD had far and away the best ranking in the district for walkability with its bustling shopping centre with zero commercial vacancies and lots of medical services, professional services, churches, eateries and a large supermarket. It looks to me like walk scores for FLYNN, LATHAM & FRASER are probably benefiting from their proximity to CHARNWOOD. I was quite surprised, though, that EVATT did not rate a bit higher with three primary schools, two churches, a pharmacy, dentist and a doctor's surgery.
It will be interesting to watch over the next few decades how our suburbs change in terms of walkability, if car ownership continues to decline among younger generations, car-sharing services become more widely adopted, and petrol cars are outlawed circa 2045.
