Can you live a car-free life in Des Moines?

and what is your particular tolerance for pain?

I see this come up as a topic from time to time, typically from outsiders looking at moving to Des Moines for whatever reason and looking to continue a car-free or car-light existence here in the corn state.

It’s a bold question that’s for sure. So can you live car-free in Des Moines?

Well…it all depends on your your tolerance for pain.

Disclaimer, I own a car here in Des Moines, and have since I moved back in 2018. Before my business opened I spent part of the summer of 2018 car-free, which is a lot easier to do when its prime biking season, so I only give myself half credit for that one. Of course I was constantly being offered rides to places that I had chosen to walk/bike to because the concept of not-driving to your destination is so foreign here that people couldn’t possibly understand that I had made a elective CHOICE not to drive. Rather they assumed that I must be experiencing some sort of mental health crisis and perhaps a lift to the psych ward was what I really needed. It pissed me off every time. It pisses me off even thinking about it again.

I do know a couple individuals who have elected to live here car free, and to them I say, you my friends, are the true heroes. But the reality is most of the people who are car-free here live that lifestyle because of a financial or physical constraint that prevents them from driving. That’s just the said truth of it here in Des Moines.

Anyways, for those brave and insane individuals seeking a low carbon lifestyle in the city of Monks - I think the best way to approach the topic of where to live in Des Moines if you are car-free or even car-light, is to identify your preferred alternative mode of transportation.

So if you are new to Des Moines, or exploring a move to a more urbanist lifestyle, here are my recommendations:

Neighborhoods for walkers: Downtown, East Village, Ingersoll Corridor, Sherman Hill

The downtown core and East Village have some of the highest density of amenities within a walking distance of quite a bit of housing. No area has transformed more over the past 20 years here and the progress has been generally positive from an Urbanism perspective. Put yourself in one of these neighborhoods and you’ve got quite a bit of amenities you can get to within a 15 minute walk, including a grocery store, a library, plenty of bars and restaurants and more.

Ingersoll is a close second with the one caveat that it is a very linear core of amenities which is a little less great for walkability. But there are grocery stores and arguably the best dining scene in the metro, not to mention a great streetscape that provides for a pleasant walking experience along Ingersoll Ave.

Sherman Hill is tucked in between the two, and while the amenities are a little further away, it’s still quite walkable when you look at a 20 minute walk-shed. Between the historic architecture and homes, and the beautiful tree canopy its easily the best neighborhood to walk in here in Des Moines. It’s also a great showcase of the mix of housing types that existed in our neighborhoods before, you know….zoning.

Neighborhoods for transit riders: Downtown, Drake Neighborhood, River Bend, Highland Park

DART Central Station is located at 6th and Mulberry, and with the vast % of the network running through DART central, if you’re close to the hub then you have more access than anywhere else. It’s not a great model but its the one we’ve got.

Drake Neighborhood: The University Ave corridor features two relatively high frequency routes (the 3 and the 60) that run the same route for an extended period providing additional frequency depending on your destination, very rare in the metro. If you want to use transit but want more of a neighborhood feel, this is the next best option.

River Bend and Highland Park don’t have quite as good of transit coverage but are great neighborhoods with stops that connect you into the wider DART network. These neighborhoods are also receiving more attention again after decades of neglect, so the number of amenities is increasing each year.

Neighborhoods for cyclists: Ingersoll Corridor, East Village, Sherman Hill

The protected bike lane along Ingersoll makes it the number one option for cycling commutes. You can also easily access a variety of trails from here that can connect you will quite a bit of the metro if you’re willing to bike the miles. One caveat is Des Moines away from the river can get a bit hilly (surprising I know) so if hills aren’t your thing the East Village would be your better option.

Honorable Mentions:

Beaverdale - I wouldn’t call it a top 3 neighborhood for any of the alternatives but does decent on all of them. It’s mostly single family housing so a great option for a car-light family for sure. There’s a small neighborhood business district and an abundance of historic brick homes.

Windsor Heights - The sprawling Sam’s Club and Walmart parking lots don’t look particularly urban, but they’re served by pretty decent transit (by Des Moines standards), has quite a few amenities. This tiny suburb is ripe with opportunity for infill missing middle housing in my opinion.

Don’t quite hit the mark - I don’t want to call them dishonorable mentions, but rather areas that could be doing better:

Valley Junction - The best dining scene outside of Des Moines proper by far and lots of shopping on the strip - but NIMBYism is rampant in preventing more housing here, transit access isn’t great, and West Des Moines completely missed the opportunity to build a safer Grand Ave and instead just rebuilt it as a 4 lane stroad. Come on man.

Prairie Trail - “New Urbanism” was supposed to be part of the DNA of the development, but the actual built environment is far from that. That being said, there is a decent amount of density, and with some design tweaks and a little less parking there is some potential there. It’s more salvageable than the rest of Ankeny that’s for sure.

That’s about it, if I didn’t list a neighborhood here then it’s basically car-dependent sprawl.

Welcome to Des Moines. Honk Honk.