Walk Score makes it easy to find out if your neighborhood is pedestrian friendly. Enter your address and it calculates the distances to stores, the post office, library, movie theaters and other commonly used businesses in your area. A high score means that you could easily get by without a car, being able to perform errands all on foot. A score below 20 means your only real walking is done from your front door to your car.
Why does any of this matter? Environmentalists say that driving your car less is better for the environment. Social activists say that walking promotes interaction with neighbors and deters crime. And there are health benefits!
When we plugged in the addresses of all the branch libraries in the parish, we found that River Center (in downtown Baton Rouge) and Delmont Gardens (near a thriving commercial stretch on Plank Road) scored the best — with each having an 82 walk score. Way out in the country, Pride-Chaneyville Branch scored a foot-blistering 2, and only because it was near a public library (itself).
These scores don’t really reflect the particular placement of each branch, but rather the dynamics of the community in which they are located.
Here’s how all of the branches fared.
- Baker (3501 Groom Road, Baker): 51
- Bluebonnet (9200 Bluebonnet Blvd): 35
- Carver (720 Terrace St): 57
- Central (11260 Joor Rd): 46
- Delmont Gardens (3351 Lorraine St): 82
- Eden Park (5131 Greenwell Springs Rd): 54
- Greenwell Springs (11300 Greenwell Springs Rd): 37
- Jones Creek (6222 Jones Creek Rd): 65
- Pride-Chaneyville (13600 Pride-Port Hudson Rd., Pride): 2
- River Center (120 Saint Louis St): 82
- Scotlandville (7373 Scenic Hwy): 51
- Zachary (1900 Church St, Zachary): 54
- Main (7711 Goodwood Blvd): 65