Replay 11/23/07: DC/Oakland Reflections: Urban Walking

So I know I promised to write a series about my Oakland and Los Angeles inspired reflections on urban space, but the truth is that I compare just about every city to Oakland and I almost constantly think about the intricacies of urban space. So I’m going to broaden this series to include urban reflections about other cities.

Last week, I went to DC to spend some time at the DC office of the organization I work for. I’ve always loved visiting our nation’s capitol, but I’m not sure I ever realized until this trip how walkable the city is. During my three days in the city, I easily walked 10 miles, at one time trekking 2 miles uphill to reach a bar.

I used to think Oakland was pretty walkable too, and I often walk a mile or two to reach a store or restaurant. DC has an advantage though that I fear Oakland will never have – it feels safe to walk around at night. And I don’t just mean on the main streets, but even on many of the neighborhood streets. In my neighborhood in North Oakland, I start walking much quicker as the sun sets and never walk more than a few blocks alone at night.

What’s interesting is that DC is certainly not a crime-free city. What makes walking around at night feel safe is that there are lots of other people walking around. I think some of this has to do with the fact that DC residents rarely drive around the city. So they walk too and from the Metro station or bus stop. And they often walk a few blocks to a main street to catch a cab.

Even at 10pm, I was never alone on a street in DC. Conversely, at that time in my neighborhood, I would always be walking alone if I chose to do so. And I’ve unfortunately heard too many stories of armed robberies happening after dark just a few blocks away from my apartment building, on the darkest, emptiest streets.

Some of my fears in Oakland in contrast to my general feeling of safety in DC might also have to do with the differing police presence. In DC, there are 65.3 police officers per 10,000 residents, vs. only 18.1 in Oakland! (Thanks to V Smoothe for sharing this figures.)

My only hope for a neighborhood in Oakland becoming this walkable after dark is Uptown (and maybe later other parts of Downtown). I think as it transforms and recenters life around public transit and walking, I might feel safe walking there at night. Otherwise, I think I’ll save my evening walks for my trips to DC.

What I’d like to bring from DC to Oakland

Whenever I travel, I can’t help but think about how the cities I’m visiting are similar or different to Oakland. I’m usually part nostalgic for Oakland (I can’t help myself from telling everyone I meet how great Oakland is), but I also reflect on how Oakland can improve.

On my trip last week to Washington, DC and College Park, MD, I ran into several things that I wish I could have brought back with me to Oakland:

• Taxi Service!: You already know how much taxi service sucks in Oakland. I’m not suggesting that we could ever support as robust a service as is available in DC proper, but even the suburbs beat us. I took cabs several times while in College Park. At the Metro station, there was always a cab (or several) waiting. I didn’t run into any other taxi stands, but whenever I called for a cab, one arrived within 5-15 minutes, no matter the time of day.

• Bar Pilar: There’s a lot of excellent food in DC, but Bar Pilar is my new favorite place to grab a drink and something to eat. Whether you’re looking for a can of Tecate or a shot of Patron, this is the place to go. The food menu consists almost exclusively of small plates, which showcase seasonal produce and mostly organic, local ingredients. Everything we ate was excellent – butternut squash soup, roasted potatoes with garlic aoli, a mix of mushrooms with leeks, honey glazed carrots, and cauliflower in a creamy sauce (and my companions said the steak and fish were yummy too). But the atmosphere is what had me going on and on about how I wanted to clone this restaurant, add a bit of Oakland style, and bring it across country with me. Take a look for yourself:

• The Dupont Current: I picked up this local paper and was thoroughly impressed by it. Apparently, it’s one member of a family of four local DC papers that together cover the western half of the city. The paper covered local political and community issues in depth, including several detailed articles on commercial and residential development projects, a front page piece about a bicycle safety bill, and several brief commentaries on local schools. Though we have several print publications in Oakland, I don’t feel like any of them do this good a job covering local political issues. Oh well – at least we have lots of great blogs to keep us updated.

• Bus Frequency: I’m by no means an expert on DC bus schedules, but my overall experience has been that they arrive frequently and often on time. The 42 is the line I take most often, from my boss’s apartment in Mt. Pleasant to my office on M Street. I’ve never waited longer than 2 minutes (it comes every 5 minutes!), and it drops me off less than a block from my destination. I don’t think we’ll ever attain this kind of bus frequency in Oakland until Bus Rapid Transit is implemented.

I’m guessing most people will be traveling this week for Thanksgiving so while you’re out and about around the country, take a moment to think about what you’d like to bring back to Oakland (or what you hope will never, ever come to Oakland) and feel free to share those thoughts here in the comment section.

DC/Oakland Reflections: Urban Walking

So I know I promised to write a series about my Oakland and Los Angeles inspired reflections on urban space, but the truth is that I compare just about every city to Oakland and I almost constantly think about the intricacies of urban space. So I’m going to broaden this series to include urban reflections about other cities.

Last week, I went to DC to spend some time at the DC office of the organization I work for. I’ve always loved visiting our nation’s capitol, but I’m not sure I ever realized until this trip how walkable the city is. During my three days in the city, I easily walked 10 miles, at one time trekking 2 miles uphill to reach a bar.

I used to think Oakland was pretty walkable too, and I often walk a mile or two to reach a store or restaurant. DC has an advantage though that I fear Oakland will never have – it feels safe to walk around at night. And I don’t just mean on the main streets, but even on many of the neighborhood streets. In my neighborhood in North Oakland, I start walking much quicker as the sun sets and never walk more than a few blocks alone at night.

What’s interesting is that DC is certainly not a crime-free city. What makes walking around at night feel safe is that there are lots of other people walking around. I think some of this has to do with the fact that DC residents rarely drive around the city. So they walk too and from the Metro station or bus stop. And they often walk a few blocks to a main street to catch a cab.

Even at 10pm, I was never alone on a street in DC. Conversely, at that time in my neighborhood, I would always be walking alone if I chose to do so. And I’ve unfortunately heard too many stories of armed robberies happening after dark just a few blocks away from my apartment building, on the darkest, emptiest streets.

Some of my fears in Oakland in contrast to my general feeling of safety in DC might also have to do with the differing police presence. In DC, there are 65.3 police officers per 10,000 residents, vs. only 18.1 in Oakland! (Thanks to V Smoothe for sharing this figures.)

My only hope for a neighborhood in Oakland becoming this walkable after dark is Uptown (and maybe later other parts of Downtown). I think as it transforms and recenters life around public transit and walking, I might feel safe walking there at night. Otherwise, I think I’ll save my evening walks for my trips to DC.