How Walkable is San Ramon?

San Ramon has flat terrain, numerous restaurants and several shopping centers, but is it a good place to ditch the car and walk?

According to a Walk Score study released last week, San Ramon isn't the greatest place to hit the pavement. It scored a 32 out of a possible 100. Only 7 percent of its 72,000 residents live in a neighborhood with a walk score above 70.

The study shows that 81 percent of San Ramon residents live in car-dependent neighborhoods, with only 19 percent near areas where most errands can be taken care of on foot.

As expected, the most walkable neighborhoods are along San Ramon Valley Boulevard, on the 2200 block.

Plug in the address for City Hall and the score comes out to 85, "very walkable," for its proximity to the cluster of stores in the Crow Canyon Commons.

Creators of the study used census data, neighborhood boundaries from real estate marketing website Zillow.com and other sources to calculate "walkability." Residences within a quarter mile of amenities received the most points. 

A score of 50-69 means some amenities are within close walking distance while a score of 90-100 means that no car is required.

New York topped the list of the most walkable cities, with a score of 85.3. But San Francisco was a close second, at 84.9. Walk Score ranked about 2,500 cities and more than 10,000 neighborhoods. 

According to Walk Score, homes in walkable neighborhoods are worth more than those in areas that are less so. Furthermore, the average resident of a walkable neighborhood weighs six to 10 pounds less than someone who lives in a sprawling neighborhood.

Look up the walkability of your neighborhood at Walk Score’s website.