In the map, five mall walking programs are highlighted with green color.
In the next section, five mall walking programs are highlighted. These malls are some of the malls that added to the contents of this Guide. They are described here to provide you with a more complete overview of mall walking programs that are in place. Comments from some of the mall walkers, mall program leaders, and mall managers are included. These comments provide insights into the reasons why adults participate in mall walking programs and why mall mangers and program leaders view the mall walking programs to be beneficial.
Alaska Northway Mall, Anchorage, Alaska
The mall is situated in an ethnically-diverse neighborhood.
The mall opened in 1980 and is one of Alaska’s first enclosed malls. Located in Anchorage, the mall is situated 2.5 miles east of downtown, amidst a dense residential, ethnically diverse neighborhood. The major retail stores for the mall are a grocery store, a clothing store, a fabric store, and a 24-hour fitness facility. Other occupants include specialty stores, such as nail salons, wig stores, a candy store, a dollar store, a café, and business offices. There are some carts with crafts and a space for nonpermanent exhibits or vendors. Throughout the mall are vintage arcade-type games. There is a photography display of Alaskan wildlife, and banners identifying new businesses.
Some of the walkers have been walking in this mall for decades. Walkers walk in a counterclockwise direction. The corridors have lamp posts and benches down the center, and there are potted plants decorating the mall. The mall manager has a glass fronted office near the entrance to one of the mall clothing stores, and walkers wave to him as they walk the circuitous route, which is .44 mile. The mall is also used for walking by nonprofit organizations that work with persons with developmental and physical disabilities. See the following website: http://www.adn.com/node/1456426.
Lincoln Mall, Matteson, Illinois
Mall walker participants represent the racial and ethnic demographics of the surrounding community.
The mall is located in Matteson, Illinois, and is one of the Chicago Southland’s major regional shopping centers. It is an indoor, 2-story building with 50 stores. One loop around the mall is .37 mile. The mall walking program is called the Milers Club http://www.lincoln-mall.com/events.html.
St. Louis Outlet Mall, Hazelwood, Missouri
An informal mall walking program that attracts more than 100 walkers daily.
The St. Louis Outlet Mall is a 1.2 million square-foot, single-level facility with a 1.2 mile oval walking route and more than 150 stores. Doors open for mall walking 3.5 hours before the stores open. Although there is currently no formal walking program or program leader, the mall’s website encourages mall walking, and more than 100 people walk each morning. The majority of walkers are aged 50 years or older, and many are retired.
Some of the regular walkers socialize afterwards over coffee at indoor tables. The security guard tours the indoor walking route repeatedly before the stores are open and knows many of the regular walkers by name, as does some of the mall management staff. Most mall walkers arrive by car. However, there is a public bus that stops at the mall. Amenities for mall walkers and shoppers were included in the building plans.
Bellevue Square, Bellevue, Washington
The mall walking program has support from a successful partnership between the mall, a hospital, and the YMCA.
This is a two-story mall with a very active formal walking program called Walk for Life. The mall is open for mall walkers on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:00 am to 9:30 am before stores open. The Walk for Life program is a program of Overlake Hospital Medical Center. The hospital provides oversight to the program and contracts with the staff of the Bellevue Family YMCA to serve as the onsite coordinator of the Walk for Life program. Walk for Life is a safe, low-impact walking program and convenient way to exercise and meet new friends. Each day the Walk for Life coordinator is available to help walkers with check-in and to take their blood pressure. A kiosk has a bulletin board with postings of hospital and YMCA events, a binder to log distance walked, and name tags for walkers.
Mountaineer Mall, Morgantown, West Virginia
A successful mall walking program supported by a partnership between mall mangment and a local health care system.
The Mountaineer Mall provides office and retail space for businesses and service agencies. LifeStride is the mall’s free walking program that is sponsored by a local health care system. The program started in 1988 with more than 600 walkers. Walkers are primarily older men and women from Morgantown, West Virginia, the home of West Virginia University. Walkers arrive by car, bus, or carpool.
