WATERVILLE -- Waterville has been named the best walking city in Maine and one of the top walking cities in America by Prevention magazine and the American Podiatric Medical Association.

Cities were evaluated by 14 criteria, including percentage of adults who walk to work, number of parks per square mile and percentage of adults who walk for fitness, according to Amie Hornbaker, director of public relations for the Podiatric Medical Association.

Hornbaker said the 10 most populated cities in each state were considered for the competition and a best walking city was named for each state. Waterville ranked 43rd in a survey of more than 500 cities.

"Walking is the best bargain around," Hornbaker said recently from her Bethesda, Md., office. "It's free. It's also one of the best exercises for your body. It helps prevent diabetes and heart disease; it's inexpensive and it's easy to do."

Prevention magazine bills itself as the number one healthy lifestyle magazine in the country with more than a million readers.

"Walking is the most popular exercise, with 87.5 percent of Americans walking for fitness," a letter to Mayor Paul R. LePage from Prevention's editor-in-chief, Liz Vaccariello, says. "Research shows that every 30 minutes spent in a car increases our risk of obesity by 3 percent and each 0.6 mile walked daily decreases the risk by 5 percent. People who walk have fewer incidences of cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and obesity."

City Manager Michael Roy said that he attributes efforts by people such as Peter Garrett, president of Kennebec Messalonskee Trails, for helping to net Waterville's designation as best walking city in the state.

Garrett and others have worked to develop a recreational trail system through area communities.

"I think that it is proof of the hard work Peter and a number of other people have put into the trails -- and an emphasis on traffic other than vehicle traffic," Roy said.

Garrett said he was surprised and pleased to learn Waterville is being recognized.

"I'm delighted, and I'll tell you, I want to move up the scale so we're not just forty-third nationwide," he said.

Garrett says Waterville and the surrounding communities have teamed up and are enthusiastic about building trails for pedestrians, bicyclists and others.

He said it is important to make communities pedestrian-friendly.

"There's walking in Waterville and I'm very pleased to see such a designation; however, there's a lot more than can be done," he said.

Waterville will be listed on Prevention magazine's Web site, according to Hornbaker, who said her organization teamed up with the magazine six years ago to launch the competition.

"We really want to promote just how easy it is to walk and how important it is to keep feet healthy," she said.

This year, an expert panel of ten city planners and walking advocates was formed to help determine the winners of the competition, according to Hornbaker.

Portland ranked second in the contest of best walking cities in the state; South Portland, third; Bangor, fourth; Biddeford, fifth; Augusta, sixth; Auburn, seventh; Lewiston, eighth; Westbrook, ninth; and Saco, 10th.

Amy Calder -- 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com