Mercurial gas pricesagain on the riseforced many people to consider weaning themselves from their cars. That’s difficult if the nearest grocery is five miles away, the movie theater looms across an eight-lane interstate, and the coffee shop so distant you’d need to pack a lunch if you walked there.

At walkscore.com, type in a street address to calculate the neighborhood’s walkabilityproximity to groceries, cafes, libraries and other amenities.

We calculated the neighborhood scores of Triangle mayors and a those appointed to area bike and pedestrian commissions.

A caveat: Unless you live in or near a very dense downtown, such as Carrboro, a walkers’ paradise, your neighborhood will likely score fair to middlin’. I’ve always thought of my Durham neighborhood, Longmeadow, as close to most of life’s essentials, like wine, coffee and pizza, but it scored only in the upper 40s.

The grade isn’t a judgment on neighborhood choices as much as it’s a commentary on how well or poorly we’re planning our cities.

Here’s the score guide:

1-24: Car for everything; no neighborhood destinations
25-49: Few amenities within walking distance
50-69: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but most everyday trips require bike, public transit or car
70-89: Very walkable
90-100: Walker’s paradise

Mayors

Bill Bell, Durham, 1003 Huntsman Drive: 18
Mark Chilton, Carrboro, 203 Ashe St.: 82
Kevin Foy, Chapel Hill, 19 Oakwood Drive: 54
Charles Meeker, Raleigh, 324 S. Boylan Ave.: 75
Harold Weinbrecht, Cary, 105 Windspring Court: 20

Bike/pedestrian commissions

Raleigh
Julie Woosley, 2810 Gordon St.: 43
David Jerose, 617 Young Forest, Wake Forest: 2

Durham
Scott Carter, 31 Falling Water Drive: 46
Daniel Clever, 1608 Maryland: 68
Diane Daniel, 1221 Clarendon St.: 75
Alan Dippy, 2512 Yorkdale Court: 46
James Dunlop, 3436 Balfour East: 25
Gregory Garneau, 2535 Perkins Road: 26
Henri Gavin, 1400 Virginia Ave.: 54
Ken Kaye, 5815 Solitude Way: 32
Merry Rabb, 2609 Sevier St.: 17
Steve Saltzman, 4214 Forest Edge Trail: 6
Lars Trost, 1508 Ward St.: 43
Jack Warman, 7 Swallows Ridge Court: 18

Chapel Hill/Carrboro
Rainer Dammers, 511 Parkside Circle: 66
Perri Morgan, 522 Dogwood Drive: 51
Linda Gaines, 2526 Booker Creek Road: 31
Doug MacLean, 510 Hawthorne Lane: 26
Jeb Dube, Teressa Jimenez, 1602 Ferrell Road: 32
Dylan Sandler, 104 Brewer Lane: 91
Douglas Wilson, 680 Lichen Trail, Pittsboro: 0
Christopher Clemmons, 207 Hunter Hill Road: 38
Chapel Hill Councilman Jim Ward, 112 Bolton Place: 18