“Just this week I walked in the Provost South Neighborhood, steep hills, Mountain View Parkway; at sunset in the spring by the lake was one of the prettiest walks, Lakeshore Drive and Lakeview Parkway, lots of birds, how peaceful it was; the nature I’m so lucky to live close by…” These are just a few off-hand, personal reflections by Grace Tueller about her planned and executed walks completed during her, so far, over one-year long project, “Walk Provo.”
Grace is walking every single street in the City of Provo, Utah. Why? This is what I attempted to learn from her during a recent interview at Peace On Earth, a location that’s two blocks away from City Hall, the place where Grace works as a GIS Analyst for the City of Provo. She began her new job with the City in June of 2023, and that same month started accurately logging the distances and streets of casual walks that she would decide to take each day. Grace felt like this might be a nice way to reacquaint herself with the city after leaving Provo in 2021 as a BYU Graduate and taking a new residence in North Carolina, where she had accepted a “GIS consulting job.”
But Grace missed Utah, and even the Great Smoky Mountains weren’t enough to hold her heart where she knew it belonged. So, after two years of living and working in North Carolina, Grace moved back to Provo and its own wonderful mountain peaks along the Wasatch Front.
Grace uses an app called ArcGIS Pro, a premiere software application used by professionals, municipalities, and governments for mapping and planning projects. Although, her initial thoughts were in keeping the “Walk Provo” project as just something-to-do with friends or as a quiet time to relax and unwind from the day, and maybe get in a little exercise at the same time. Grace tells me that she still doesn’t really think of the project as much more than that. She says she often wanders through the city, “listening to a podcast or talking to people I’m walking with.”
In April, Grace “went on a walk with Aurora [Golden-Appleton],” who was at that time working on a similar but unrelated walking Provo project. “We walked by the Provo Airport, and it started snowing along Lakeview Parkway, otherwise uneventful,” Grace answers in response to my prompting about anything interesting or unusual she might have experienced out on the streets. My next question: how does she get to her walking sites? She walks or uses the UVX BRT bus; as far as any special gear she uses for walking, Grace simply rejoins, “hat, sunglasses, water bottle.” Of course, “clothing changes with the seasons,” and she’s “worn out one pair of tennis shoes, New Balances, [and since] traded out for a pair of Hokas, white with orange accent.”
I ask Grace if she is taking notes on anything she finds unusual or concerning along the way through those many Provo neighborhoods, like maybe a lovely garden or a barking dog. “Free Libraries,” she answers after a quiet pause, often people “have to pay for listings.” Grace has posted on her LinkedIn page a map titled “Provo’s Little Free Libraries” as part of a 30-Day Map Challenge she undertook and has since completed. On Day 2 of the challenge, she posted, “I have a goal to walk or bike every road in Provo.”
As for now, Grace has only her GIS app and a 3’*3’ physical wall “map of her walks, colored in,” that she’s created for the project and that she shares with others that are interested. People are welcome anytime to “ask to see the map and chat [with her] about the project.”
The “Walk Provo” project isn’t being presented on any social media platforms or websites, as for now Grace is just enjoying what she’s doing with it, and she’ll consider further ideas and plans for the project later when it’s completed. At the time of our meeting, Grace says she has logged “227.8 miles, so far, of the 294.06 miles of total city streets” in Provo that she plans to eventually walk. She adds that she’s spent an estimated “150 hours total on the project,” and that she’s “looking forward to Day’s Market, so I can go buy a donut or an ice cream before my walk.”
After completing this project, Grace wants to “do all the trails and lanes, alleys” in Provo. “[It] makes me love Provo. We are living in a unique town.” Although, Grace cautions, “the place having the most dire need of pedestrian improvements is along Canyon Road near the fire station. Not looking forward to Geneva Road.” Yes, Grace walks to work daily.
