GO Alex and BPAC co-host National Walking Day event

/ Alexandria BPAC

To celebrate National Walking Day on April 6, GO Alex and BPAC co-sponsored an event to talk about how to walk to get your groceries and do other errands. We met at the Eisenhower Avenue metro station and then walked around the Eisenhower East neighborhood, future home of Wegman’s and other walkable destinations.

Two BPAC members, Mary-Jane Roth and Judith Fogel, have a great deal of experience with walking to run errands. They were kind enough to share their tips, which included the following:

  • Planning in advance allows you to figure out the best route, what errands you can run along the way, and where you can catch a bus or train at the end of your walk to help you carry your purchases back to your starting point.
  • Break up your trips — don’t try to carry the Thanksgiving turkey and the heavy box of cat litter on the same trip! Another advantage of going to the grocery store more frequently is that the food you have at home will be fresher.
  • One of the advantages of walking as compared to driving is that if you pass by a new store that looks interesting, it’s easy to stop in and check it out. Who knows — maybe you’ll add a new shop to your list of favorite places.
  • Now that the DASH bus is free, combining transit with walking is more easy and economical than ever. Plus, you’re not spending money on gas.
  • In the summer, beat the heat by walking early in the morning or after dark.
  • When going to the grocery store, you can carry a lot of groceries with a backpack and double-bagged paper bags in each hand. For frozen items, consider bringing a soft-sided cooler.
  • Lifting grocery bags can be a good substitute for lifting weights at the gym. This is particularly useful for people who don’t feel comfortable going to the gym during the COVID pandemic.

Here are a few photos from the walk, courtesy of Judith Fogel and Josephine Liu:

Thanks to GO Alex for co-sponsoring the event and to all of the BPAC volunteers who helped spread the word. And a special thank you to Mary-Jane and Judith for sharing their walking experiences.

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