Walking to work is a great way to get fit, save money, and protect the environment. Walking allows you to arrive at work feeling refreshed and unwind slowly on the way home. A 2009 survey conducted by the getDowntown Program found that 23% of downtown employees walked to work.

Get Fit

Did you know that Michigan has been in the top 10 heaviest states for the last fourteen years? If you lived under two miles away from your office (which 31% of downtown Ann Arbor employees do), and you walked to work five days a week you could burn an extra 2000 calories. That equals a ½ pound a week lost (if you don’t increase your food intake).

It is recommended that we all take 10,000 steps per day, which equals roughly 5 miles. Are you walking enough?

Save Money

A downtown parking permit is between $1260 and $2100 a year. Gas costs almost $3 a gallon. A parking ticket for an expired parking meter is $10. The cost of gym membership starts at $46 at the Ann Arbor YMCA. Walking to work is free & you might even be able to cash in that gym membership!

Protect the Environment

If the average American biked or walked to work or shopping once every two weeks instead of driving, we could prevent the pollution of close to one billion gallons of gasoline from entering the atmosphere every year. The 2001 National Household Travel Survey found that only 8.6 percent of all trips are made on foot, while 25 percent of trips in the United States are a quarter mile or less. Think twice before you make your next trip out the door – maybe you could walk!

Links:

• Current  Walking News on the getDowntown Blog
• Guide to Walking to Work from the getDowntown Blog
• Walk or Bus? This chart can help you choose
• Downtown walk map (from Downtown Development Authority)
• Washtenaw Biking and Walking Coalition
• Calculate your walking mileage
• Find the Walk Score of your neighborhood
• Walkable Communites 
• National Complete Streets Coalition