People in Indiana

don’t walk anywhere. Really. The whole place is automobile dependent.

Now, admittedly we are staying in a motel near the major freeway exchange just south of I-80/90. But sidewalks? Pedestrian lights?

Not a chance. I got more than a few strange looks as I attempted to cross Mississippi St, even when there was a light. You know the kind of traffic light I mean; the one where a person going straight ahead is definitely interfering with the right of drivers to turn right any old time they please regardless of traffic conditions.

I discovered all of this after we checked in. There was a mall within vision distance so I thought I would just take a nice hike over. Bad mistake! I managed to get there, but at risk of life and limb. After cruising around the mall for a while and not finding much of anything, I hiked back. Giving up, we took the car. This particular area of town strongly resembles Rockville Pike. Same malls, same store combinations only without a decent grocery store in sight.

In nearby Hobart we saw one housing development that had sidewalks. I am sure the only reason they were there was because the regional high school was across the street. Other than that – we saw nothing anywhere that looked like a town center, nor anywhere that anyone could safely walk.

After driving around for a while we finally found the Petco, the dog is now the proud owner of dog food, drinking bowls and (from the sale table) a green holiday frog that was on half price. I am not sure why I didn’t figure out before she delightedly showed me that it squeaked.

-Holly
Merrillville, IN

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10 Responses to People in Indiana

  1. Er…what happens to people who do not drive, cannot drive, are too old to drive, too young to drive, do not have a car? Does anyone ride a bicycle? Am curious!

  2. Alison says:

    Yup, that’s Indiana. Lived there for a grand total of one year of
    Richard’s grad school at Purdue. Tippecanoe Mall and Tyler Too plaza
    across the street from it–good place to run into your neighbors on a
    summer day if they don’t have air conditioning either, but the mall does.

  3. Holly says:

    I think they may get rides from friends? I saw no bicycles at all. I saw no buses. I did see a lot of parking spaces. There are allegedly 35,xxx people here. Not huge, but not really tiny either.

  4. Margo says:

    You have highlighted something about the US that I found on my few trips that really irked me – the complete lack of walkability.

  5. Carmen says:

    Wow – I hope Nina will be in a more pedestrian friendly (and dog friendly) place!

  6. Steven says:

    I have married friends from college who live in Chicago – They have grown kids and are grandparents… are you in need of any local contacts there?

  7. george rehm says:

    This is a description, which could easily describe most parts of the USA, Atlanta, Omaha, and numerous other places, once you leave the inner city. It is only the older and urban residential areas, fortunately including much of Chicago, which have public transit systems and significant walkable neighborhoods. There are, of course, also places in Indiana, where there are sidewalks, but the suburbs and ex-urbs like Lake County, near Chicago are not the place to expect pedestrian-friendly development. These are all places whose growth was planned in the age of automobiles and 50 cent per gallon or less gasoline.

  8. george rehm says:

    This is a description, which could easily fit most parts of the USA, Atlanta, Omaha, and numerous other places, once you leave the inner city. It is only the older and urban residential areas, fortunately including much of downtown Chicago, which have public transit systems and significant walkable neighborhoods. There are, of course, also places in Indiana, where there are sidewalks, but the suburbs and ex-urbs like Lake County, near Chicago are not the place to expect pedestrian-friendly development. These are all places whose growth was planned in the age of automobiles and 50 cent per gallon or less gasoline.

  9. stashmuffin says:

    How funny I should find your blog today! I followed a comment you posted about a Kauni cardigan I am researching.
    I live in rural Indiana, am familiar with the town you are in, but am thankful ours is walkable. Had to drop off the car to be fixed cross-town and walk home before the school bus made it here!
    Happy knitting, and welcome back to the States!
    (Did you ever do the Kauni sweater?)

  10. Bonnie says:

    Any doubt as to why Americans are so fat??

    And why I never see morbid obesity when I go home to New York City??

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