A new program at the University of Kentucky, modeled off the Walk [Your City] initiative, placed signs throughout campus that indicate the distance, in walking time, to nearby destinations. The signs say things like “3 minutes to lunch or a snack”, “8 minute walk to get a check-up”, and “16 minute walk to work out before heading home”. Each sign also has a QR code that can be scanned to input directions to the listed locations. The signs are designed to point out locations that may be closer by foot than people realized, thereby encouraging walking. Research has shown that these types of signs can have great results. A five month study by the CDC at an airport advertised to passengers in a terminal that it was just a five minute walk to the next terminal. Rates of walking over taking the tram increased by 14 percent. People are often so overscheduled now that these types of signs can be very useful in increasing movement by making it easier to choose walking.
So far the University of Kentucky is one of just a few campuses that have implemented this initiative, but 50 cities have joined since the program began in 2012. It was the idea of Matt Tamasulo, a then-grad student (now I feel like an underachiever! ) in Raleigh. Although city officials eventually took the signs down for violating a zoning ordinance, the city’s planning director was able to convince leadership to let them go back up as a pilot education project. Since then the program has continued to garner interest, with even the Surgeon General tweeting his support. In many ways, campuses are an ideal environment for these signs, as they are often like mini cities and struggle with parking availability.
Link: How colleges are stepping up campus walkability
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