Lee's Summit becomes first Missouri city awarded Silver Level Walk Friendly Community | Walk Friendly Communities

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The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) is pleased to announce its five new Walk Friendly Communities (WFC) and to recognize one community for jumping from Bronze to Silver.

The "Walk Friendly" title means a city or town is being recognized for its success in working to improve a wide range of conditions related to walking, including safety, mobility, access, and comfort. As part of its commitment to pedestrian safety, FedEx supports Walk Friendly Communities, a national recognition program of the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center at the University of North Carolina that encourages cities and towns across the United States to create safe walking environments.

PBIC recognizes these three communities for their commitment to improving walkability and pedestrian safety:
Gold Level

Evanston, IL
Somerville, MA

Silver Level

Lee's Summit, MO (Up from Bronze)
Sandpoint, ID

Bronze Level

Arcata, CA
Saratoga Springs, NY

"We continue to be amazed by the efforts being made by communities of all sizes to improve conditions for walking," said Carl Sundstrom, WFC program manager. "We're particularly excited to see the great strides made by Lee's Summit, allowing them to climb to the Silver level."

Of the 55 Walk Friendly Communities across the nation, Seattle, Wash., remains the only Platinum-level Walk Friendly Community.

The program began accepting applications for the tenth round on May 1, 2015, with the deadline for submission on June 15, 2015. Interested communities are encouraged to visit www.walkfriendly.org to learn more about the program and review the community assessment tool.

Applicants use a web-based program that asks a comprehensive set of questions and provides communities with feedback and ideas for promoting pedestrian safety and activity. The questions examine engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement, evaluation and planning. Officially launched in October 2010, the WFC program is funded by FedEx and the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration.

"FedEx congratulates these communities on their designation by PBIC as Walk Friendly," said Rose Flenorl, manager, FedEx Global Citizenship. "We hope many more communities across the US will apply for this designation. Being Walk Friendly demonstrates a commitment to saving lives and reducing pedestrian injuries. We are dedicated to road safety and are a proud sponsor of PBIC."

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About the WFC Program

The Walk Friendly Community designation, awarded from bronze to platinum, is given to applicant communities that have demonstrated a commitment to improving and sustaining walkability and pedestrian safety through comprehensive programs, plans and policies.

At the core of the WFC program is a comprehensive assessment tool that evaluates community walkability and pedestrian safety through questions related to engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement, evaluation and planning. The assessment tool questions are intended to both evaluate conditions for walking and provide communities with feedback and ideas for promoting pedestrian safety and activity.

Modeled after the League of American Bicyclists’ “Bicycle Friendly Communities,” WFC distinguishes cities and towns that are leading the way in walkability. WFC is the first program to highlight communities for their walkability initiatives and programs, while also offering feedback to assist communities in improving walkability.

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Lee's Summit becomes first Missouri city awarded Silver Level Walk Friendly Community | Walk Friendly Communities

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MoBikeFed comment: Find out more a bout the Walk Friendly Communities program in Missouri--and how to get your community started on the Walk Friendly Communities program--here:

http://mobikefed.org/content/walk-friendly-missouri