How Walkable is Altadena?

The folks at Walk Score--who believe that walkable cities are good for our health, wealth and sense of community--just came out with a ranking of cities in California.

The site ranked cities based on how close residents live to nearby amenities, with an average score of 50. West Hollywood took the honors as the most walkable city in California, with a Walk Score of 89, while Mead Valley in Riverside County got a measly 8.

On that scale, Altadena achieved a middling score of 54, which puts it in the same neighborhood (so to speak) as Irvine and Compton. ( and scenic vistas don't count for anything in walkability scores.)

Here's how it shook out:

• Three-quarters of Altadena residents live in an area with a Walk Score above 50.
• About a fifth of residents live in an area that scores above 70 on the Walk Score scale.
• A quarter of residents live in car-dependent neighborhoods.

It looks like the highly walkable areas near commercial districts averaged out with more rural areas up in the hills, which you can see on the map. Try to plug in the intersection of Lake Avenue and Altadena Drive, and you'll end up with a "very walkable" score of 83 that rivals the overall scores of Berkeley and Santa Monica.

Neighboring Pasadena and South Pasadena did better with scores of  68. La Cañada Flintridge did worse with a score of 44. Los Angeles scored a 66, down from previous years.