Green Options » walk

Car-Free Market Street Is Closer to Reality

Rhonda Winter — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:12:55 +0000

My long held fantasy of a car-free Market Street became just a little closer to reality today. A transit improvement report was just approved by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority that encourages travel by bus, foot and bicycle along this busy thoroughfare. District 6 Supervisor Chris Daly, who requested the report, expressed his support for the positive changes being implemented that will limit car traffic on Market. “It will feel pretty good to see some progress, albeit incremental progress on Market Street,” he said.

A glorious car-free Market Street in June of 2008 after the queer pride parade.

I could not agree more, and am eagerly anticipating the upcoming changes; they can’t come quickly enough. Cars make us fat. The more we can increase walking, biking and mass transit use, the healthier our citizens will be, and the more livable and sustainable both our city and world will become.

Walking Around Oakland

Rhonda Winter — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:42:13 +0000

Last Sunday we were walking around sunny downtown Oakland, California, before my friend C. Ryder Cooley’s most excellent Animalia performance. I came across this storefront installation of plants growing in used nylons. Genius.

Plants don’t ever care if they have a run in their stockings.

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What Is a Good City?

Rhonda Winter — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:51:14 +0000

That was one of the many probing questions that the visionary former mayor of Bogotá Colombia, Enrique Peñalosa, asked a packed auditorium in San Francisco last night. How do we define what makes a good city, what is our criteria? What makes an urban environment desirable and livable, and how do we judge the quality of life? What is socially and environmentally sustainable?

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Sundial Span Soars into the Summer Solstice

Rhonda Winter — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 22:58:18 +0000

If you ever find yourself near Redding California, especially on June 21st, you should make an effort to visit Santiago Calatrava’s pedestrian bridge, which spans the waters of the Sacramento River. In addition to being a stunning functional

work of art that attracts thousands of pedestrians, families, bicyclists and nature lovers, every year on the summer solstice the beautifully designed structure also functions as an accurate sundial.

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Sunday Streets Takes Over the Mission

Rhonda Winter — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 07:15:48 +0000

Thousands of my fellow San Franciscans poured into the beautiful car-free space of the Mission District yesterday for Sunday Streets. The warm sunny day inspired scores of families, bicyclists, dogs, pedestrians, dancers, roller-bladers and skaters to come together and frolic in our city’s public streets.

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New Device Allows Users to Charge iPods by Going for a Walk

Andrew Williams — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 17:29:34 +0000

Tremont Electric has launched a portable energy generator that allows users to charge handheld electronic devices simply by going for a walk.

The nPower PEG, launched at last week’s 2009 CES event, works on the principle of electromagnetic induction to create a 100% renewable energy source for everything from iPods to mobile phones. To get a charge, users simply connect the PEG to their mobile device and lay it vertically, either against their hip, or in a bag, while they go for a walk or a run.

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Cars Make Us Fat

Rhonda Winter — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 20:04:37 +0000

A recent study published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health found a strong correlational link between “active transportation” (defined as the percentage of trips taken by walking, bicycling, and public transit) and obesity rates in seventeen industrialized nations. It appears that the more we sit on our butts and drive automobiles, the fatter we all become.

David Bassett of the University of Texas and John Pucher of Rutgers University present their findings in “Walking, Cycling and Obesity Rates in Europe, North America and Australia”; they conclude that “Countries with the highest levels of active transportation generally had the lowest obesity rates. Walking and biking are far more common in European countries than in the United States, Australia and Canada. Active transportation is inversely related to obesity rates in these countries.” Nowhere is this more apparent than in the United States, where less than 12% of the population walks, rides a bike or takes mass transit, and one in three of us is obese.

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Blue Planet Run Empowers Athletes To Make Miles Matter For 1,200 Tanzanian Students

Blue Planet Run — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 02:50:08 +0000

For the entire month of October, Blue Planet Run is hosting a nationwide 30-mile challenge. Athletes can run, walk or cycle anywhere, anytime. So far, over 150 events have sprung up across the country to support the effort to provide safe drinking water to three schools in Tanzania that serve 1,200 students and their families.

It’s not too late to register. You can join a team, form a team or go solo. Cover the miles however you’d like! http://www.blueplanetrun.org/30-mile

One of the Tanzanian schools sent out a message that the 30-Mile Challenge participants can read before they start their 30-mile run, walk or cycling. Blue Planet Run is working to build communication bridges between the athletes and the communities that benefit from their efforts.

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Tip o’ the Day: Office Walking Club

Rebecca Carter — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:04:15 +0000

Editor's note: We're sorry to announce that today's Tip o' the Day will be the last from Rebecca. As one of our founding writers, Rebecca's work for GO has been integral to building the blog. We wish her well as focuses her attention on Ecorazzi and Greener Miami. We'll miss you, Rebecca!

Do you work in an office park? Sit in a cubicle all day long? These "parks" are often filled with offices, and not much else. If you want to go out to lunch instead of eating in the deli downstairs, you probably need to get in your car & drive. Or do you?

Form a walking club with your co-workers and see what you can encounter on foot. You might just find that you can walk to that burrito place up the road. You'll not only get exercise and a chance to unwind (or gossip, perhaps?) with your office buddies - you'll have a carbon neutral trip!

We love finding ways that we can be green and hopefully inspire others to do so as well - without being preachy.

Rebecca says: When I worked in San Rafael, CA, it seemed that there was nothing nearby the office. Everything was one highway exit away, or on the other side of the highway. Which, in theory, is not that far, but it also didn't seem pedestrian friendly. Then, we formed a walking club and someone led us through some back roads in the nearby suburban neighborhood. Low and behold: the Jamba Juice. It was a beautiful (and safe) walk - with no highway involved whatsoever. Plus, there was a smoothie at the end as a reward.