If you've ever wished there were an easier way to figure out which areas of the city are friendliest to those on foot, then you'll be excited about Walk Score's new walkability maps and neighborhood rankings. Walk Score today published rankings for the most walkable cities (Chicago is ranked fourth), as well as the most walkable neighborhoods in each city -- in Chicago: the Loop, Near North Side, Lincoln Park, Lakeview and Uptown. They also have wonderful color-coded walkability maps for each city illustrating which areas are most walkable.

I was happy to learn that Ron Huberman went carfree shortly after becoming the new president of the CTA. It's encouraging to know that he's experiencing first-hand both the freedom and frustrations of giving up automobile dependency. I think adopting the lifestyle he's promoting will give him a healthy perspective. Previous leadership seemed to view transit more as a social service rather than as essential to urban living as roads.

This came up in an interactive online video chat that RedEye's Kyra Kyles hosted with Ron Huberman. To see the full chat, visit http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/red-101707-tchat-flash,0,157189.flash . Here's the quote from the chat:

3 Jeff asks: Do you or your people actually use the CTA, even on a semi-regular basis?

While we Chicagoans fret over the future of our transit system and dread our growing traffic problems, over in DC, residents are enjoying their clean, carpeted trains and celebrating their first official Car Free Day. DC City Council has declared Sept. 18 Car Free Day. Council members found means to work without automobiles, and even the mayor advocated for walking, biking and transit, posing for the press while riding the bus. One of the council members is even hosting a weeklong CarFree Challenge on his website. The weeklong challenge will culminate with a street festival on Saturday. The DC event is actually part of a World Car Free Day. Kind of makes you jealous, doesn't it?

Later this month, parking spaces across the country will be transformed into park spaces and public performance exhibits, returning valuable urban real estate to the public realm. The Trust for Public Land is hosting the national Park(ing) Day on Sept. 21. According to their website "National Park(ing) Day is a series of public art projects nationwide to celebrate parks and promote the need for more parks in America's cities." I like to think it's also a great way to promote awareness about transportation and how much we waste in the name of the automobile. Street parking is heavily subsidized by the city, so it's very cheap to "rent" a space yourself to create a temporary park for your own street. Just be sure to pay the meter and follow the time limits! Click the link above to let the TPL know about your parking space project if you are planning one.