[KevinFromTexas]

Sidewalks and density aren't everything when it comes to a walkable neighborhood. It's not just about how easy your walk will be as far as if you have a space to do it in. You also have to have the sort of amenities that you want and need close by, otherwise, you'll still have to travel farther for what you want. And also, even if you live in a dense walkable neighborhood, you're still at the mercy of the market and companies that you rely on closing their stores and moving around or not being there at all. I learned that recently this past year after my most favorite HEB in the world (and the smallest one in Austin) closed after they opened a new big fancy one considerably farther away than I would ever care to ride my bike to.

Sidewalks are good, but here's the thing. The first house I grew up in had sidewalks, however, the street it was on was a 4 lane divided street (South First Street) in South Austin where people drove fast and still do. Some of the craziest things I've seen on Austin streets have happened on South First, and I wouldn't ride a bike in the street there even today. Now, I clearly remember walking to the grocery store when we lived there as it was right down the street at South First & William Cannon, though, I'm not 100% sure if they had sidewalks then.

The 2nd house I grew up in had no sidewalks, and still doesn't, but it's far more walkable safety wise than the one on South First was, and even though it's a little farther away from the that same grocery store, the walk isn't prohibitively far, and the bike ride was even better. That is, until HEB closed that store last year. I still ride my bike to two other stores, but the ride is 2 1/2 to 3 times as far to both. Still, we have other options that are totally doable even within walking distance. I feel like commercial density is more important than housing density if your goal is the convenience of accessing it. That means having dense commercial retail close to neighborhoods, even if the housing stock isn't as dense.