Wednesday April 1st as National Walking Day

The American Heart Association idesignates the first Wednesday of April, National Walking Day.  This year, that's "April Fools Day," which isn't so great, given how walking (and biking and transit) is not seen as a viable transportation mode by many people who are wedded to the automobile.

But you have to start somewhere.

By registering, you have access to a wide variety of materials.

In DC, All Walks DC is an advocacy group that works on pedestrian issues.

My favorite local pedestrian advocacy organizations are Feet First in Seattle, Starkville in Motion (Mississippi), which is a multi-modal advocacy group, and Walk Boston.

The "safe routes to school" method is a good way to approach neighborhood pedestrian improvements.  The State of Washington's guide, School Walk and Bike Routes: A Guide for Planning and Improving Walk and Bike to School Options for Students is one of the best manuals that I've come across and it has just been updated.

One problem that many communities have is the disconnect between local needs for serving local mobility versus the reality that most arterials (roads) serve simultaneously as regionally serving through roads.

Oregon's Main Street: When a Highway Runs Through It is a good resource for figuring out how to balance these often conflicting needs, and gives community residents the kind of information they need to deal with state highway officials.

The Federal Highway Administration provides a great number of resources that support walking.  It provides financial support to the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, which provides a wide variety of resources devoted to walking, including the FHWA publications

-- Pedestrian Safety Guide and Countermeasure Selection System
-- Pedestrian Road Safety Audit Guidelines and Prompt Lists