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| A very walkable block! |
For most of its one mile length, Washington Avenue SE is the very model of a walkable residential street. It's a little out of my way, but on such a pleasant day as this, it's a nice way to walk from my home to my church or my office. It has houses close to the street, fronted by windows and doors not blank walls, and such trees that survived the 2020 derecho provide a comforting canopy. It's not long on destinations for a purposeful walk, but along my way there's an elementary school and another church. For those challenged by circumstance or (as in my case) curiosity to participate in Week Without Driving, streets like these make such a project thinkable. On the other hand, I didn't meet anyone else walking down this street this mid-morning.
America Walks rates Cedar Rapids's walkability higher than the national average, which suggests walking is available for people who can't or prefer not to drive ("How Many Americans Live in Walkable Neighborhoods?" 2025).
| NATIONAL | IOWA | |
| Least Walkable | 22.90% | 26.30% | 13.90% |
| Below Avg | 36.60% | 47.20% | 27.50% |
| Average | 29.80% | 22.20% | 46.50% |
| Most Walkable | 10.70% | 4.30% | 12.20%
|
Monday, October 5 (sunny, 73F)
Bused/walked to: Ground Transportation Center, St. Paul's United Methodist Church
Biked to: Dairy Queen #4 [replaced car trip], CeMar Trail
City employees are getting into the swing of Week Without Driving. Haley Sevening and Trevor Sippel were at the Ground Transportation Center at 7:00 this morning with coffee, juice, doughnuts, bagels, bananas, and apples. By the time I got there on the #2 bus a hair past 8, most of it had been gratefully consumed, but I did score a banana and some coffee.
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| Haley Sevening, Trevor Sippel, a bus rider, and the last doughnut |
They reported crowds heaviest early in their shift--all buses arrive about 7:00, 7:30, and 8:00, and depart 15 minutes later--and judged that most morning riders were staying downtown rather than transferring to a different bus.
Days like this are less of a challenge to non-drivers than those featuring bitter cold, excessive heat, rain, or snow. Most bus stops in residential areas consist merely of a sign:
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| 4th Avenue at 12th Street SE |
I can see why someone wouldn't want a full-fledged shelter on their parkway, but a lot of stops could be more comfortable and dignified than they are.
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| My bike and handy freezer bag at Dairy Queen |
This afternoon I went on two short bike rides. The first was to the Dairy Queen, which can be a challenge without a car, even though it's less than a mile from my house. Today the weather was near-perfect for ice cream transport in a freezer bag (see above), though
the interface of 16th Street and 1st Avenue remains tricky in any weather.
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| CeMar Trail from Mt. Cavalry Cemetery |
Later in the afternoon, I rode over to
take pictures of the CeMar Trail, which was supposed to open officially today, but a rainy September intervened.
More Week Without Driving coverage coming! Check back daily!! And if you're in town, take advantage of free transit rides, and/or a $5 credit on rental of a Veo bicycle or scooter with code CARFREE26.
Tuesday, October 6 (sunny, 78F)
Bused/walked to: Craftd coffee shop, Bentley Watch Repair
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| Smulekoff Building, home of Craftd |
I got around town by bus today, until I didn't. I began taking the #2 bus from the stop a block from my house to the Ground Transportation Center, which is across the street from Craftd, where I was meeting a friend for coffee. I walked around Downtown while I waited for John, including going across the river and by the Mott and Chelsea buildings, which hold a weird fascination for me. While we were having coffee, I got a phone call from Bentley Watch Repair in suburban Hiawatha to say that the watch I'd left there awhile ago was ready to pick up. So after our coffee, I took the #5 bus to the Twixt Town transfer point, where I met the Northeast Circulator, which dropped me practically at the doorstep of the watch shop. The trip took about 40 minutes, as opposed to maybe a ten minute trip in a private car, but otherwise, so far, so good.
What I was going to say about today, before my unplanned trip to Hiawatha, was that the bus works well for me because both my house and my major destinations are close to the center of town. Conversely, the farther you are from downtown, even if you're near a bus route, the less functional the bus is, because of the infrequency of buses and the circuitous routes. (This is not a hard and fast rule. John lives at the Roosevelt Apartments downtown, and occasionally needs to go to Mercy Medical Center, which is less than a mile away, but because of the way the routes are laid out there is no bus route that serves that trip.)
So when I left the watch shop after my brief business, I was prepared for less than ideal transit choices. I could wait nearly an hour for the next circulator, or walk a few blocks and get the inbound #6 bus towards Downtown Cedar Rapids, which was due in about 40 or 45 minutes. Happily, the Hiawatha Public Library was nearby and is always a good place to kill time. I got to the bus stop, and waited, and waited some more. Cedar Rapids uses the TransLoc app to track buses, so I was able to follow the bus's progress on my phone. When it was only two minutes away, it suddenly detoured onto I-380, around my stop and two other stops. If this was a planned detour, there was no notice at the bus stop. Presently TransLoc informed me that the next bus was due, not in two minutes, but in 58. Because I am both retired (lots of free time) and able bodied (can walk), I walked nearly four miles home (with a little relief from the #5 on 1st Avenue).
So, no big deal. But what if I were frail? What if I'd had children with me? What if I were counting on the bus to get to work? What if it had been raining? What if I were taking this week's challenge to Try Transit? You'd never get me near a bus again.
Speaking of the frail elderly, people with children, and anyone walking in the rain...
...this greeted me when I debarked from the #5 for the last half-mile's walk home. It took me less than a second to step around the obstruction, but the point of this week is to remember that not everyone can do that.
Wednesday, October 7 (partly cloudy, 77F)
12-1 Healthiest State Walk, begin at MedQ Park or McGrath Amphitheatre (lunch included)
12-130 Try Transit, Twixt Town Road
Thursday, October 8 (partly cloudy, 69F)
3-430 Try Transit, GTC
Friday, October 9 (sunny, 71F)
5-8 Cider Stroll, Czech Village
Saturday, October 10 (sunny, 83F)
Coffeeneuring begins!
SEE ALSO: "Week Without Driving (II)," 29 September 2025
America Walks Week Without Driving Page: Week Without Driving - America Walks
Kai Hall, "We're Organizing the 2026 Week Without Driving," Greater Greater Washington, 26 September 2026
Rocco Pendola, "America Chose Cars Over Quality Of Life," How It Works (and Why It Doesn't), 13 September 2026
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