Today is International Walk to School Day

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Check out this site for info about nearly 500 events at California schools. Don't see your school listed? There's information about how to start a program at your school on the website as well. 

San Diego Mayoral Candidate Speaker Series

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It's back to square one in the search for a San Diego mayor, but hopefully not for pedestrians in our city. If you'd like to learn more about what some of the leading candidates have to say about walking, biking, and livable neighborhoods, check out one of these upcoming mayoral forums, many of them conveniently held at local breweries. Register here. 

Cool Ped Stuff #27: Walk [Your City]

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You might remember last year's story about the graduate student in Raleigh who tried to promote walkability in his city by posting his own wayfinding signs in strategic locations. The City balked at the idea at first, arguing it violated sign regulations, but eventually recognized the importance of the idea and adopted the sign program as its own.

Following its success at home, WalkRaleigh used Kickstarter to fund Walk [Your City], a website that allows anyone to create wayfinding signs for their own neighborhood. I tried it out myself and created the sign above--the whole process was super easy and took me about five minutes to complete. Once you've made your signs, you can order them through the site for for about $25 each (including shipping, materials for mounting the sign, and associated web-based directions). 

This Week on Foot

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Photo courtesy of Atlantic Cities

(Maybe that should be "This Last Four Months on Foot, but bear with me here).

Fall hasn't hit us here in Southern California so much, but nonetheless Fall weather is walking season, making October 'Pedestrian Safety Month--and just in time, as a Pedestrian fatally struck in Torrance is identified. Pedestrian Safety Efforts Should Be Aimed at Drivers

Meanwhile, we're wondering if it's The Beginning of the End for Level of Service? And while we're asking questions, Can Victoria wait 243 years for more bike lanes and pedestrian paths? And, How does Perth rate in the walkability stakes? One place that doesn't rate so high is Pakistan, where Extortion prevents Saddar from turning into pedestrian zone. And we think we have it bad here in the US...

Actually, there's a lot of positive new around the country this week. There's a Pedestrian & Bike Trail Proposed Linking Little Rock And Hot Springs, in Texas Dallas’ long-in-the-works Complete Streets manual is, at last, complete, and the City Of Dickinson Looks To Fix Pedestrian Problems. We've also learned How One Person Sparked a Complete Streets Movement in Cranford, and that 400 Missouri State Students To Help Assess Walkability Throughout Springfield.

Of course, the week wouldn't be complete without some more sobering news, like how a Walking tour of East Innes, Long streets reveals problems for pedestrians, or Montgomery County still a ways from ‘walkable,’ pedestrian safety data shows--but overall Americans are recognizing the importance of walkability, like in New York where Two-Thirds of New York City Voters Say They Want Better Bike and Pedestrian Infrastructure.

On the other hand, Americans View Walking as Good for Health But Many Aren't Walking Enough to Realize Health Benefits, and 40 percent of Americans believe their neighborhoods are not walkable. Fortunately, there's A New Walking Movement to Get America Back on Its Feet, A new way to think about ‘walkability’ in the Valley, and we're even Learning from Las Vegas.

And on a final, lighter, note: this week we found out it's not just American people who love to walk--it's popular in the animal kingdom too, like with this Pedestrian pig hogs the spotlight.

Cool Ped Stuff #26 - Superheroes

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Photo courtesy of Peatonito

If you've ever had to dash out into the street to get around a car parked across the sidewalk, you've probably wished for Superman strength so you could just pick that car up and toss it out of the way. If you lived in Mexico City, you might just get your wish. As reported in Atlantic Cities and elsewhere, Jorge Cáñez (aka Peatónito, or "Little Pedestrian" in Spanish) and his buddies regularly hit the streets in Lucha Libre attire, blocking cars, painting crosswalks, and generally fighting the dark forces that impinge on the city's walkability.

If you'd like to hear more about Peatónito and his exploits, you can check out his Facebook page here.