Neighborhood Walking Maps

Columbus Neighborhood Walking Maps

The Healthy Places Program at Columbus Public Health creates walking maps for Columbus Neighborhoods throughout the city to identify safe walking routes and add more physical activity to everyday life.

New walking maps are created every year in partnership with the  Mayor's Neighborhood Pride Program with the help of residents, block watches, civic associations, and area commissions in each neighborhood.  Printed copies of maps are available at libraries and recreation centers nearest to each neighborhood. Click on the links in the list of neighborhoods below to download and print a walking map.

Neighborhood Walking Maps: Place and Zip Code

New Neighborhood Walking Map Policy

If you do not see a map for your neighborhood and want to help create one, follow these steps to work with the Healthy Places Program to create a new map:

1. Contact the Healthy Places Program: Call 614-645-1260 or send an email to  [email protected] with "New Walking Map Request" in the subject line. The Healthy Places Program will complete maps on a first come, first serve basis.
2. Select A Time of Year: The Healthy Places Program accepts requests year-round.  However, during the walking season- April-October- it may take up to 12 weeks to complete a map.  During the off-season, it can take between 4 to 6 weeks to complete the map.   
3. Gather Your Neighbors: The Healthy Places Program requires that a neighborhood organization of some kind (i.e.: block watch, civic association, area commission, school, faith-based institution, or other neighborhood group) be involved in the creation of the walking map and be committed to promote it in the neighborhood. Local businesses may initiate creation of a walking map, but the map must serve the neighborhood as a whole where the business is located.
4. Complete A Walk Study: A Walk Study is an audit of streets, sidewalks, and places in your neighborhood. It identifies barriers to walking and places where you feel safe and encouraged to walk. The Walk Study helps to decide what your walking map will look like. The findings of the Walk Study are shared with City of Columbus staff to bring neighborhood concerns to their attention and, if possible, be addressed. To perform the Walk Study, residents will walk their neighborhood with the Healthy Places Walking Programs Manager. A typical Walk Study can take between 1-2 hours to complete.  
5. Share Your Map: The Healthy Places Program will create a pocket-size walking map of your neighborhood to be shared. Healthy Places will place copies of the map at recreation centers or libraries in your neighborhood and provide you with print copies of the map. In return, Healthy Places asks that you share the map with people throughout your neighborhood, at community meetings, or at events.

Walking in your neighborhood has many benefits:

• More physical activity.
• Get to know your neighbors.
• More people outside means more “eyes on the street” or people watching the neighborhood.
• Discover the places within walking distance of your home. Walking instead of driving to these places adds physical activity in your daily routine, creates less traffic and conserves gas.

Walking Safety

When walking in your neighborhood, follow these safety tips from Safe Communities:

• Know your route before you leave.
• Use sidewalks. If you must walk on a route without a sidewalk, walk facing traffic.
• Use crosswalks. Even if it takes you a few extra minutes, walk to the closest crosswalk. Be sure that oncoming traffic is going to stop before you begin to cross.
• Never cross mid-block.
• Make yourself visible! You are more likely to get hit if a driver can’t see you. At night, make yourself visible by wearing light and/or reflective clothing.
• Don’t surprise drivers by coming out into the road from behind objects such as parked cars.
• Alcohol and drugs impair your ability to walk safely.
• Be aware of your surroundings. You have as much responsibility as the drivers do.
• Be a good role model. Teach your children safe guidelines for walking and follow them yourself.