''I thought it would be a good thing to do. During winter, I'm usually just crunching data, so I spend all day sitting at my desk at the moment,'' the 45-year-old said.
''I left home at 5.40am and got to work at 7.30am. I just cruised along through Green Island and Kaikorai Valley Rd listening to the radio. I didn't see many other people about. The whole suburb was black,'' she said.
''It felt really good. It's something I'd like to do more often. I usually drive to work every day.''
It was not the first time she had completed the 10.5km hike to the Department of Conservation offices in Lower Stuart St.
''I did it in the snow two or three years ago, when the car was stuck and there was no public transport. I got stick from my workmates for turning up that day.''
However, Miss Salt was not keen to repeat the trip after work, instead taking the bus home. More than 130 Dunedin commuters swapped their cars for calisthenics yesterday, DCC safe and sustainable travel co-ordinator Charlotte Flaherty said. A kiosk was set up in the lower Octagon to welcome the Walk2Workers to town with free coffee, bananas and goodie bags.
''We asked them to mark where they'd walked from on a map and we carried out a survey on jay-walking, which we'll use to help us improve road safety for pedestrians,'' Mrs Flaherty said.
''We had lots of very positive feedback. Some people I spoke to had walked into work for the first time.''
A series of lunchtime walks would start at midday from the Dunedin Public Art Gallery on Monday, Wednesday and Friday over the next two weeks to encourage people to continue walking, she said.
