Madison, Wis. – With the thermometer at 22 and the wind ripping off a frozen Lake Mendota, Rink DaVee and his brother Jim decided to take a stroll.
And why not? After all, according to a recent top 10 list, there’s no better place in the country for walking than the capital city of a state known more for cheese and beer than exercising.
“It makes you feel better,” DaVee said during a break in his walk Wednesday, standing on the icy, snow-covered trail that extends out over the lake. “It gets you through a cold month of March.”
Prevention magazine named Madison – 1,300 miles north of sunny Miami – as the most walkable of the country’s 100 most populated cities. The list was commissioned by the American Podiatric Medical Association based on certain criteria. It ran in editions of the magazine released this week.
Madison beat out the likes of Austin, Texas (No. 2), San Francisco (No. 3) and Miami, which barely cracked the list at No. 98. Colorado Springs was No. 13, Denver No. 22 and Aurora No. 27.
Factors contributing to the ranking were air quality, the percentage of people who walk to work, access to parks, number of athletic shoes sold and (believe it or not) weather. Number of beaches versus frozen lakes apparently was not a factor. Crime rate, unfortunately for Miami, was.
Adopting a walker-friendly plan 10 years ago was a major plus for Madison, said Prevention magazine’s deputy editor Karyn Repinski. That plan focused on maintaining and improving the city’s walkability and requires that when roads are redeveloped, they should accommodate not just cars but bikes and pedestrians too.
Madison was the only city in the walking top 10 in a state that’s not in the South or the West, a point of pride for people such as Kathy Andrusz, coordinator of the Fit City initiative. Started in 2003 by Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, the program is a collaboration between Madison city officials and more than 30 other groups to combat obesity and get people moving.
“We’re definitely touting it,” Andrusz said of the walking rating. “We’re definitely proud of it and will be able to use it as a sense of pride, if nothing else.”
Madison is no stranger to No. 1 rankings. Residents still talk about Money magazine naming it the best place to live in 1998, although that ranking dropped to 53 last year. Outside magazine named it the best road-biking city in August, and other high rankings have come for its being vegetarian-friendly, gay-friendly and environmentally friendly.
