11 Most Walk-Friendly U.S. Cities

Gold Walkable Communities

Ann Arbor, Michigan

• Ann Arbor stands out among other cities by its focus on creating awalking environment that is comfortable and attractive. Among other amenities, Ann Arbor provides sidewalk furniture, planters, wayfinding signage, fountains, and information kiosks. They also stipulate that 1% of city funds must go to public art, which makes walking an interesting and worthwhile activity in the city.
• Among the many great programs in Ann Arbor, the Ann Arbor Transportation Program operates the Ann Arbor Safe Streets and Sidewalks Taskforce, which brings stakeholders together around pedestrian safety issues. The diversity of the group is noteworthy in particular and includes city employees, law enforcement, public health, transportation officials, public relations personnel, legal staff, university officials, and pedestrian advocates.
• Ann Arbor’s journey to work walking mode share is substantially higher than the US average. This is certainly due, in part, to the fact that 98% of arterial roads have sidewalks on both sides and 82% of non-arterial roads have sidewalks on both sides. Ann Arbor has done a great job putting the infrastructure in place to create a safe walking environment.
• Providing crossing amenities is clearly a priority in Ann Arbor. Aside from strengthening pedestrian ordinances to require drivers to stop for pedestrians in/or approaching crosswalks, they also have a crossing location prioritization scheme, regularly maintain crosswalks, employ in-road stop/yield signs, and implement advance stop/yield lines and raised crosswalks. The focus on pedestrian crossing amenities highlights the commitment to pedestrian safety in Ann Arbor.
• Traffic calming initiatives are also strong in Ann Arbor. Using a neighborhood based program, the city has met with success in reducing speeds along residential streets by employing speed humps, chokers, traffic circles, road diets, and raised intersections among others.

Arlington, Virginia

• Arlington’s goal of developing as a dense, transit-oriented community required strategic management of parking and the policies the community has implemented showcase a superb understanding of market-based parking management. Parking costs are unbundled from housing and public on-street spaces are provided at minimal cost to car sharing programs like Zipcar, which reduces the need for private automobiles. For commercial development, below-grade parking is the norm and Arlington also encourages shared parking between uses. The community also provides cash-out incentives, providing employees that do not require a parking space with monetary compensation.
• Arlington is achieving great success in walkability due, in large part, to what one transportation planning official called a “voracious appetite for understanding best pedestrian planning practices around the world.” Training and educational opportunities include webinars and conferences from nearly 20 different groups as well as in person training workshops. Staff is also given a regular refresher course on pedestrian safety on “Safety Day”.
• Arlington’s education and encouragement programs are incredibly important in fostering community support for walkability. The community runs a number of innovative programs that engage community members, including Street Smart, the Car Free Diet, and the Neighborhood 25 campaign.
  • Street Smart is a public awareness and enforcement campaign in its sixth year that uses print, outdoor, online, and broadcast media channels throughout the metropolitan Washington area to reach a diverse audience.
  • The Car Free Diet program is an innovative development aimed at raising awareness of the health, environmental, financial, and commuting benefits of going car-free or car-lite. Through web, video, blogs, social media, transit advertising, a Car-Free Diet Calculator, and media outreach, the campaign has generated significant media and public attention and garnered substantial support from local businesses.
  • The Neighborhood 25 program is a new campaign that began in 2010 as a response to the difference in fatal crashes that occur at 20mph and 30mph. Neighbors voluntarily place “Keep Kids Alive – Drive 25” signs throughout the neighborhoods in conjunction with police placement of speed feedback signs. Police will follow up with additional data collection after the signs are removed to verify the success of the program.
• In an effort to solicit more specific public input, Arlington began holding Walking Town Meetings in 2007. Through local civic associations, communities can take Arlington Board members and staff on a walking tour of the neighborhood to highlight issues of concern, ideas for improvements, and to showcase the community. Following the meeting, planning staff documents the issues that were presented as information and possible alternatives for consideration by the Board.

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Photo of Arlington pedestrians via Arlington County