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Entries tagged: Walk Friendly Community

Last month, the Dangerous by Design report cast a dramatic spotlight on the epidemic of pedestrian deaths across America. Between 2000 and 2009, more than 47,000 people were killed and another 688,000 injured in the simple act of walking in their community. Transportation for America highlighted the role of the U.S. Congress and the federal government in ending these preventable tragedies, by providing funding and passing progressive policies like Complete Streets. But there’s plenty to be done at the local level, too.

One opportunity: The Walk Friendly Communities program. Established in 2010 and administered by the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center , the WFC distinguishes cities and towns that are leading the way in walkability. In April, the initiative announced its first round of recipients, including Seattle at the platinum level and Ann Arbor, MI; Arlington, VA; Hoboken, NJ; and Santa Barbara, CA, at the gold level.

The Walk Friendly Community programs aims to model the success and be a pedestrian counterpart to the League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly Community program. Just as the League established a rubric of activities that make a city safer and more accessible for bicyclists, the WFC program provides “a comprehensive assessment tool that evaluates community walkability and pedestrian safety through questions related to engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement, evaluation and planning.”

According to the WFC: “In an effort not only to recognize but to motivate walk friendly communities, applicants learn best practices through participating in the application process. Applicants use a web-based program that asks a comprehensive set of questions and provides communities with feedback and ideas for promoting pedestrian safety and activity. The questions examine engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement, evaluation and planning.”

Find out where your community stands by applying for walk friendly status. The next round of applications in due Wednesday, June 15. Learn more here.