Appleton was just recognized as one of the top cities in the nation for walking and is tied with Madison as the best city in Wisconsin for walking. The honor comes from Prevention magazine and the American Podiatric Medical Association. See Prevention's Best Cities site for detailed results. (Somehow they ranked Honolulu, San Francisco, and New York City above Appleton - come on!)

This is a well-deserved honor. Appleton has beautiful streets, good sidewalks, a safe, clean environment, and so many things of interest within walking distance from central locations. There are some great trails also, such as the CE trail and trails in surrounding parks. The Fox Cities in general provide many beautiful walks.

The honor is reported by Steve Wideman of the Post-Crescent in the April 11, 2008 story, Appleton, Madison Tops for Walking: Magazine Ranks Two Cities 11th in the Nation. Here's an excerpt:

Appleton is the best walking city in Wisconsin, along with Madison, in a recently completed survey by Prevention magazine and the American Podiatric Medical Association.

Both cities also tied at 11th among 500 cities nationwide, according to the survey.

The survey notes Appleton offers a low crime rate and a dense downtown area with many eating and shopping opportunities for walkers.

"The nice thing about parking downtown is you can walk to work, walk to lunch, walk to business meetings and shop if you need something," said Jennifer Stephany, executive director of Appleton Downtown Inc., a downtown advocacy group.

Cities were evaluated based on 14 points including the percentage of adults who walk to work, the number of parks per square miles, use of mass transit and percentage of adults who walk for exercise.

Mayor Tim Hanna said the recognition shows Appleton is meeting its mission of answering community needs and enhancing quality of life "through our neighborhood parks, pedestrian-friendly downtown area and 7.5 miles of paved walking trails."