Does walkability matter to a bicyclist?

I was so excited about finding a new online tool related to walkable, sustainable, vibrant places to live that I’ve caused a lot of disagreement with my wife.  Walkscore.com shows the walkability of a particular address or neighborhood, and when I saw my own address had a score of 9 out of 100, I was ready to up and move.  We looked around at a few homes, and generally disagreed about priorities.  Of course, I cared most about moving to a walkable neighborhood close to my work that would allow me to live carfree or carlight.  My wife was most concerned about school districts but also wanted to be in a “cool” location within the city of Charlotte.  Everything went downhill fast when our real estate agent strongly advised us against our top selection we’ve been eyeballing for over a year.  The house was to close to a major roadway and was the last residence before older commercial properties.  That revelation is a topic for another article, but it’s certainly started me thinking about whether walkability matters as much for someone who’s willing and able to use a bicycle for primary means of personal utility transportation.  Sure, my home location scored an abysmal 9/100 on the walkability score, but I’ve proven able to live car light from this location without much difficulty at all.  Undeniably, there is additional added value living in a neighborhood where you aren’t the only one living without a car.

Here are some of the benefits of a walkable neighborhood:

• Better health
  Bicycling is certainly good for your health.
• Reduction in greenhouse gas
  Check.
• More transportation options
  From my home using my bicycle I have the option of several bus routes both cross town and uptown, which are back-ups to my primary bicycle transportation.
• Increased social capital
  Here’s where I miss out, but I certainly happily greet my neighbors as a bicycle by at 10-15 MPH.
• Stronger local businesses
  I have zero businesses within walkable distance from my home, but again I believe you must also consider the businesses I have available that are bicycling distance.

Sure I’d love for my wife and son to have to drive less and I’d love to see my neighbors face-to-face more, but do I need to pick up and move?  I don’t think so.  Transportation bicycling adds a unique aspect to the discussion of sustainable neighborhoods.  Bikes alow you to travel quite easily to destinations less than five miles, and carry a minimal amount of cargo which is quite often adequate.  The best neighborhoods for someone wanting to use a bicycle to lead a carfree lifestyle might be adjacent to a cities most walkable neighborhoods and within 5-or-so miles of the majority of their regular destinations including work, school, shopping, church, etc.  I fortunately also have safe access to most of those destinations via secondary roadways, bicycle paths, or mixed use paths.  Here’s the kicker – my property value is probably half that of the equivalent in a more traditional walkable neighborhood.  Am I saying neighborhood walkability doesn’t matter?  No, but I’ve got 85% of the value at 50% of the cost by using a bicycle that costs half a percent what I would have to pay for an equivalent home in a more walkable neighborhood.   It does not make sense to completely disregarding the bicycle in considering sustainable places to live.