Pasadena 91104: Better Walking Streets Further from Downtown

Walking around Pasadena is easier if you are further from the center of town. That’s my conclusion from the Walkabout wrap-up covered in this Sunday’s LA Times.

Deborah Murphy, one of 120 walkers, wrote a report for Streetsblog LA on the Pasadena event back in March. I agree wholeheartedly with her finding that traffic near construction projects presents added danger for pedestrians. She also had this to say about making transit stops easier to get to:

Southern California has invested billions of dollars in our transit system, yet has not done a good enough job of creating a safe, comfortable and pleasant environment on our city streets for people to get to the stations or signage for people to orient themselves when they arrive there and find their way to their destination.

At the end of July, Under the Dome covered a recent city finding that 78 percent of the downtown workforce uses cars to commute, and among those who also live in the same area as they work, the number is still 58 percent. Blogger Dan Abendschein commented:

So most workers are commuting far to get to downtown Pasadena and those that live close are generally set on using their cars to drive short distances.

The point of all these studies is to direct how to plan for the city’s future. But, also, as Sid Tyler pointed out in Monday’s meetings, they perhaps show that the city’s vision for developing itself to become a biking/walking/public transportation mecca has not happened.

Positive ideas and strong direction eventually produce results. Pasadena should continue to pursue its vision despite these interim findings. Addressing safety issues, the city has a helpful pedestrian safety page on its website here. In case you want to take a test walk and don’t know the best route, Foothill Cities Blog just reviewed Google’s new walking directions tool here.

North of downtown, the neighborhood bounded by Hill and Altadena features tree-lined residential streets, without or without sidewalks, close to major arteries with storefronts. Here is a walkable neighborhood away from downtown traffic, Gold Line stops, and major construction.

Many of the lowest priced listings on Redfin in this neighborhood are distress sales. Three under $500,000:

1496 Paloma Street
$495,000
2 bed/1.75 bath
1,038 sq.ft.
$477 per sq.ft.
On Redfin 25 days
A bank-owned REO, this sold in December 2005 for $630,000, and in April 2008 for $459,000.

2455 Casa Grande Street
$499,000 (originally $699,000)
3 bed/2 bath
1,642 sq.ft.
$304 per sq.ft.
On Redfin 52 days
Property to be sold as is; last sold May 2006 for $670,000.

1460 Whitefield Road
$499,000 (originally $599,000)
4 bed/2 bath
1,260 sq.ft.
$396 per sq.ft.
On Redfin 54 days
Listed as a fixer. There are two separate 2 bed/1 bath structures on this lot and the listing advertises its rental possibilities. Last sold August 2006 for $765,000. This is either bank-owned or a short sale.

Some recent sales in this price range:

1128 North Hill Avenue
$412,500 (6/27/08)
2 bed/1 bath
1,470 sq.ft.
$281 per sq.ft.
Last sold March 2004 for $453,000.

2325 Cooley Place
$455,000 (6/19/08 – listing price was $510,000)
3 bed/2 bath
1,680 sq.ft.
$271 per sq.ft.
This sold August 2004 for $650,000 and January 2008 for $295,250.

1956 Galbreth Road
$550,000 (7/7/08 – listing price was $669,000)
3 bed/2 bath
1,675 sq.ft.
$328 per sq.ft.