Is Lanark Village a “Walkable” Community?
That depends on what you mean by “walkable.” When most people think about walkable communities, they imagine neighborhoods where you can get by without a car. That doesn’t really apply to Lanark, though I’ll tell you more about that in a moment.
First, I want to make a case for Lanark’s walkability, because from your Village townhome, you can easily access many of the amenities that people pay out the nose for when purchasing homes in more traditional walkable neighborhoods. Here are some examples.
Does Lanark Village have a coffee shop?
A coffee shop - that’s usually the first thing people mention when you ask them what they’re looking for in a walkable neighborhood, but it was never important to me. I used to laugh about coffee shops’ inclusion in walkability indexes because I enjoy having my coffee at home.
You can have it without changing out of your pajamas, for one thing. And you can drink it without leaving your bed.
Coffee at home is cheaper, too. I’m a beach bum on a budget, so that’s important to me.
The coffee at my house is consistently delicious because I’m lucky to have a husband who roasts small-batch beans and grinds them before brewing. And since those chocolatey, creamy mochas and artificially flavored lattes aren’t on the menu at my house, I naturally gravitate to the healthier choice - drip coffee sans frills.
Drinking coffee at home is better for the environment, too. If you’re like me, you have your own beloved cups to drink from, and they go in the dishwasher when you’re through instead of in the trashcan as a stopover on their way to the landfill.
Some people like to go to coffee shops to be around other people while they work, read, or scroll, but I always preferred my own company in the mornings, at least until I was fully caffeinated.
But that was before I found out about Coffee with Friends, the 9-11 weekday gathering spot in Lanark Village’s community center. John, who volunteers as the Village’s brewer, carefully selects his coffee beans, roasts them himself, and grinds them before serving, much like my husband does. And he serves your coffee in a real, washable cup, not a throwaway (you’re also welcome to bring your own). He can make specialty drinks too, but their names aren’t listed on a giant chalkboard begging you to order them when you walk into Chillas Hall. Still, ask, and you will receive.
If you feel like socializing, someone’s always there to talk. If you want to work quietly on your laptop, choose a chair at a table a few rows back from the kitchen. No one’s going to bother you.
If you’re an introvert and the conversation makes you weary after a while, just drop out of it and stare at your phone for a few minutes while you recover. If you choose, you can be among people without engaging them. Or you can be smack dab in the big middle of everything; it’s up to you.
The disadvantage of Coffee with Friends compared to traditional coffee shops in more traditionally walkable neighborhoods is that it’s only open for 2 hours a day. If you’re used to hitting the coffee shops in the afternoon, the limited hours might not tick your number 1 box for walkability. Then again, it might. It certainly does for me.
Does Lanark Village have a restaurant?
Technically, no. But we do have weekly potluck dinners and a monthly Sunday luncheon. You’ll get more variety at those than you’d ever find on a restaurant menu. You don’t pay an arm and a leg for your meal either. And you don’t have to tip.
From your Lanark home, you can walk to the American Legion to eat tacos on Tuesdays, burgers on Fridays, and pizza on Sundays. You can walk to the boat club for their monthly pancake breakfast. The annual chili cookoff and spaghetti dinner provide other opportunities to eat out without starting your car.
Can Lanark Villagers walk to a grocery store?
Sort of. You can walk to a convenience store, the Lanark Market, but a trip to a full-sized grocery requires a car.
But do you require a full-sized grocery? The Lanark Market carries a decent amount of food and other must-have items. These are usually more expensive at the Market than they would be at Walmart or IGA; convenience comes at a price. However, cars are expensive, too, and it’s possible you could do without one in Lanark with a little planning.
You could walk to the FarmShare distribution point on Wednesdays for groceries, but if you do, you’ll need to bring a wagon to get your food home. Your allotment will be more than you can carry. The monthly Fresh Market at the Boat Club is also an option for fresh produce.
Together, these outlets make living without a car possible if you can be okay with somewhat more limited choices and marginally higher prices. Your time is worth something, after all.
Does Lanark Village have shops?
There are no retail outlets in Lanark Village. If you like to spend some of your days walking around in stores looking for something to want, you may be disappointed about that.
But if you’re like me, a person who doesn’t buy much and almost exclusively shops online, you’ll probably be satisfied. There are plenty of other things to do.
Can Lanark Villagers walk to their appointments?
Unfortunately not. You’ll have to take a car to get to the dentist, the doctor, the accountant, and other professionals.
But it doesn’t have to be your car. There are a number of people in the Village who don’t drive, and they get by just fine by (1) relying on friends to get them where they want to go or (2) paying one of the drivers for hire who lives in Lanark Village. They’re reliable and reasonably priced, and using them can help you avoid the expense of owning a car.
The meaning of walkability
Walkability has more than one definition. For some people, it means you can get wherever you need to go on foot. You can walk to stores and restaurants and coffee shops. You can walk to retail outlets and medical appointments. You can walk to a gym, a park, and entertainment venues. If you absolutely need to leave your neighborhood, you take public transportation. You don’t need a car.
It’s hard to find that kind of accessibility outside of larger cities, and Lanark Village is not that.
Taken another way, walkability can mean that there are surfaces to walk on, and that’s where Lanark Village excels. The streets here are quiet, and there are usually more people walking on them than driving.
Residents step out their doors and take the sidewalks or empty streets to the park, to coffee, to game night, or the quilting club. They walk to visit one another, to go to dinner, and to launch their kayaks from the boat club. They walk to stay active for their health.
Lanark is that kind of walkable.
Walk Score rates Lanark as 6 out of 100 for walkability and 37 out of 100 for bikeability, but the folks who crunched these numbers don’t know our Village. They’ve never been to our community. They don’t know there are plenty of things to do here, and they don’t understand that we can walk to most of them.
The Walk Score website names the Crooked River Grill as the closest restaurant; it’s a little over two miles away. It names Carrabelle Junction, nearly 5 miles away, as the nearest coffee shop.
They say Ochlachonee, more than 11 miles away, is the nearest park. They don’t mention Gene Sewell Park, smack dab in the middle of the Village. They don’t consider all the opportunities we have to access what we need - food, drinks, company, activities - without stepping foot in a car.
We’re on the Forgotten Coast; not many people travel here. And until they experience it themselves, they can’t really understand how much the Village offers.
But those of us who live here know how lazily the days unfold, as we walk to coffee, to dinner, to the house of a friend, or just as a way to feel our bodies move and appreciate the life around us, to revel in being alive.
