By Jen Walker / Participants in the Madison Community Transportation Academy gain a firsthand understanding of how transportation systems shape daily life – highlighting lessons about walkability, public transit, accessibility, and the importance of creating safer, more connected communities for everyone.
Read more about "A Walk, a Bus Ride, and a New Way of Seeing Our Streets "
Planning and building streets and neighborhoods that are walkable and pedestrian friendly is a long process. In Madison, as in communities around the country, the list of local roads that need attention is long, and the budget for planning and reconstruction is stretched thin.
Read more about "Proactive Neighborhood Planning to Improve the Pedestrian Environment"
Communities and neighborhoods that are more compact and walkable have stronger social networks, better personal and community health, and are easier on the environment. But are “walkable” streets equally walkable for everyone?
Read more about "Walkability and Disabilities"
The answer about what’s most important about your neighborhood is walkability. Recent studies have championed the physical health benefits of designing for walkability, the improvements in community health and wellbeing from new residential construction in walkable areas, and the economic value of walkability in terms of dollars spent in the local economy.
Read more about "What’s most important to you about your neighborhood?"
How many places can you walk in 5, 10, or 15 minutes? The answer depends on what neighborhood you’re in! Madison Neighborhoods with smaller blocks and more connections offer more choices in where you walk, while more suburban areas limit where you can go on foot.
Read more about "Madison neighborhoods’ “ped sheds”"
This spring five UW-Madison students working through the Morgridge Center’s Badger Volunteers program are 1000 Friends’ “eyes on the street,” literally! They are walking up and down every street in Downtown Madison performing a walkability survey, taking notes on where there are blind corners, unsafe sidewalks, poorly designed intersections, conflicts with other road and street users, and other impediments to top-notch pedestrian-friendliness.
Read more about "Walkability from Eye Level"