Fredericton Named Second Best Walking City In Canada
Fredericton (May 8, 2008) - The City of Fredericton has been named the second best walking city in Canada by the Canadian Federation of Podiatric Medicine. Fredericton finished second to Vancouver, B.C. in the national competition.
The contest was open to the country's 100 most populous cities and required completion of an application and questionnaire. The questionnaire looked at eight different criteria in the areas of: trail and park accessibility; comfort and safety; and interesting and attractive scenery. Fredericton scored high in the areas of good air quality, many points of interest and attractive landscapes and a very low crime rate.
Fredericton's 85 kilometres of fully accessible walking trails and 13 square kilometres of open green space, parklands and urban forest impressed the judges.
"They liked our abundance of multi-use trails and numerous year round paths, sidewalks and bridges set in pristine and beautiful scenery as well as our superb indoor walking facilities," said Fredericton Mayor Brad Woodside. "They also liked the fact that walking has become an integral part of daily life for many Fredericton residents."
A Citizen Attitude Survey conducted in December 2007 revealed that 86 per cent of residents use the City's trails - up from 78 per cent in 2005. In addition to the excellent trail system, Fredericton has four indoor facilities that are used year round for both recreational and fitness walking. These facilities have encouraged the development of numerous running and walking clubs for both competitive and beginner runners, as well as walkers of all levels.
A Log Your Laps program at Willie O'Ree Place has more than 300 participants, mostly seniors, who collectively walk several hundred kilometres daily. The Moms on the Move is also a popular program developed for new/expectant Moms, which makes excellent use of the trail system.
This latest national accolade for the City of Fredericton follows on the heels on an announcement by Money Sense Magazine that named Fredericton as Number Three on their list of the best places to live in Canada for 2008. That's a jump of two places for Fredericton from its fifth place ranking in 2007.
Fredericton finished behind Ottawa, Ontario and Victoria, B.C. The rankings were based on a number of factors including: prosperity, housing, weather and lifestyle.
The City of Fredericton is also in the running for the title of the Intelligent Community of the Year. In January 2008, the City was named to the short list of the world's Top 7 Smart Cities by the Intelligent Community Forum, a non-profit think tank that studies the impact of broadband and related technologies on the creation of prosperous local economies and cultures across the globe.
The World's Most Intelligent Community will be named during an awards ceremony in New York City on May 16. A delegation from the City, led by Mayor Brad Woodside, will attend.
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Media Contact : John White, Communications, City of Fredericton (506) 460-2227.
