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Comment by mppm | Hacker News Reader

This is not so much about which cities are walkable, but a survey of how people actually do get around there. Big difference. I've browsed the dataset and Auckland rates as less "walkable" than Kuala Lumpur. Yes, Kiwis do get around by car a lot, but Auckland is still a perfectly pleasant, walkable city. On the other hand, I've never been in a more pedestrian-hostile place than KL.

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I disagree about Kuala Lumpur. Maybe it depends on the area, but IME the walkability is great. Public transport is superb, lots of zebra crossings and foot paths, drivers are considerate. I see lots of people walking everywhere. Even at night, as the city feels really safe.

It's been six years since I was there, so things may have changed in the meantime, but back then I've explored central KL on foot for a few days, and did not find that particularly enjoyable. Public transport is indeed great, but as for actually walking... taking kilometer-long detours to cross some urban motorway, being stuck for five minutes at a pedestrian traffic light, sidewalks being constantly interrupted by driveways or switching to the other side of the road... all perfectly normal. This depends on the area too, of course -- I found Putrajaya pretty nice, for example, but also not representative.

Auckland is a horrible car-ridden shithole.

You can't get from where people live, to where they work without a car and actually maintain a job.

Completely agree. I live in the CDB because I don't drive and need to get easy access to the ferries. From the CDB it's easy to get around on public transport and I have a 5minute walk as a commute. I don't know why everyone in Auckland wants to live in the burbs?! The downside is that Friday and Saturday nights turn into a seedy cesspit of drunks and homeless people, but I don't go out anymore so don't really see it much. They also physically cut the CBD off from the nearest neighborhood with freeways which choke the CDB. I guess some right wing government decided they wanted to get to their office and back and fuck the pedestrians. There is even a lovely park in which they just put a freeway straight though. As a result its hard to walk out of the CDB and the center is full of carparks which few can afford. (And the rail network is sporadically not working, and busses are incredibly sloooooow). Would not live here if i wasn't forced too.

Interesting. I lived in Auckland for a month pre-Covid and liked it quite well in general -- fairly clean, modern, lots of green, and not overflowing with traffic. Not much public transport, of course, and a moderately bad homeless problem, but otherwise pleasant all around. Not to mention all the stunning nature an hour's drive away. So I'm genuinely surprised by the negative comments. Has the situation deteriorated recently? Or is the perspective of visitors and locals just that different?

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