Montco Walkability Study

from the inbox:

The Montgomery County Commissioners adopted Walk Montco, a new countywide walkability plan, at their February 18 meeting. The plan corresponds to the goals of Montco 2040: A Shared Vision, Montgomery County’s new, award-winning comprehensive plan. Montco 2040 advocates for more sidewalks and pedestrian-oriented developments to improve transportation quality and expand options. 

 Walkability continues to be a key aspect of the growth and redevelopment of downtowns, residential neighborhoods, office parks, and retail destinations in the county. Walkability is not only good for the built environment, but essential for physical health. Walkable streets help decrease local traffic volumes, increase access to available public transit, and increase opportunities for healthier lifestyles. They support mobility for everyone throughout all stages of life and create safer communities, especially for children, the elderly, and those with mobility limitations. Walkability also has positive environmental benefits in that a reduction in vehicle trips equates to fewer vehicle emissions.

The entire study is lengthy, a little over 80 pages, and is available here:  www.montcopa.org/WalkMontco   It's a thorough, well done plan, with a lot of illustrations and graphs.  Walkability is an important concept; as a relatively new diabetic I can attest to walking as one of the easiest, and certainly the cheapest, form of exercise around.  The best way to incorporate walking into a daily routine is for it to be a part of that routine - walking to work, to public transit, to the store, to school.  For that to happen there need to be safe walkways between these points.

Kudos, Montco!