life is best experienced on foot

More and more these days, people are rediscovering the simple fact that walking is fun … maybe more fun than driving. It gives you more chances to bump into a neighbor. It eliminates any chance of bumping into traffic. And it burns calories.

That’s why we’re designing Mesa del Sol as a “walkable” community.

Creating a walkable community begins with a mixed-use community plan, which places homes, workplaces, schools, shops, parks and so forth within walking distance of each other. But this only makes walking to these destinations possible. Our goal is to make walking utterly delightful.

So one of the first things we did in our community planning was to design pedestrian-friendly streets. For example, most of the streets here will be more narrow than what you typically find in new communities. This will tend to slow traffic and make it easier and safer to cross the street. Sidewalks, on the other hand, will be generously wide. And building entries, landscaping and other features will be designed to shelter and beautify the walking environment.

Also, at Mesa del Sol you won’t find a cul-de-sac — which to us is just a fancy name for a dead end. The streets here will actually take you somewhere. And an extensive network of trails and open space corridors will give you a whole other reason to get out on foot rather than climb behind the wheel.

And in case you were wondering, all the features that make Mesa del Sol so walkable will also make it a great place to ride a bike.