We started out to walk all 175 miles of streets of New Rochelle on August 4, 2013. I am happy to say that after six months we are over half way and while the winter weather has shortened our walks it has not stopped us.
We have noted a lot of different design features, and some areas due for improvement, on our city streets related to walkability. We have also been lucky enough to talk to a variety of people, hear some of their stories, their reasons for living in New Rochelle, and their views on walking. We have also been on a couple of organized walks with the city historian and taken part in the annual Arts Festival - both walking and helping out on the trolley. We have learned about building uses both current and past, and changes to the topography including the filling in of a lake and the construction of a sub-division on a wetland (with obvious ramifications for both the new home owners and the City). I hasten to add that the subdivision happened a long time ago and I would like to think that it would not occur today.
We have also done some foraging - mulberries, mushrooms and ginkgo seeds to name a few of our edible finds - and also bringing home useful items including old insulators (they make great candlesticks) and other small useful items left curbside for the taking.
So....to mention it once again....set yourself a walking challenge. Decide the parameters of the community you would like to walk, and a goal about what you would like to focus on (or not) and get out there and walk it! If you are looking for inspiration get yourself a copy of The New York Nobody Knows or A Walk Across America, or one of several other books celebrating walking, and/or check out some of the websites about walking, for example America Walks. If your purpose for walking is more for fitness than exploration America's Walking is a PBS series with some ideas to get you started.
One word of caution, if you google 'Walking Books' to find some inspiration, the first item that comes up is The Walking Dead. Might be best to skip that one.
We have also done some foraging - mulberries, mushrooms and ginkgo seeds to name a few of our edible finds - and also bringing home useful items including old insulators (they make great candlesticks) and other small useful items left curbside for the taking.
So....to mention it once again....set yourself a walking challenge. Decide the parameters of the community you would like to walk, and a goal about what you would like to focus on (or not) and get out there and walk it! If you are looking for inspiration get yourself a copy of The New York Nobody Knows or A Walk Across America, or one of several other books celebrating walking, and/or check out some of the websites about walking, for example America Walks. If your purpose for walking is more for fitness than exploration America's Walking is a PBS series with some ideas to get you started.
One word of caution, if you google 'Walking Books' to find some inspiration, the first item that comes up is The Walking Dead. Might be best to skip that one.
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