Photo by Brian Leon via Flickr

Does your community deserve credit for all the work it’s done trying to become a better place for pedestrians? Better act fast: The next round of Walk Friendly Communities applications are due next week.

The Walk Friendly Communities program, which is a joint effort of the Federal Highway Administration, the University of North Carolina’s Highway Safety Research Center, FedEx and the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, gives recognition to municipalities for being, or trying to become, pedestrian-friendly.

In the last round, Seattle earned the only Platinum designation for investing in infrastructure like red light cameras and traffic circles, planting hundreds of street trees, and starting up a walking program for seniors.

Cities and towns designated as Walk Friendly Communities are not only those that have long been known for being walkable places. The award also recognizes not-quite-so-walkable communities that show a commitment to improving walking conditions. Charlotte, which in 2010 was ranked among the likes of notoriously unwalkable cities like Atlanta and Detroit in Transportation for America’s Pedestrian Danger Index, was named a Bronze-level Walk Friendly Community because the city installed several pedestrian refuge islands, adopted a Complete Streets policy, and made room in its planning staff to include two pedestrian planner positions. It’s no coincidence that in 2011, Charlotte’s PDI score improved, finding itself among slightly-more-walkable places like Austin and New Orleans.

It’s not just major cities that are eligible to be named Walk Friendly Communities: Decatur, Georgia, and Wilsonville, Oregon, both with fewer than 20,000 residents, were named Walk Friendly Communities this spring.

Cities and towns that are designated Walk Friendly Communities receive not only attention, but also resources from the program’s sponsors to help aid areas in need of improvement. Applications for the next round are due June 15, and awardees will be announced within three months after the deadline.