New Web Site Allows Users To Get Walkability Ratings For Any Area
No Fee To Use Program
Updated: 8:51 am CDT July 10, 2008
MADISON, Wis. -- The latest tool in getting around town doesn't have to do with a car or the rubber in shoes, but the silicon in a computer.
VIDEO: Watch The ReportA new Web site allows people to see how walkable a neighborhood might be. The site, called walkscore.com, was designed by a firm in Seattle, Wash.It works just like a Google map and is powered with that very technology. Computer users put in their address and based on a variety of parameters, like what kind of businesses and services are close by, the site will tell the user how walkable their neighborhood is, WISC-TV reported.Downtown Madison has a rating of 100, the top score there is. The higher the score an area receives the more walkable that it is, WISC-TV reported."The more we can walk, the less we need our cars, the more we can get around on foot we're also healthier and polluting less," said Steve Hiniker, of 1,000 Friends Of Wisconsin Land Use Group. "When you have a community that's designed in a way to have walkable destinations, you have a stronger community."The Web site doesn't take into account the availability of public transportation in a neighborhood, or safety. Those are things users will have to evaluate on their own, WISC-TV reported.There is no fee to use the service and no need to sign up as on the site.The potential benefits of a walkable neighborhood include: better physical health from walking, reducing greenhouse gas by not driving and using public transportation or bike paths.Walking also increases social capital by promoting face-to-face interaction with neighbors and it promotes stronger local businesses -- providing foot traffic past several stores at once, WISC-TV reported.To find your neighborhood's walkability, visit Walk Score
VIDEO: Watch The ReportA new Web site allows people to see how walkable a neighborhood might be. The site, called walkscore.com, was designed by a firm in Seattle, Wash.It works just like a Google map and is powered with that very technology. Computer users put in their address and based on a variety of parameters, like what kind of businesses and services are close by, the site will tell the user how walkable their neighborhood is, WISC-TV reported.Downtown Madison has a rating of 100, the top score there is. The higher the score an area receives the more walkable that it is, WISC-TV reported."The more we can walk, the less we need our cars, the more we can get around on foot we're also healthier and polluting less," said Steve Hiniker, of 1,000 Friends Of Wisconsin Land Use Group. "When you have a community that's designed in a way to have walkable destinations, you have a stronger community."The Web site doesn't take into account the availability of public transportation in a neighborhood, or safety. Those are things users will have to evaluate on their own, WISC-TV reported.There is no fee to use the service and no need to sign up as on the site.The potential benefits of a walkable neighborhood include: better physical health from walking, reducing greenhouse gas by not driving and using public transportation or bike paths.Walking also increases social capital by promoting face-to-face interaction with neighbors and it promotes stronger local businesses -- providing foot traffic past several stores at once, WISC-TV reported.To find your neighborhood's walkability, visit Walk ScoreCopyright 2008 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
