Clearing path for increased walkability in Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City, ranked by a national health and fitness magazine as the most unfriendly city in the nation for pedestrians, now has a path to change its image.

Jeff Speck, a city planner and national expert on what it takes to make a city walkable, gave a presentation last week to the Oklahoma City Council citing dozens of pedestrian-friendly changes the city can make, some of which will be cheap or even money-savers.

"Enough of those things could be done at a low cost that you might start to see some results that would justify spending more money,” Ward 4 Councilman Pete White said. "I think it’s got some legs.”

Four reasons to walk

Speck said making a city walkable, particularly downtown, is important for a number of reasons, including health and environmental concerns and attracting young, talented workers.

Speck said studies have shown that young people overwhelmingly want to live in cities where they can walk downtown.

Oklahoma City has a long way to go, according to Prevention magazine, a national health and fitness publication that ranks Oklahoma City as "the worst city for pedestrians in the entire country.”

Speck said there are four ways to get people to leave their cars and use their feet.

"There needs to be a reason to walk, the walk needs to be safe, the walk needs to be comfortable and the walk needs to be interesting,” Speck said.

People have a reason to walk if they can get from their home to places where they work, eat, shop or are entertained without getting in a car, Speck said.

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