Walk There!
New Metro Walking Guide Unveiled

Walk About staff received a copy of Walk There! and we were thrilled. The pocket size book fits easily in a small day pack.

Walk There! is designed with every level of walker in mind. Routes vary from easy strolls to longer distance walks with elevated terrains. A number of routes in the guide are suitable for individuals with mobility assistance devices or strollers. An informational bar on the first page of each route lists the difficulty rating, GPS coordinates for the start location, and length. Detailed maps and descriptions are provided for each route that detail the location’s rich history and landscape.

This new regional walking guide is designed to connect residents with newly protected natural areas, scenic parks, historical sites, main streets, and commercial districts throughout the Portland-Vancouver area.

The 240-page guidebook offers 50 detailed routes organized by color-coded regional sections and type of walk, and is indexed by city.

Metro developed the new guide in partnership with local governments and community groups through support from Kaiser Permanente. Walk There! can be picked up at Metro for no charge, located at 600 NE Grand Avenue, Portland 97232. The guidebook will also be distributed through Kaiser health education classes, as well as at community walking events and other Kaiser programs. The guide can also be ordered online for $5 shipping fee at www.oregonmetro.gov/walk. Visitors to the web site can also download all 50 featured walks.

New Environmentally
Conscious Shoe Boutique

Can you be fashionable and have a positive social impact at the same time? Pie Footwear believes you can. Stacey Matney, a Northeast Portland, OR native, in partnership with her husband, has created Pie Footwear, an environmentally and socially conscious shoe store, located in the Alberta Arts District. Pie Footwear offers environmentally conscious footwear and accessories (socks, hats, bags, and jewelry) for women and men, along with in-store shoe recycling programs and a wide variety of vegan-friendly shoes.

Pie Footwear strives to offer consumers another choice in footwear. Products sold at Pie meet one or more of Pie’s Sustainable Ingredients Standards (SIS), which evaluates an item based on its environmental and social benefits at the product level, as well as the corporate level. Pie’s SIS are published in full on their website, www.piefootwear.net. A few of the brands carried at Pie include Keen, Terra Plana, El Naturalista, Simple, Patagonia, Teva, and Chaco.

Pie Footwear features in-store shoe recycling programs through partnerships with Soles4Souls and Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program. Pie is also looking to partner with local organizations to donate footwear to local community members in need.

Pie Footwear is located in a remodeled building built in 1911. LED light fixtures were used to reduce the energy. All store fixtures were purchased used and the furniture was hand made by the couple using reclaimed materials from The Rebuilding Center and FSC certified wood. The original fir floors were also refinished using locally salvaged wood and water-based sealants.

For more information call 503-228-1999 or visit the store at 2916 NE Alberta Street, Portland, OR 97211.