The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) is pleased to present this Spring 2023 edition of “Walk this Way” - a bi-annual newsletter on walking and walkability. It is intended to serve as a community forum to support safe walking opportunities and to promote walkability for all of Maryland. 

This issue includes feature articles:

• The Predictive Safety Analysis: A Proactive Approach to Transportation Safety, by Jesse Cohn McGowan (formerly Montgomery County Planning Department);
• Exploring Sensory-Based Walking Tours, by John Kamp (Prairieform) and James Rojas (Place It!); and
• 100 Reasons to Walk, by Walk with a Doc.

The Predictive Safety Analysis:

A Proactive Approach to Transportation Safety

By: Jesse Cohn McGowan, Formerly Montgomery County Planning Department

In 2016, Montgomery County adopted a Vision Zero policy, with a goal of eliminating severe injuries and fatalities on its roadways by 2030. The county has made significant progress and investments towards this goal over the past seven years, through additional data analysis, planning, and funding of capital projects to improve safety. 

Traditional transportation planning looks at the locations where these previous crashes have occurred and focuses investments on improving those locations. Montgomery Planning wants to look beyond this reactive strategy to safety, and instead take a more proactive approach. We have developed a new strategy and methodology to improve road safety for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians called the Predictive Safety Analysis. This proactive data-driven approach works to prevent severe and fatal crashes before they happen.

Exploring Sensory-Based Walking Tour

By: John Kamp, Prairieform and James Rojas, Place It!

Often when we walk, we are walking with a purpose in mind. We are walking the dog, walking to the store, or walking to get exercise. It’s less common for us to walk to simply enjoy our surroundings. This, however, is precisely what James Rojas of Place It! and John Kamp of Prairieform do with groups around the country—they engage them in reimagining the spaces and places they inhabit. Known as sensory-based walking tours, participants explore a street, a neighborhood, or a parking lot, with their senses as the tour guides for their walk. Along the way, participants are encouraged to explore the space freely, whether it’s watching the leaves of a tree reflect the light from the sun or marveling at an architectural detail on a nearby building. By allowing our senses to take the reins, suddenly we see the world anew and sink into a sensing state.

100 Reasons to Walk

By: Walk with a Doc

According to Hippocrates, walking is the best medicine. So who are we to argue with the father of medicine? Regular physical activity, like walking, truly is one of the best things you can do for your overall health. 

Can you guess the top five reasons to walk?

1. Lowers “Bad” Cholesterol (LDL)
2. Increase “Good” Cholesterol (HDL)
3. Prevents and Reduces High Blood Pressure
4. Reduces heart attacks by 86% (combined with healthy lifestyle choices)
5. Reduces risk of stroke by up to 50% 

As required by law, the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) is updating the statewide Bicycle & Pedestrian Master Plan (BPMP), in conjunction with the Maryland Transportation Plan (MTP) on a five-year cycle. The BPMP will produce a concise, data-driven bicycle, pedestrian, and micromobility master plan to update policies and provide recommendations to improve safety.

After completing an existing conditions analysis, MDOT will conduct stakeholder and public outreach in spring 2023 to help define specific elements and initiatives to include in the BPMP. All are encouraged to take the public survey available on the project website. 

October will be here before you know it, which means Walktober is right around the corner. Walktober is a month of celebrating walking - when the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and other partnering agencies promote and host events and webinars spotlighting Maryland pedestrians' safety, health, and commuting options in current walk programs and initiatives.

The Walktober Walkinar (webinar) series will be back this year. MDOT will host a free walkinar each Thursday in October on various walk-focused topics from renowned guest speakers. Keep an eye on the Walktober website as more information will be available soon about this year’s guest speakers.

The ninth annual Walk Maryland Day will be on October 4, 2023. Last year’s Walk Maryland Day included more than 160 walk events in 23 counties throughout the State of Maryland and Baltimore City. Start planning to register as a Walk Leader or Sole Mate (walk participant) this October! Learn more about Walk Maryland Day by clicking here.
 

Follow and like the WalkCycleMD social media pages to get the latest bicycle and pedestrian news from MDOT. Please send any pedestrian initiatives or news that you would like to see on the pages to fwaters@mdot.maryland.gov.