Kids & Family

Imperial Beach Among Most Walkable Cities in San Diego County

La Mesa, National City and Imperial Beach are the most walkable cities in San Diego County, according to the second annual Regional Walk Scorecard released today by a group called WalkSanDiego.

"It was a very tight race this year," said WalkSanDiego Policy Manager Kathleen Ferrier. "There are a lot of local cities putting strong policies in place and building infrastructure that supports walking and biking, so La Mesa had some pretty tough competition."

La Mesa has catalogued local walking conditions, especially around transit stations and schools; upgraded intersections and other facilities to better alert drivers to the presence of pedestrians; and instituted incentives to reward developers for designing buildings and neighborhoods with walking in mind -- especially in the downtown village and near transit stations, according to the organization.

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Ferrier said the city also instituted a robust program to educate students and families about pedestrian and bike safety and encourage them to walk and bike to school, and protected the village's grid network of streets to allow a mix of walkable destinations, including transit stops.

National City was singled out for continuing to add pedestrian-friendly facilities and amenities throughout the city. Imperial Beach, meanwhile, has been working to ease traffic problems and provide improvements for pedestrians, according to WalkSanDiego.

Find out what's happening in Imperial Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Solana Beach was fourth in the scorecard, followed by Encinitas, Carlsbad, Coronado, Chula Vista, San Diego and Del Mar.

Pulling up the rear for the second year in a row were El Cajon and Santee. Both cities improved walkability and pedestrian safety education programs but were outpaced by other municipalities, according to WalkSanDiego.

City News Service


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