The Walk Friendly Communities program (WFC) recently recognized 23 cities and towns across the United States for prioritizing pedestrians and creating safe and inviting places to walk. Only 2 cities received platinum levels: New York, NY and Arlington, VA…

As WFC states, “The WFC designation is awarded based on a detailed review of a community’s sustained efforts to elevate the needs of pedestrians across all areas of transportation programs. These communities also offer examples of steps that other cities and towns can take to improve walkability and safety.

Included among the designated communities are Arlington County, Virginia, and New York City, New York, with Platinum-level designations for their activities. WFC also issued four Gold-level, four Silver-level, and 13 Bronze-level designations.”

The full list of cities includes:

Platinum:
Arlington County, VA
New York, NY

Gold:
Ann Arbor, MI
Chicago, IL
Corvallis, OR
Minneapolis, MN

Silver:
Alexandria, VA
Cary, NC
Lawrence, KS
Ypsilanti, MI

Bronze:
Durango, CO
Fayetteville, AR
Fergus Falls, MN
Flagstaff, AZ
Gainesville, FL
Mount Lebanon, PA
Northampton, MA
Rochester, MN
Sitka, AK
Stevens Point, WI
Wilsonville, OR
York, PA

You can read more about the awards and program at www.walkfriendly.org/2022/06/15/new-cities-recognized-as-walk-friendly-communities/.

For Arlington specifically, WFC says, “Arlington is designated as a Platinum-level Walk Friendly Community for its success in transit-oriented planning, remarkable promotion and outreach, and educational offerings for staff and residents.”

Read the details about Arlington at www.walkfriendly.org/communities/arlington-va/.