Walk n Shop

This holiday season, we’ve placed a number of signs along the Midtown Trail (the multi-use path behind the International Plaza, Sarnia Centre, and Sarnia Square along London Road) encouraging neighbours to walk and shop the city. The concept of Walk [Your City] came from a simple question: why don’t people walk more?

Given that half of all trips taken in North America are less than 5KM, there’s plenty of opportunity for people to walk or bike (rather than drive) to reach useful destinations nearby!

The perception of distance is often greater the physical distance itself. Clear and simple signage reminding neighbours that it’s not too far to places that they visit every day, is the best way to break down the misperception and get more feet on the street.

The more people that walk through an urban space, the richer, safer, and friendlier it will be. Walking is good for the space, the people, and the environment.

Walk [Your City] forces you to pay attention to not only the areas of interest around you, but also emphasizes their proximity, incentivizing people to walk.

Here are a few benefits: 

  • Support local business and commercial districts
  • Boost social connection
  • Finding healthier transportation choices
  • Reducing the number of vehicles on the road during peak times

Let’s get more feet on the streets this holiday season!

Look Out For These Signs

History of Walk [Your City]™

Walk [Your City]™ grew out of Walk Raleigh, one of the fastest spreading DIY solutions in the country, coined guerilla wayfinding by The Atlantic.  Walk Raleigh started as a simple, unauthorized installation consisting of 27 plastic signs in downtown Raleigh. The signs depicted how many “minutes by foot” it is to walk from place to place in Raleigh.  After receiving national and international attention from The Atlantic, BBC News and many other media outlets, they quickly realized there was demand to replicate the project. Within two months of inception, they launched Walk [Your City]™ to share the template and ideas with the world. Within 6 months, the project had been replicated and adapted to 23+ other cities and places across the country and globe, from Miami to Seattle to Ontario.