Robert Leistra How walkable is your city? Four Radish staffers stepped up to find out. More photos from this shoot

Walking is good for your health and the environment, and especially in warm weather it's a great way to explore the town where you live. Yet some cities and towns are more "walkable" than others. Well-maintained, well-lit sidewalks free of ridges, chunks and overgrown greenery, with pedestrian crossings and ramps, make being a pedestrian easy. Drivers of cars who don't watch for pedestrians and poorly-designed or broken sidewalks, however, don't. With walkability in mind, four Radish writers set out to discover how walkable their communities really are. Here's what they learned.

East Moline, Ill.

Depending on where you walk in East Moline, Ill., a small town of about 20,000, you'll find well-maintained sidewalks, jumbles of concrete, walks that don't connect or no walks at all. On a summer evening trek from our home to the downtown area for fireworks, my husband and I found ramped sidewalks mostly in good repair and lights that helped us cross busy streets.

However, one of the sidewalks we took ended, forcing us to cross Kennedy Drive, a main artery, at mid-block. We also hit a couple patches of broken-up sidewalk in an older neighborhood downtown. I can't imagine pushing my friend's wheelchair over these, or a much lighter stroller, for that matter.

It's worth noting that we also noticed plants, homes and businesses we hadn't seen from the car.

We mostly felt safe walking in our town, even on our way home after sunset. The places we walked mostly were well-lit, though my key-ring flashlight came in handy for one dark stretch near home.

Home again, we had two wishes. The first was for big glasses of ice water because we'd walked several miles. The second was for aware drivers who consistently watch for and heed pedestrians. We didn't have any close calls because we always watch traffic very closely, but speeders and folks turning left into crosswalks without looking were an annoyance.

After our walk, I visited the city's Web site, eastmoline.com, and clicked on "Submit Concerns" to let city staff know about the broken sidewalk.

-- Brandy Welvaert

Iowa City

Iowa City is known as a pedestrian-friendly town. The town's central business district overlaps with the University of Iowa campus and includes the famous "Ped Mall" area, where walkers abound. The city's network of walking and biking trails connect outlying areas (including Coralville to the west) to the downtown area, although many sections along the Iowa River have suffered from recent flooding.

I parked my car and packed my nine-month-old daughter into her stroller on north Linn Street, right in front of the Hamburg Inn, a favorite haunt for locals looking for stick-to-your-ribs food.

We walked south on Linn Street, stopping at the Home Ec Workshop to buy a skein of yarn and ooohing and ahhhhing over stylish gifts at Akar, at Linn and Iowa Avenue. We continued south to Washington Street, where we hung a louie and walked down to New Pioneer Co-op to pick up a loaf of sesame semolina and a hunk of cheese to go with our evening meal -- and then circled back to the car via Van Buren and Market Streets.

Downtown Iowa City, overall, is a great neighborhood for walking. The area offers wide sidewalks with ramps that make pushing a stroller (or wheelchair) a breeze, along with well-marked intersections and courteous drivers who are accustomed to yielding the right-of-way to pedestrians.

One busy intersection (at Linn and Jefferson) has a crosswalk, but no signal or stop sign. We also encountered a pair of bicyclists riding on the sidewalk, a common faux pas in a city with many inexperienced bikers. By being cautious and alert, we easily overcame the problems we experienced and had a wonderful walk. We found that in Iowa City, the pedestrian is king -- or, in the case of me and my baby girl, queen.

-- Jen Knights

Galena, Ill.

One of the things I love about living in Galena is the close proximity of everything -- from the grocery store to my favorite salon. Walking is an important part of my daily routine and nearly every street is lined with a sidewalk. There are more stop signs and quiet streets than there are light signals and highways. But the best part of any walk I take in Galena is the aesthetics of the landscape. From the towering steeple of St. Mary's Catholic Church to the opulent gardens of the 19th-century homes, a walk in Galena is an exercise in beauty.

I live on the hilly side of town, and anyone familiar with the city will tell you that these hills aren't for amateurs. They are massive, rolling waves of asphalt, horse pastures and farmland. Descending isn't so bad, however, slower is better on the joints. Going up, well, that's a workout. You can skip the gym when you walk in Galena. In fact, one set of steps that trails from Main Street to Prospect Street totals 253. The trek gets your heart pumping, tones your legs and fills your lungs with fresh air. The panoramic view from the top -- dotted with scalloped hillsides, colorful trees and a meandering river -- is the cherry on the sundae.

Of course nothing is without flaws. If there was one aspect of the city I would improve, it would be the sidewalks. Some are in disrepair, and some just aren't wide enough. Craig Albaugh, facilities manager for the city of Galena, is working to rectify that. Surveys sent to citizens throughout town prompted inspections of many walkways. The reports were graded, and the ones with the most severe flaws are slated for repair thanks to the "Safe Routes to School" grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation.

-- Barbra Annino

Macomb, Ill.

I live eight blocks south of the square in Macomb, Ill., on Lafayette Street. For more than 20 years I have walked that route on the way to work and downtown to the post office, the library and the courthouse, and to shop and spend time at the coffee bars.

Sidewalks line both sides of the street. I mostly walk the west side, where my house is located, but also because it's more even and in better repair than the other side. On very wet days, a few spots may be puddled, but otherwise the sidewalk is clear and in good shape all the way downtown, with a minimum of breakage or high seams to trip on. It's wide enough for two, and the curbs are all ramped. In fact, the worst section is directly in front of my house, where the sidewalk is heaved from the roots of two large maple trees. It's still walkable, although I sometimes wonder if the elderly people walking on the street think so.

The biggest problem I encounter is drivers crossing Lafayette Street on the numerous side streets that intersect it. Only one corner has restricted visibility, but there are always those drivers who seem entirely unaware or uncaring that pedestrians might be about. Many do rolling stops or don't stop at all. On occasion, someone backing out of a driveway won't see me until they have blocked the sidewalk and stopped to check if the way is clear -- only to be startled to find me standing and waiting right next to their window. A smile and a friendly wave usually assure them that I'm not a carjacker.

The Macomb street department policy on sidewalk repair is that it's done on a case-by-case basis when someone brings a problem to its attention.

-- Jim Courter

How walkable is your street, neighborhood or town? Use the "How walkable is your community" checklist provided by the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center to find out. It's online at walkinginfo.org.