Buying a Home in Ottawa That Passes the “Trick-or-Treat Test”
Did you know that there is an actual saying in the world of city planners and urban designers for communities that are ideal for trick or treating? It is called the “Trick or Treat Test”. This is a common description of home designs that result in “walkable, healthy and economically resilient communities year-round”[1].
Are you curious why your home in Ottawa may not be receiving an influx of trick or treaters each Halloween? How do you know if your home meets the requirements of the trick or treat test? Here are some of the most common home design and planning decisions that makes a house or a neighbourhood a trusted place for trick or treaters:
- Is your door (or doorbell) easily accessible from the street?
- Are there a lot of families and children living in your neighbourhood?
- Can kids and families move safely and easily from one house to the next?
- Can kids safely and excitedly cross the street without fear of fast cars zipping by?
- Are your streets tree lined or designed for pedestrians more than cars?
- Does your neighbourhood host plenty of both formal and informal “neighbourhood watch” – whether that means porches full of elderly watching the world go buy or actual house and video surveillance.
Best Places to Trick-or-Treat in Ottawa
Do you think that your neighbourhood is a Halloween and trick-or-treater friendly community? According to parent reviews on public social forums such as Trip Advisor, Reddit and Facebook, along with the trick-or-treat tests, Ottawa’s top scores for tried and true trick-or-treater tested neighbourhoods include:
- Glebe
- Rockcliffe
- Taffy Lanes in Orleans
- Westboro
- Crescents along Fortune drive in Orleans
- Donald Street in Overbrook
- Woodroffe Avenue
- Fallowfield Road
More Tips for Finding the Best Neighbourhoods to Trick-or-Treat:
- As you are driving around the city on Halloween night, look for the areas that are already stocked full of trick or treaters.
- Check out a neighbourhoods walk score, as it usually indicates high favourability for trick or treating. Visit https://www.walkscore.com/ and find some of the city’s most walkable neighbourhoods.
- Check out the 2016 Trick or Treat Map in Ottawa.
- If your community is not trick or treater friendly, do not fret. Nowadays, shopping centres, restaurants, churches, schools and even business parking lots are offering Halloween
Are you looking for the most family-friendly home to live in Ottawa? Contact our team of expert Realtors® at Performance Realty to learn more about residential properties for sale in Ottawa’s top trick-or-treater tested zones.
Happy Halloween from the team at Performance Realty!
[1] http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/brent-toderian/neighbourhood-trick-or-treat-halloween-community-design_b_2012797.html
