Signs posted in downtown San Jose to encourage walking

Dozens of pedestrian signs were installed throughout downtown San Jose Wednesday in an effort to encourage the public to walk to places closer than they may realize.

The 47 signs were posted as part of Walk [San Jose], a project aimed to help inform the public of the ease of walking through the city’s downtown by posting signs that show how many minutes it takes to walk to a particular locale.

Each sign includes a QR code that can be scanned with a smartphone for directions to the destination.

The pilot project is in collaboration with Walk [Your City], a civic startup that offers online tools to help communities collect data from the signs.

The signs are posted along the east-west corridors of St. John and Santa Clara streets, according to city officials.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation helped fund the project.

Daniel Harris, Knight Foundation program director for San Jose, said in a statement:

“As San Jose moves closer to urbanization, organizations like Walk [Your City] are essential to helping the city attract talent, promote opportunity and encourage civic engagement.”

Harris added:

“By working with the community to create neighborhood-specific signage, we are creating a more inviting and walkable city for all.”

Jessica Zenk, manager of transportation options for the city’s Department of Transportation, said in a statement:

“It’s imperative that cities become more walkable. Their economic, health and environmental sustainability depends on it.”

Zenk added:

“To attract more pedestrians to Downtown San Jose and encourage travel outside of vehicles, we are providing information on walking that is simultaneously useful, safe, comfortable and interesting.”

Over the next year, Walk [Your City] will be working on an online toolkit to help other communities across the country launch their own campaigns, city officials said.