SAN JOSE (BCN) — Dozens of pedestrian signs were installed throughout downtown San
Jose Wednesday in an effort to encourage the public to walk to places closer
than they may realize.
The 47 signs were posted as part of Walk 1/8San Jose 3/8, a project
aimed to help inform the public of the ease of walking through the city’s
downtown by posting signs that show how many minutes it takes to walk to a
particular locale.
Each sign includes a QR code that can be scanned with a smartphone
for directions to the destination.
The pilot project is in collaboration with Walk 1/8Your City 3/8, a
civic startup that offers online tools to help communities collect data from
the signs.
The signs are posted along the east-west corridors of St. John and
Santa Clara streets, according to city officials.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation helped fund the
project.
“As San Jose moves closer to urbanization, organizations like Walk
1/8Your City 3/8 are essential to helping the city attract talent, promote
opportunity and encourage civic engagement,” Daniel Harris, Knight Foundation
program director for San Jose, said in a statement.
“By working with the community to create neighborhood-specific
signage, we are creating a more inviting and walkable city for all,” Harris
said.
“It’s imperative that cities become more walkable. Their economic,
health and environmental sustainability depends on it,” Jessica Zenk, manager
of transportation options for the city’s Department of Transportation, said
in a statement.
“To attract more pedestrians to Downtown San Jose and encourage
travel outside of vehicles, we are providing information on walking that is
simultaneously useful, safe, comfortable and interesting,” Zenk said.
Over the next year, Walk 1/8Your City 3/8 will be working on an online
toolkit to help other communities across the country launch their own
campaigns, city officials said.