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Frequently Asked Questions <br />^ What makes a community walkable? <br />^ What are some examples of existing walkable communities? <br />^ What is a walking audit? <br />^ What happens'on a walking audit? <br />Q: What makes a community walkable? <br />We have a 12 step checklist for defining, achieving, or strengthening a walkable community. Walkable <br />Communities have (in no particular order): <br />1. Intact town centers. This center includes a quiet, pleasant main street with a hearty, healthy set <br />of stores. These stores are open for business a minimum of 8 hours a day. The stores include <br />things like hairdressers, hardware, druggist, small grocery/deli, good restaurants, clothing, variety <br />store, ice cream shop, stores that attract children, many youth and senior services, places to <br />conduct civic and personal business, library, all within a 1/4 mile walk (5 minutes) of the absolute <br />center. If this is a county seat, the county buildings are downtown. If this is an incorporated .town <br />the town hall is in the town center. The library is open for business at (east SO hours a day 6-7 <br />days a week. A post office is located downtown. <br />2. Residential densities, mixed income, mixed use. Near the town center, and in a large town at <br />appropriate transit locations, there will be true neighborhoods. Higher densities are near the town <br />center and in appropriate concentrations further out. Housing includes mixed income and mixed <br />use. A truly walkable community does not force people to drive to where they work. Aspen, for <br />example, is a great place to shop and piay...but fails to provide housing for anyone who works <br />there. <br />Granny flats, design studios, and other affordable housing are part of the mix in even the <br />wealthiest neighborhoods. <br />3. Pub/ic space,There are many places for people to assemble, play, and associate with others within <br />their neighborhood. The best neighborhoods have welcoming public space within 1/8th mile (700 <br />feet) of all homes. These spaces are easily accessed by ali people. <br />4. Universal design.The community has a healthy respect for people of all abilities, and has <br />appropriate ramps, medians, refuges, crossings of driveways, sidewalks on all streets where <br />needed, benches, shade, and other basic amenities to make walking feasible and enjoyable for <br />everyone. <br />Key streets are speed controlled. Traffic moves on main streets and in neighborhoods at safe, <br />pleasant, courteous speeds. Most streets are designed to keep speeds low. Many of these streets <br />are tree lined, have on-street parking, and use other affordable methods to keep traffic speeds <br />under control. There is an absence of one-way couplets designed to flush the downtown of its <br />http://www.walkable.org/fags.html 04/20/2012 <br />walkable.org: fag Page 1 of 5 <br />