History

Nobody was protecting walkers.

Building wider streets, parking lots and expressways had consumed America’s civic leaders since the 1950s. But after forty years, the consequences—both good and bad—were becoming apparent, and there was a growing backlash against an autos-only outlook. Several Boston-area citizens persuaded Massachusetts Governor Frank Sargent to stop building highways through the city. Instead, they created the people-friendly Southwest Corridor Park on land that had been cleared for a road.

Some of those citizens believed pedestrians, as well as highway enthusiasts, should have advocates. So in 1990 they founded WalkBoston, the first organization in America dedicated to making communities more walkable and safer for pedestrians. Since then WalkBoston has served as the model for other pedestrian advocacy organizations across the nation, and in 1996, we co-founded the umbrella group America Walks.

We work statewide with advocacy, neighborhood and community groups, educational institutions and city and state government.

WalkBoston has achieved much in our 30+ years of service. We have created walks, maps and publications, passed legislation, helped write pedestrian design manuals, led the nation’s first Safe Routes to School program, promoted healthy living campaigns and publicized the economic value of good walking environments for business success. Our timeline tracks these important achievements and successes over the years.