Welcome to my running list about all of the things I love about walking in Portland.

1. Sidewalks that are easy to walk on and protected from traffic
2. Crosswalks
   1. Good signage
   2. Protected area to step out to indicate to drivers that I intend to walk across the street
   3. Electric signals
3. Traffic signals that automatically have a walk cycle (no need to worry about missing hitting the button)
4. Sidewalks and paths that follow the most direct route
5. Fun touches (official or otherwise)
   1. Art on the intersection
   2. Decorative people painted in bike paths
   3. Murals
   4. Art
   5. Little Free Libraries
6. Walking across or along the Willamette
7. Admiring all the plants
8. Slowing down and seeing (and hearing) birds
9. Checking out the bioswales
10. Interesting buildings and delightful architectural flourishes
11. Easily shifting to mass transit or a bikeshare if needed
12. Discovering public stairs or other handy cut-through to get where I need to go (or explore something new)