Walking
Walking is our most basic and natural form of transportation. It's a relaxing and enjoyable way to improve your health and experience your community. Walking and bicycling are both great ways to improve our air quality.
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Walking is the least expensive, yet the most beneficial mode of transportation. Walking is an easy form of exercise that can help combat the rapid increase in obesity among both adults and children due to our sedentary lifestyles. The repetitive motion of walking calms the body and eases stress.
For information on obesity and health, see the Centers for Disease Control website.
In addition to providing benefits in terms of personal health and pleasure, walking also protects the environment - no emissions from a vehicle tailpipe, no fossil fuel consumption, no emissions of "greenhouse gases" that contribute to global warming. Motor vehicle emissions are responsible for more than half of the smog in the Bay Area. Walking can play an important role in improving our air quality. According to the most recent National Personal Transportation Survey, 40% of all trips are two miles or less. Walking is ideal for these short trips to work, shopping, and other errands.
Even short motor vehicle trips are a significant source of emissions due to the "cold start" problem. There's a high rate of emissions during the first few miles of driving because the catalytic converter does not function well when a car is first started. Walking for short trips helps to reduce these "cold start" vehicle emissions.
The Air District, in collaboration with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), has developed a Clean Air Plan to help the region comply with state air quality standards. The Bay Area Clean Air Plan contains a variety of transportation control measures (TCMs) to reduce motor vehicle travel by promoting the use of transit, carpooling and vanpooling, and bicycling and walking. Particularly, TCM 19 promotes measures to make pedestrian travel safer, more convenient and more attractive, especially for short trips. It encourages planning and design of development projects that would incorporate measures to facilitate pedestrian travel. To review the TCMs, see Volume 2 of the 2005 Ozone Strategy (667 k PDF, 157 pgs).
The Air District is a strong proponent of "smart growth" and better integration of transportation and land use planning. Improved pedestrian access is one of the many benefits of smart growth and better planning. For additional information, see the Air District's smart growth page and the FOCUS (Focusing Our Vision) site.
Through our Transportation Fund for Clean Air (TFCA) program, the Air District provides grants to public agencies for projects to reduce motor vehicle emissions and promote alternative forms of transportation. Eligible project types that benefit pedestrians include "smart growth" projects and traffic calming projects.
Strategies that the District encourages include:
- Street design that promotes pedestrian comfort and safety, e.g., narrow streets, reduced turning radii, crosswalks with activated signals, bulb-outs, raised crosswalks, pedestrian islands, pedestrian street lights, and other traffic calming strategies
- Land use strategies and development projects that promote walking, e.g., mixed use, infill, transit-oriented, increased densities
- Site design that encourages walking, e.g., reduced setbacks, providing sidewalks & paths, locating building entrances near sidewalks and transit stops, short blocks
- Pedestrian amenities, e.g., sidewalks, benches, landscaping
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission provides funding for projects that improve pedestrian access through the Transportation for Livable Communities (TLC) program.
Pedestrian Planning & Safety Information
Local Government Commission information re: health and physical activity
Metropolitan Transportation Commission's Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety Toolbox
The Safe Routes to Schools program promotes walking and biking to school through education and incentives and addresses parents' safety concerns.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provides advice on getting to school safely.
US Department of Transportation design guidance document entitled Accommodating Bicycle and Pedestrian Travel: A Recommended Approach.
The Federal Highway Administration has produced several reports on bicycling and walking, including Improving Conditions for Bicycling and Walking: A Best Practices Report. See a complete list of FHA publications on walking and bicycling.
WalkingInfo.org (Pedestrian and Bicycling Information Center)
The City of Oakland has adopted an excellent Pedestrian Master Plan.
Walkable Communities, Inc. is a non-profit dedicated to helping communities become more walkable and pedestrian friendly.
Pedestrian Advocacy Groups
California Walks
Walk San Francisco