Current Projects

WalkSanDiego at a Glance - a one-pager on all we do [1-page PDF]

Paying for More Street Lights - WalkSanDiego's New Booklet Lights the Way
San Diego has the darkest streets of any major city we know of. MADs provide a way for neighborhoods to tax themselves to pay for and maintain new street lights, as well as street trees and other landscaping.
• Illuminating San Diego [8-page PDF]

Neighborhood Assistance
While we're working hard to change city standards and funding policies at all levels of government, working with neighborhoods is WalkSanDiego's prime niche. The first need is usually education on pedestrian-oriented design and traffic calming for speed-plagued streets. Sometimes we also help negotiate the labyrinth of city government. Local traffic engineers know that working closely with residents is the ideal way to design traffic calming treatments and pedestrian improvements. But few cities can afford the staff time. That's where WalkSanDiego comes in. Normally, we can offer only limited training on traffic calming and pedestrian design, and sincere wishes of good luck. But now, neighborhoods with a few resources hire us for small contracts of $3000-$5000 to help identify and prioritize danger hotspots and suggest solutions, lead walks, and conduct safety trainings, community forums, or walking campaigns. See examples here:

• Improving Walkability in San Ysidro [9-page PDF]
• Enhancing Walkability in the Uptown Parking District [25-page PDF]
• Making Strides Toward a More Walkable North Park [10-page PDF]
• Enhancing Walkability in National City's Old Town Neighborhood [15-page PDF]
• Enhancing Walkability in Sherman Heights [10-page PDF]

Next Steps Project
(Downloadable One-Pager)
The neighborhoods least likely to seek WalkSanDiego's help are those at greatest risk: low-income communities where families own fewer vehicles, kids still walk to school, and at least one parent commutes by public transit. As a result, minority pedestrians are hit by cars two to four times more often. Using our time-tested methods, the Next Steps Project [1-page PDF] helps these communities become safer for walking through:

• Culturally appropriate presentations showing how a truly walkable neighborhood looks and feels.
• "Walk audits" to look at problems and identify potential solutions.
• Mapping exercises with residents, including children, to identify danger zones.
• Working with city engineers to reduce speeding, install safe crossings, and make navigating streets easier for persons with disabilities.

South Bay Walkability
WalkSanDiego has teamed up with the Healthy Eating, Active Living Coalition (HEAC) in West Chula Vista to take on the obesity epidemic in a large way. We're helping residents, HEAC, and the City of Chula Vista eliminate pedestrian hazards and adopt policies that promote walkable community design. (See Spring 2006 FootNotes for more information.)

Regional Pedestrian Policies and Funding (SANDAG)
Pedestrian Guidelines
Pedestrian and Bicycle Working Group
Regional Growth Working Group
TransNet Transportation Tax Implementation Planning

Municipal Traffic Calming Policies and Standards
City of San Diego General Plan
City of San Diego Traffic Calming Program
City of San Diego Pedestrian Master Plan
City of Chula Vista Neighborhood Pedestrian Improvements
City of Chula Vista General Plan

Consulting

• Walk Audits - As part of a community design project, WalkSanDiego will provide a presentation on "Elements of a Walkable Community" and then lead participants through their own neighborhood to examine what's working and what's missing. A real "eye-opener."
• Public Outreach - Most public outreach efforts only attract the same handful of neighborhood activists. WalkSanDiego is adept at finding and engaging less-involved residents and merchants, including non-English-speakers.
• Walking Tours - As part of a conference or other event, WalkSanDiego will conduct a community walking tour, pre-designed to highlight particular features.
• Training for Public Health Professionals - WalkSanDiego has developed a specialty in providing public health professionals with the necessary training to participate more fully in land use and transportation planning decisions that determine the quality of the pedestrian environment.
• Presentations - WalkSanDiego PowerPoint presentations stir excitement about improving walkability. Currently available:
  • Walkable Communities 101 - The elements of a walkable community.
  • Traffic Calming Basics - What works, what doesn't, effective decision-making, funding sources
  • New Transportation Paradigms - Alternatives to endless road-building and driving
• Pedestrian Enhancement Plans - WalkSanDiego will work with local residents and government staff to determine pedestrian danger "hotspots" and recommend design changes.
• Pedestrian Safety Campaigns - Presentations to schools, seniors, and others; transit shelter signs; newspaper columns; handouts, and coordination with police department and traffic engineering.

Past Accomplishments

Since 1998, WalkSanDiego has initiated or responded to over 100 opportunities to educate and advocate for pedestrian-friendly environments.

• Generated dozens of news stories about the plight of pedestrians in the San Diego region.
• Helped SDSU psychology professor, Dr. James Sallis, design a study that conclusively showed residents in walkable neighborhoods walk more and are more fit than those in less walkable neighborhoods.
• Convinced the San Diego Association of Governments SANDAG to (1) establish a Walkable Communities Advisory Committee, (2) set aside $1 million in TransNet funds for Pedestrian Demonstration Project Grants, and (3) publish regional Model Pedestrian Design Guidelines.
• Successfully lobbied SANDAG to include $280 million in the current TransNet proposal for walking, biking, and traffic calming projects.
• Played a key role in overhauling the City of San Diego's Street Design Manual to be more pedestrian and bicycle friendly.
• Published a traffic calming guide, available for $15, entitled Slow Down! Taming Neighborhood Traffic.
• Published a glossy, illustrated (and free) "Walkability Checklist" to help neighborhood residents diagnose their own pedestrian issues.

• Assisted over 60 neighborhoods, some multiple times, to help them understand and advocate for pedestrian safety improvements.
• Pushed the San Diego Planning Department to pursue a Pedestrian Master Plan (to be fair, they didn't need much prodding).
• Twice visited Capitol Hill to lobby the U.S. Congress on TEA-3 pedestrian issues.
• Sponsored several pedestrian design and traffic calming trainings by national expert, Dan Burden.
• Wrote scores of letters supporting local, state, and federal bills providing funding and policy support for pedestrian facilities, and others supporting pedestrian-friendly standards and private developments.
• Conducted dozens of walks showcasing walkable environments.
• Helped instigate traffic calming plans in Hillcrest, North Park, Bird Rock, and Torrey Hills (with more on the way in San Ysidro, Sherman Heights, Southeastern San Diego, and possibly Carlsbad Village).
• Helped neighborhoods acquire planning grants totaling over $1 million.