Americans want to live in communities that are walkable and bikeable

When we look outside our front door and see sidewalks and streets with bicycling facilities, it is easier to choose to go places using “active” transportation.

Walking and bicycling are some of our earliest forms of transportation. They have important health benefits, such as reducing obesity and heart disease.  When people are out and about, our communities feel safer.  And active transportation reduces smog and congestion.

But people will not walk and bicycle if the streets in their community are only designed for fast-moving cars and trucks.

Open your front door and look outside:

• Are your destinations close enough that you could walk or bike to them?
• Are there sidewalks and roads connecting you to the places you want to go?
• Is your community a safe and beautiful place to walk and bicycle?

If you answered, “No,” to any of those questions, your community can be improved and you can help.

This website provides you with TOOLS to assess the suitability of your local streets for walking and bicycling. With the results you can produce a MAP that will be helpful to city officials. We produced this map using GIS (Geographical Information Systems software on a computer). However, even a hand-colored map will work.

A walking and bicycling suitability assessment (WABSA) project is the first step toward making improvements so that everyone can be more physically active in your community.