Walktober (Photo, logo – Umberto Brayj, PCSC)
Walktober is an annual national (and international) promotion to encourage walking, with communities from Portland, OR to Raleigh, NC, to Adelaide, Australia, organizing events.
By News Desk
Here in Pasadena, The Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition (PasCSC) has partnered with local organizations and community members to put together a month-long calendar of more than 25 virtual and in-person walks, tours, and community events.
This year the events are a combination of guided in-person walks and self-guided walking tours. The slate of events reflects a wide range of reasons and ways to enjoy this deeply human activity. Be it for everyday exercise, mental health, to meet new people, learn about the city, or simply to get to work or school, events will provide something for just about everyone.
Highlights include:
- Secret staircase walk through Poppy Peak and Garvanza.
- Day of the Dead altar walk through the Playhouse District.
- Birdwalk through Hahamongna Watershed Park with an expert birder and naturalist.
- Early 20th century architecture walk through Madison Heights and Oak Knoll neighborhoods.
- Self-guided tour highlighting the African American history of Pasadena.
- Self-guided walks showcasing public art and architecture in Old Pasadena alleyways, Caltech, Playhouse District, Sunset Avenue, Lake Avenue and more!
- Online tour of Old Pasadena.
Due to the on-going pandemic, we are following COVID-19 safety protocols for the in-person walks. In keeping with the Complete Streets mission of “streets for everybody,” community members with impaired physical mobility are warmly welcomed to join us, and we encourage walkers to help neighbors, friends, and family who need walking assistance to get out and enjoy Pasadena’s streets together, too. Anyone who is interested in promoting their walk on the Walktober calendar is invited to e-mail PasCSC at info@PasadenaCSC.org.
PasCSC calls on the Pasadena City Council, the Pasadena Department of Transportation, and all people who walk (i.e., just about everyone) to support policies and practices that make our streets places where people of all ages, abilities, and identities can walk safely and comfortably.
Walktober is probably not a bad time to draw attention to some important things in very short supply in Pasadena, including Colorado Blvd: public rest rooms and drinking water fountains.
Like many places in the USA, to use a toilet one must be a patron or customer of a business. It doesn’t have to be this way. Throughout Europe and Asia, public rest rooms are widely available in commercial districts, transit stations, and other public spaces. And here in the warm climate of Pasadena, not a single water fountain can be found along the entire length of Colorado Blvd.