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Walking to Work

How often do you sit throughout the course of a day?  You sit in your car to drive to work, you sit at your computer, you sit in your car during the commute home, you sit to eat every meal and you sit on the couch to watch TV at night.  The rise of a sedentary lifestyle and the growing obesity epidemic has us thinking that everyone could use a little more mooving in their day.  National Walk to Work Day was instituted by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy G. Thompson, on April 2, 2004.  National Walk to Work Day is celebrated on the first Friday in April.  The goal of this special day is to encourage people to get out, exercise and get in shape.  If walking and regular exercise are not a part of your daily work routine, here is a great chance to get started.  By taking the baby step of walking to work today, you can begin to get mooving.

The state of Texas is not renowned as one of the most walkable places, but larger cities like Austin are working on increasing alternative forms of transportation.  As Austin continues to boom, the current infrastructure cannot adequately provide for the needs of the growing population.  Alternative forms of transportation meant to help relieve some of the congestion include the recently introduced Austin B Cycles, rentable bikes with stations located throughout the downtown area, and the commuter MetroRail, which helps people living in North Austin access the downtown area and vice versa.  Despite these new solutions, the majority of Texans rely on a personal vehicle for transportation.

One of the best ways to avoid the Austin traffic is by living in a walkable neighborhood.  This is easier said than done.  While there are many neighborhoods within walking distance of certain amenities, you will have a hard time finding a walkable neighborhood with close proximity to everything you need.  Some neighborhoods may be close to schools or a few restaurants but not your place of work, cafes, or the dry cleaner, etc.  Your best bet is to locate a neighborhood that is close to the things that are important to you and settle for driving to some of the locations not within walking distance of your home.  If walking everywhere is your goal, you may be confined to downtown areas.  While these neighborhoods may not be within walking distance of all your needs they are a good place to start.

“Walkable” Austin Neighborhoods

More communities and developments are beginning to focus on walkability. Hopefully, in the future more Austinites will be able to walk to work, to school, to the local shop and wherever else they may wish to go!

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/zenjazzygeek/12674176474

Original Source: https://squarecowmovers.com/national-walk-to-work-day/