How walkable is Centretown?
By Oscar Higson-SpenceUpdated
Centretown has a walkability score of 98 out of 100 across the 800 m around its centre, which makes it a Walker's Paradise, where daily errands do not require a car. It is the most walkable of 5 neighbourhoods ranked in Ottawa, which scores 70 as a whole.
What's within walking distance
2,179 shops, restaurants, parks and other everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of the centre of Centretown. The nearest grocery is Your Independent Grocer, about 4 minutes away on foot. Every category earns full or nearly full points.
- Sobeys Urban Fresh4 min
- Farm Boy4 min
- Union Local 6131 min
- Jabberwocky supper club1 min
- Garnier Online3 min
- WIND Mobile3 min
- Starbucks3 min
- Bridgehead4 min
- Comtech Credit Union4 min
- PAY2DAY5 min
- Unnamed park6 min
- Jack Purcell Dog Park7 min
- Elgin Street Public School6 min
- Sauder Academy11 min
- Myths, Legends and Heroes4 min
- After Stonewall5 min
- Ottawa Children's Theatre2 min
- Capital Rehearsal Studios4 min
Measured from the mapped centre of Centretown at 45.4163, -75.6943. Walking times assume 80 m per minute along an estimated street route.
Street layout
Within 800 m of the centre there are about 90 street intersections per km², and blocks average 110 m long. That is a well-connected street grid, so the score is not reduced.
Walkability across Centretown
- 90+
- 70–89
- 50–69
- 25–49
- 0–24
Each hexagon is the score at a point across the 800 m around the centre of Centretown. Rings mark 400 m and 800 m from the centre. Gaps are water or land without streets.
Nearby neighbourhoods in Ottawa
| Neighbourhood | Distance | Score |
|---|---|---|
| LeBreton Flats | 1.7 km | 62 |
| New Edinburgh | 2.8 km | 63 |
| Vanier | 3.4 km | 86 |
| Rockcliffe | 4 km | 36 |
See every neighbourhood ranked on the Ottawa page.
Questions about walking in Centretown
Is Centretown walkable?
Yes. Centretown in Ottawa has a walkability score of 98 out of 100 across the 800 m around its centre, which makes it a Walker's Paradise, where daily errands do not require a car.
Is Centretown more walkable than the rest of Ottawa?
Centretown is more walkable than Ottawa as a whole: it scores 98, against 70 for the 5 km around Ottawa's centre. It ranks 1st of the 5 Ottawa neighbourhoods on How Walkable.
What are the most walkable neighbourhoods in Ottawa?
Of the 5 Ottawa neighbourhoods on How Walkable, the most walkable are Centretown (98), Vanier (86) and New Edinburgh (63).
How is the walkability score of Centretown calculated?
The score counts groceries, restaurants, shops, cafés, banks, parks, schools, libraries and cultural venues within a 30 minute walk, gives nearer places more weight, and deducts up to 20% where streets are sparse or blocks are long. For Centretown it is the average of 61 points spread evenly across the 800 m around its mapped centre, leaving out water and land without streets, using open map data from Overture Maps and OpenStreetMap.
Scores follow a published walkability method, explained in the methodology. Neighbourhood position from Overture Maps, name from Wikidata.