The Canadian Automobile Association has built up quite the membership servicing the needs of motorists. And everyone knows they have expensive needs! Wouldn’t it be nice if there was an association that did the same for pedestrians?

We highlighted a web application last summer that rated the walkability, albeit rather questionably, of neighbourhoods using mapquest, but it would be nice if we could get CAA-type TripTiks for walking, wouldn’t it?

Enter Walkit.com, who does pretty much just that.

We want to get people walking more.We think walking in and around town can often be a smart choice. No timetables to keep to, no journey delays, no overcrowding, healthy, green, free, direct, access to services (and sunlight!) en route.We don’t in any way pretend that you can substitute walking for all the urban car/bus/taxi/tube trips you make. We do, however, want to at least help you make more informed decisions about whether you choose to walk for all, or part, of any given journey.

So that’s what motivates us, and we hope will motivate you.

We’re a small company but we’ve got big ambitions and plan to launch the service in many more cities as soon as we can. There are also all sorts of improvements we plan to make when resources allow.

Please contact us with your grumbles and your praise. Tell your mates about us. Bung a walkit.com link on your website.

And most importantly, get walking.

It even calculates calories and CO2 saved based on walking speed and compared to other means of transportation. You can even choose low pollution routes that avoid ambling near heavy traffic. And can you think of any other city aside from the “Smog Capital Of Canada” that could use this service? Hopefully, they experience so much success that they branch out into other municipalities - including Windsor.

Now if only pedestrians could garner the same lobbying powers as the CAA. Then we’d be golden.

Tags: Alternative Transportation, pedestrian, walkable