baltimore walks: take the pledge

The Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance wants you to help make Charm City safer - by increasing Baltimore's walkability factor.

DBFA has launched a new campaign to make Baltimore safer for walking.  The organization believes that living in a walkable neighborhood decreases crime, enhances public safety, and increases home values, public health, and adoption rates of public transportation. However, according to a DBFA email newsletter, pedestrian injury is the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 5 to 14 years old. Excessive vehicle speed is the leading cause of crashes in Baltimore City.

To start educating Charm City residents, DBFA created Baltimore Walks, a new website dedicated to providing information about walking in Baltimore neighborhoods. They're also gearing up for October 5th: National Walk to School Day, launched a city-wide pledge campaign encouraging drivers to break for pedestrians and are co-sponsoring a student pedestrian safety video contest with Baltimore City Public Schools.

According to Walk Score, Baltimore is the twelfth most walkable large city in the United States. In a recent survey, respondents listed "walkability" as one of the top four reasons they chose to reside in a downtown neighborhood.

 So take a minute and help make walking in our city neighborhoods safer. Take the pledge to brake for Baltimore pedestrians and learn more about walking in and around Charm City.