I need you to understand that walking an hour in a walkable city and walking in an hour in an American suburb is like comparing a literal walk in the park with walking on a tight rope for an hour.
I’ve lived in both. It’s a shit show in the vast majority of the US. Sidewalks deliberately end to prevent ‘the poors’ from entering adjacent neighborhoods. There is zero shade, trees, seats, or any form of refuge as a deterrent from homeless people. Once you start walking somewhere, there are no shops, restaurants, or water, or bathrooms until you reach your destination, where you must spend money. Public transit takes a minimum of 3x longer than cars, and that’s if you live in a big city. If you miss your bus, you have to wait an hour for the next one. A shop that’s only 200 meters across the highway can end up becoming a 5km walk due to lack of crossings. Each crossing alone can take you 5-10 minutes to cross due to the sheer width of the underpass, number of segments in it, and the infrequency of stopped traffic.
Also, people own guns in the US, pedestrian density is low, homeless people who might be desperate and mentally ill people are not cared for, and paths are not always fully lit. That means you better be sure you can walk back by sundown or else risk robbery, assault, and death.
That’s only if there is a walkable path the to amusement park.
Most amusement parks are either located further out from the city, surrounded by a massive parking lot, or is enclosed by highways and non-walkable car infrastructure.
Take Six Flags Magic Mountain for example. If you look at the satellite view, you’ll see that the closest residential home to it is a 46 minute walk despite being only 1000ft (300m) away from it. It’s completely unshaded with literally nothing in between the house and the park. If you get a heatstroke, you’re shit out of luck.
I need you to understand that walking an hour in a walkable city and walking in an hour in an American suburb is like comparing a literal walk in the park with walking on a tight rope for an hour.
I’ve lived in both. It’s a shit show in the vast majority of the US. Sidewalks deliberately end to prevent ‘the poors’ from entering adjacent neighborhoods. There is zero shade, trees, seats, or any form of refuge as a deterrent from homeless people. Once you start walking somewhere, there are no shops, restaurants, or water, or bathrooms until you reach your destination, where you must spend money. Public transit takes a minimum of 3x longer than cars, and that’s if you live in a big city. If you miss your bus, you have to wait an hour for the next one. A shop that’s only 200 meters across the highway can end up becoming a 5km walk due to lack of crossings. Each crossing alone can take you 5-10 minutes to cross due to the sheer width of the underpass, number of segments in it, and the infrequency of stopped traffic.
Also, people own guns in the US, pedestrian density is low, homeless people who might be desperate and mentally ill people are not cared for, and paths are not always fully lit. That means you better be sure you can walk back by sundown or else risk robbery, assault, and death.
If you’re retired and have a yearly pass, an amusement park is not the worst place to go for a daily walk. Aside from peak days.
That’s only if there is a walkable path the to amusement park.
Most amusement parks are either located further out from the city, surrounded by a massive parking lot, or is enclosed by highways and non-walkable car infrastructure.
Take Six Flags Magic Mountain for example. If you look at the satellite view, you’ll see that the closest residential home to it is a 46 minute walk despite being only 1000ft (300m) away from it. It’s completely unshaded with literally nothing in between the house and the park. If you get a heatstroke, you’re shit out of luck.
You’re really selling the American Dream there, late. Yee-fucking-haw !