The Footprint
where will your feet take you?

  Finding a balance   Year 2040 Long Range Transportation Plan

3 blocks

Three blocks. That’s how close I am to everything. I’ve been pondering my great location over the past few days. My house is three blocks from everything I need to do. Three blocks gets me to the following:

  • bike trail
  • grocery store
  • local co-op
  • gas station
  • good restaunts
  • the main street leading to work (walk or bike)
  • butcher shop

There are a host of other services all within walking distance of my home too numerous to mention. I’m “picked on” at times by various friends who choose to live in a more northerly town. I’m ridiculed for living in a larger city & surrounded by concrete.

Well, my little corner of the world is pretty good and I have grown to like the interesting mix of “city” and “solitude” I have created for myself. Our neighborhood is quiet with a great location. We are on the edge of what may be, in the future, the downtown urban village. While all of this is trendy and hip when it comes to urban planning, our neighborhood is in a great position to be a part of the plans to revitalize centrally located parts of the city.

Recently, new neighbors moved in next door. They said they looked at houses in more “trendier” parts of town, but found the houses overpriced due to this demand. The houses in our neighborhood are still well priced for first time home buyers. They said they picked our neighborhood because of the proximity to services, the bike trail, and downtown. All were within walking distance along with some great places to eat.

One of the things I like most about our location, is that it still has a great mix of people. Some just moved in, but there are many others who are original home owners often residing in our neighborhood for 30 or 40 years. This creates a great blend of experiences to our neighborhood. As we have gone around door knocking for our newly formed neighborhood association it is interesting to learn about the history of our neighborhood from those who have been around a while. It is also interesting to learn why new comers have chosen our neighborhood to call “home”.

I plan on writing about our adventures in forming our neighborhood association in the next few weeks, but I thought it would be nice to open that discussion with this post and the 3 blocks that lead me to all the places I need to go.

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