Seattle a good place to be carless

Seattle a good place to be carless

Transit options such as light rail are a reason Seattle is ranked among the best U.S. cities for life without owning a car.

Prefer to get around on two feet instead of four wheels? In some cities, you can easily ditch your car and hoof it — or bike, take public transit, or share a ride when you need to.

And for those who would rather not have an automobile at all, LawnStarter, a lawncare company that also provides consumer and lifestyle information, has ranked what it believes are the best U.S. cities to live without a car. The rankings, made public in November, compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on 19 indicators of car-free-friendliness, including a city’s walkability, transit ridership, climate, and pedestrian safety.

Seattle landed in the top 10, at number 5. Other Washington cities and their rankings: Spokane 50th, Tacoma  60th, and Bellevue 129th.

Joining Seattle in the top 10, from top to bottom, are San Francisco, Boston, Washington, D.C., New York City, Portland, Ore., Fort Collins, Colo., Minneapolis, Madison, Wis., and Sunnyvale, Calif.