New Haven Is Among Most Walkable Cities in America, Ranks #8 Nationwide

New Haven is one of America’s most walkable cities, with 11.2 percent of commuters walking to work, the 8th highest percentage in the nation, among cities with populations of at least 100,000.  The top 10 list of Most Walkable Cities, published by GOVERNING magazine, notes that many of top communities are in the Northeast, and that communities across the country are stepping up efforts to enhance alternative ways of commuting from home to work. The top cities were Cambridge, MA (24.5%), Columbia , SC (20.7%), Berkeley, CA (18.1%), Ann Arbor, MI (15.5%), Boston, MA (15.5%), Provo, UT (12.2%), Washington, DC (11.9%), New Haven, CT (11.2%), Syracuse, NY (11%) and Providence, RI (10.8%).

Overall, 67 percent of New Haven commuters use their car, 11.2 percent walk, 4.8 percent bike or use other modes of transportation, and 1.7 percent work from home., according to the data developed from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Communities Survey, which included 300 metropolitan areas.

Nationally, only 2.8 percent of workers primarily commuted by walking last year, a figure that remains mostly unchanged from recent annual estimates, GOVERNING reported.

Among the New Haven walkers, 36 percent are age 16-24, 52 percent are age 25-44, 9 percent are age 45-64 and 2 percent are age 65 or older.  The median age of walk commuters is 27.8, according to the date.  In categorizing individuals, a person’s longest distance traveled is used, so those walking tp transit stations are designated as public transportation commuters, even though a portion of their daily commute involves walking.

Among Connecticut’s most populous cities, in Bridgeport 4.3 percent of commuters walk to work; in Stamford the figure is 4.7 percent, in  Hartford 7.9 percent, and in Waterbury 2.6 percent.