this post was submitted on 12 Mar 2025
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Are American sidewalks so inexistent that you can't walk there instead? Driving so close for groceries blows my mind.
I am American.
I have moved to a place that has a grocery store within 5 minutes of walking and is a GAME CHANGER for me.
The last place I lived at, 30 min drive to the grocery store in the other town. Yes, there were not grocery stores in the town I lived in.
In college, I had to walk an hour (one way) to get to the grocery store. Which was technically about the same time as busses, since every stop was an hour wait.
When I was traveling, stopped in Bakersfield because its the only place in that God forsaken area. I was eating a burger and saw a book store across the street. But it was a very busy street, and I didn't see any crosswalks. So I pulled up google maps, and low behold, 15 min walk to get to the bookstore that was literally across the street from me. 5 min drive.
Yes US's infrastructure is just that bad. You are lucky if you get sidewalks in rural areas.
you have buses so you're lucky. lol
and the entirety of kern county felt like a west coast version of the new jersey turnpike
Definitely lucky.
The city I currently live in is making a HUGE push for public transportation. Fixing roads, adding a ton of bike lanes, lighting up paved trails thought the city, adding train station stops, free parking garages, and MAKING ALL BUSES FREE FOR EVERYONE. You can even call a bus to come pick you up. Its actually insane what they have done in the last year or two.
Not moving anytime soon thats for sure.
I "technically" have busses near my house. The bus stop is on the corner and the grocery store is about 2 miles away. No brainer right?
Nope. Because the bus only comes every 45 minutes (according to the schedule, good luck if you trust it) and it takes 2.5hrs to go from my stop to the one next to the grocery store.
Or I can just walk the 25 mins or whatever it takes me to walk there.
Unfortunately, yes. The closest grocery store is literally a 5 minute drive away, but the 2-lane road there is just wide enough for the cars (driving at decent speed) in either direction. No sidewalks and nigh impossible to bike due to the monster trucks on the road and drainage ditches immediately to either side of the road.
Americans think they need to get an entire month's groceries in one go
Even then, there are cargo bikes.
My closest grocery store is more than two miles away (3.2km). I'm not walking that carrying several bags of groceries. I certainly don't have time to go to the store more than once a week or so.
3.2 is like less than 10 minutes on a bike, which can easily carry more than a week's worth of groceries with the right type of equipment.
It says "4 min. drive" in the OP though, which is what everybody is commenting about, not your personal anecdote.
That is a lot more than a 4 minute drive then.
Going to the shop here by car is by google maps, "typically 7-12 mins" for a 2 mile trip and that is a pretty accurate estimate. I can cycle it reliably in 10 and don't even have to sober up.
Please don't ride your bike drunk. Youre not just endangering yourself, but other cyclists and pedestrians too.