Walking is among the most fundamental of human activities. Walking serves to connect us to other people and other places. It improves our health and our psyche. It reduces our waistline and builds a sense of community. It enhances the environment and the economy. Yet walking in America is at an all-time low. The BestWALK smart phone app was created to change that.
Why don’t we walk? One of the primary reasons is that our streets (and therefore our neighborhoods, communities, and quite literally, our lives) are designed around the automobile. BestWALK was designed to help us take back the street. Join friends and walkers of all ages to use the BestWALK smart phone app and rate what it’s like to walk in your community. Your efforts will create a regional Walk Scorecard rating walkability in our neighborhoods and cities and contribute to a map of improvements for future funding.
WalkSanDiego has downloaded a street network into the BestWALK phone app that allows the user to document how easy and pleasant it is to walk and cross the streets of cities throughout San Diego County. Is there a sidewalk? What is its condition? How easy is it to access your local transit stop? Is there shopping and dining nearby? Do you feel connected to areas by walking? These are just some examples of the questions you can help answer with the BestWALK phone app. Once you answer the questions, you’ll see a rating for the area you walked. And you can share the information with your friends and challenge them to rate their own streets.
We have a network of 4,000 streets waiting to be rated! Ratings are provided for both intersections and street segments. The data you enter not only produces a rating, it also populates a map of improvements needed around the region. The more information we have on walkability around the San Diego region, the better equipped we are to advocate for improvements. With your help, we can advocate for specific improvements.