Topics
Case Studies
100 Years of Walking – Benefits of Walking
This article is part of a larger series of interviews with Mr. Donald Bean. For the full series, click here. The benefits of walking for Mr. Bean extend far beyond the long lasting connection to his family and into overall personal and community wellness. The advantages he finds when he takes those steps are ones … Continue reading 100 Years of Walking – Benefits of Walking
What America’s Most Walkable Suburb Can Teach Towns Everywhere
America Walks is pleased to be able to offer access to the latest article by Jay Walljasper, What America’s Most Walkable Suburb Can Teach Towns Everywhere. The article highlights the growing trend of suburban leaders recognizing the power of walkable spaces to attract young people, families and businesses to their communities. Jay examines Arlington County, VA, named one of … Continue reading What America’s Most Walkable Suburb Can Teach Towns Everywhere
Discussion Forums
Connecting the Dots- Region IV Town Hall
America Walks was excited to host a regional town hall meeting designed to connect local organizations with regional offices of federal agencies. Attendees heard presentations from a variety of regional offices, participated in breakout groups to identify possible synergies and ways to grow regional work and came together to commit to a series of goals for the region. Goals and Next … Continue reading Connecting the Dots- Region IV Town Hall
Tactics
Every Body Walk! Collaborative Resource- Additional Resources
Want to learn more about how to design curb extensions or make crosswalks more visible and safer? Curious to see some examples of bicycle lane treatments? Here are some resources that should answer many of your questions. Download the Additional Resources Guide Here Every Body Walk! Guide-Additional Resource
Every Body Walk! Collaborative Resource- Getting The Community On Board
Some members of your community will immediately embrace the idea of creating a more walkable environment. But others may have never given it a thought, and won’t even know what it really means, let alone why it’s a good thing or how to get there. Here are four things a community can do to build … Continue reading Every Body Walk! Collaborative Resource- Getting The Community On Board
Every Body Walk! Getting Started Guide
Many communities aspire to make themselves more walkable and livable, embracing the idea that it can improve health, the environment, even the economy. This brief describes a number of pilot or gateway projects that are ideal “starter” activities. Download the Guide Here Getting Started Guide
Every Body Walk! Getting Started Practice Briefs
The Every Body Walk! Collaborative and expert Mark Fenton are pleased to be able to offer this series of Getting Started Practice Briefs designed to provide local organizations and advocates with resources, knowledge and insider tips on how to make their communities more walkable. The data found in these guides came from key informant interviews with … Continue reading Every Body Walk! Getting Started Practice Briefs
Daylighting
To “daylight” an intersection is to clear sight lines between pedestrian crossings and oncoming cars, usually by creating no-parking zones at the curbs in front of crosswalks at that intersection. Guidance Install no-parking signs to mark the existence and length of no-parking zones Daylight at least 20′ (about one parking space) from the crosswalk at … Continue reading Daylighting
Redesign Arterial Streets for Pedestrians
Arterial streets, typically multilane thoroughfares designed to speed cars from one destination to another, are often hazardous to people on foot. The Tri-State Transportation Campaign found that 60% of pedestrian deaths in the tri-state region of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut took place on arterial roadways. Redesigning arterial streets for pedestrians involves adapting roadway … Continue reading Redesign Arterial Streets for Pedestrians
Build Pedestrian and Cyclist Bridges
These are bridges designed exclusively for pedestrians and bicyclists where at-grade solutions can’t be found—often over railways, waterways, or highways— that provide needed transportation links for walkers and cyclists. Guidance Exhaust at-grade solutions first, as those are often more walkable and less expensive Locate bridges so that they are on the normal path of pedestrian … Continue reading Build Pedestrian and Cyclist Bridges
Turn Underutilized Asphalt into Grass and Other Uses
Underutilized, excessive roadway and/or parking space can be reassigned to pedestrian and/or bicycle uses. Underutilized or excessive roadways have more travel lanes (or parking spaces) than necessary for the number of cars using them. New uses of roadway or parking space could include public plazas with planters and seating areas, buffered bicycle lanes, and widened … Continue reading Turn Underutilized Asphalt into Grass and Other Uses
Create Slow Zones
Slow zones consist of engineered traffic-calming measures such as speed humps, roundabouts, curb extensions, signs, optimized signal timing, and street markings to slow vehicles down to 20 miles per hour (mph) within clearly defined areas. Guidance Begin by building support among a diverse set of stakeholders Consult with all relevant stakeholders, including emergency services, police, … Continue reading Create Slow Zones
Integrate Transit, Walking, and Cycling into Projects
The needs of transit, cyclists, and pedestrians should be integrated within the design and scope of transportation projects. This can be accomplished by improving infrastructure, modifying design speeds, reconfiguring roadways, and adapting traditional traffic analysis. Guidance Conduct traffic analysis in terms of person delay rather than vehicle delay to better account for all the people … Continue reading Integrate Transit, Walking, and Cycling into Projects
Toolkits
Right of Way in the Crosswalk
Walking across the street is one of the most basic functions of life in a big city or small town, but can also be the most dangerous activity done each day. In order to arm advocates, America Walks and the law firm Swanson, Thomas, Coon, and Netwon have developed: Article that describes successful legal reforms … Continue reading Right of Way in the Crosswalk
Every Body Walk! Collaborative Resource- Additional Resources
Want to learn more about how to design curb extensions or make crosswalks more visible and safer? Curious to see some examples of bicycle lane treatments? Here are some resources that should answer many of your questions. Download the Additional Resources Guide Here Every Body Walk! Guide-Additional Resource
Every Body Walk! Collaborative Resource- Getting The Community On Board
Some members of your community will immediately embrace the idea of creating a more walkable environment. But others may have never given it a thought, and won’t even know what it really means, let alone why it’s a good thing or how to get there. Here are four things a community can do to build … Continue reading Every Body Walk! Collaborative Resource- Getting The Community On Board
Every Body Walk! Getting Started Guide
Many communities aspire to make themselves more walkable and livable, embracing the idea that it can improve health, the environment, even the economy. This brief describes a number of pilot or gateway projects that are ideal “starter” activities. Download the Guide Here Getting Started Guide
Every Body Walk! Getting Started Practice Briefs
The Every Body Walk! Collaborative and expert Mark Fenton are pleased to be able to offer this series of Getting Started Practice Briefs designed to provide local organizations and advocates with resources, knowledge and insider tips on how to make their communities more walkable. The data found in these guides came from key informant interviews with … Continue reading Every Body Walk! Getting Started Practice Briefs
Webinars
New Webinar: There’s A Walking App for That (May 22, 2018)
Register Here Webinar Title: There’s a Walking App for That Webinar Date/Time: eiday 22, 2018 at 2pm Eastern, 11am Pacific Register Here About the Webinar Many are talking about how technology will influence the shape of our cities and what we define as walkability, but what about the technology that will influence how we walk … Continue reading New Webinar: There’s A Walking App for That (May 22, 2018)
Fundraising on the Move: Crowdfunding for Walkable Communities Webinar
Looking to increase resident engagement in your work? Need cash quickly for an urgent project? Trying to build an individual donor base to take your nonprofit to the next level? Curious about crowdfunding? This webinar with the crowdfunding nonprofit ioby will help you learn more about how crowdfunding can be both an effective fundraising and community-engagement tool … Continue reading Fundraising on the Move: Crowdfunding for Walkable Communities Webinar
The New Federal Transportation Bill: What Does It Mean for the Walking Movement?
America Walks, Rails to Trails Conservancy and LOCUS hosted a free joint webinar “The New Federal Transportation Bill: What Does It Mean for the Walking Movement?” on February 24 at 2pm Eastern. The webinar examined the FAST Act legislation passed in December 2015 and discussed ways that traditional and new programs in the legislation can … Continue reading The New Federal Transportation Bill: What Does It Mean for the Walking Movement?
Livable Communities for All Ages Webinar
America Walks is excited to partner with AARP for its first webinar of 2016. To meet its commitment to creating great places for people of all ages, AARP has developed several resources that should be in the toolbox of any walking advocate. AARP’s Jeanne Anthony will walk participants through two of their resources, the Livability … Continue reading Livable Communities for All Ages Webinar
Building Your Fundraising Leadership Towards Walkable Communities
America Walks’ second series of “Walking College” webinars launched July 27th. Designed for the Walking College Fellowship program, and open to a general audience, this webinar focuses on fundraising – one of the biggest challenges for local community change agents. First, Brighid O’Keane, Walking College Mentor and Interim Director with the Alliance for Biking & … Continue reading Building Your Fundraising Leadership Towards Walkable Communities
Blog
How to Conduct a Walk Audit in Your Community – Quick Video Guide for Assessing Your Neighborhood Walkability
A walk audit is an assessment of the pedestrian safety, accessibility, and comfort of a particular area. In addition to documenting specific issues and engaging the community in advocating for improvements, walk audits can be most effective when public officials and community members of varying backgrounds, ages and abilities are intentionally invited and welcomed along … Continue reading How to Conduct a Walk Audit in Your Community – Quick Video Guide for Assessing Your Neighborhood Walkability
The Pandemic Ate My Homework: The “Stupid” Project
This is a guest blog written by America Walks’ Walking College Fellow Scot Key. Learn more about the Walking College by clicking here. Yesterday, I was riding the wrong way uphill on the shoulder of Dennis Chaves Blvd. (NM-500), trying to stay with the orange barrels, seen above, between me and the many drivers zooming … Continue reading The Pandemic Ate My Homework: The “Stupid” Project
The Federal Government Can Spur Dramatic Transformation for Pedestrian Safety (if it so chooses)
The following blog is a set of people-first policy recommendations that America Walks’ Executive Director Mike McGinn recently sent to the US Department of Transportation. Dear USDOT, Thank you for requesting input on pedestrian safety. Pedestrian deaths reached a 30-year high in 2019. They have increased 60% in the last ten years. Traffic crashes are … Continue reading The Federal Government Can Spur Dramatic Transformation for Pedestrian Safety (if it so chooses)
Libraries: The New Engine of Community Engagement and Walkable Neighborhood Advocacy
This is a guest blog by Noah Lenstra, Assistant Professor of Library and Information Science at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Noah has been keeping an eye on how public libraries support walking since 2016 as part of his Let’s Move in Libraries initiative. Contact: lenstra@uncg.edu / @NoahLenstra Ask for a phrase using … Continue reading Libraries: The New Engine of Community Engagement and Walkable Neighborhood Advocacy
Balancing the “Fierce Urgency of Now” and Humanizing Every Victim of Traffic Violence
This guest blog is a foreword written by Charles T. Brown, MPA, CPD, Senior Researcher and Adjunct Professor at Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University. Register here for our September 8th webinar for a conversation with Angie Schmitt, author of “Right of Way: Race, Class, and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America”. Follow … Continue reading Balancing the “Fierce Urgency of Now” and Humanizing Every Victim of Traffic Violence
A Word from America Walks’ New Executive Director Mike McGinn
I am thrilled to be the new Executive Director of America Walks – founded in 1996 to support local advocacy for walkable communities. Both the coronavirus pandemic and the nationwide protests against police brutality emphasize the need to transform our places to make them truly safe for everyone. In an era of social distancing, the … Continue reading A Word from America Walks’ New Executive Director Mike McGinn
Walking Promotes Mental Health – How to Encourage More Ambling, Strolling, Striding and Hiking in All Communities
This is a guest blog by Tyler Norris, Kate Kraft and Wendy Landman. When you go for a walk or a roll, you’re not just moving your body from place to place. Something’s happening to your brain. Your mind clears. As your muscles warm up and your back straightens, your stress lessens. By the time … Continue reading Walking Promotes Mental Health – How to Encourage More Ambling, Strolling, Striding and Hiking in All Communities
Austin Reclaims its Public Space With “Healthy Streets”
This is a guest blog post by Gabe Colombo, an urban design intern at Black + Vernooy Architecture and Urban Design in Austin and a master’s student in architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. People love taking back their streets. The city of Bogotá, Colombia, has been closing its streets to automobile traffic … Continue reading Austin Reclaims its Public Space With “Healthy Streets”
Making Meaning and Finding Solutions for a Better Future and 5 Tips for Sparking Walkable Community Change
This blog was written by Kate Kraft, America Walks’ Executive Director. Kate provides seamless leadership and years of experience within the walking and active living movements to build prestigious partnerships, develop programs, and expand the walking movement. Kate is an expert in environmental and policy approaches to promote healthy lifestyles/built environments and is a spokesperson … Continue reading Making Meaning and Finding Solutions for a Better Future and 5 Tips for Sparking Walkable Community Change
Walking, Moving and Jogging Should Never Cost a Life – America Walks Statement on Ahmaud Arbery
The Ahmaud Arbery killing is a tragic reminder that for many it’s not just automobiles that make streets unsafe. As walkable community leaders and advocates we must acknowledge the traumatic ways that black, indigenous, and/or people of color are experiencing the public right of way and make sure our voices and recommendations acknowledge the structural racism that … Continue reading Walking, Moving and Jogging Should Never Cost a Life – America Walks Statement on Ahmaud Arbery