Walking in the city
The Boston Globe did an article on walkable neighborhoods last week with a link to walkscore.com, a website that will calculate the ‘walkability’ of your neighborhood. You don’t have to fill in a survey! Just enter your address and they will figure out your score. Of course, the system is not infallible, it just gives an approximation of how walkable your community is based on the proximity of businesses, schools, libraries, etc.; the highest score goes to those neighborhoods where you could actually conduct most of your daily business without needing a car. My neighborhood in the Highlands only scored 43 out of 100, and while I walk a lot, I have to agree that it’s not prime walking territory.
Speaking of walking, the McAuliffe Elementary School is participating in “Walking Wednesdays” this year, with their first walk to school event today! I helped out with this effort at the Lincoln School last year; it was a lot of fun and a great way for families to walk together with teachers and administrators. Walking Wednesdays is part of the Massachusetts Safe Routes to School program which is a collaboration between State and Federal departments of transportation. Good luck McAuliffe staff, students and volunteers – enjoy your walks!