Podiatrists just love San Francisco, naming it the absolutely best walking city in the country. But those concerned about large government and wasteful, redundant spending--uh, useless spending even--may wonder about the price.

San Francisco, CA
Why it made our list: The city government devotes 12 agencies to walking issues.

Twelve agencies? For "walking issues"? Why not? San Francisco has many other agencies for other personal concerns.

San Francisco's proposed crackdown on promotional toys in Happy Meals and other fast-food offerings aimed at kids will bolster the city's reputation as either an out-of-control nanny state or a bold watchdog for public health, depending on who is doing the judging.

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the proposal now requires that meals that come with a toy contain a half-cup of fruit and three-quarters of a cup of vegetables. The vegetable requirement may be eliminated from breakfast offerings. The amount of vegetables also may be reduced.

The proposal may be altered to focus solely on the total amount of fat, sugar and salt in a meal instead of also including individual items on the menu, said Rajiv Bhatia, director of occupational and environmental health for the San Francisco Department of Public Health, who is helping Mar craft the legislation

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The Board of Supervisors Land Use Committee will hold a hearing on the legislation that could limit toy giveaways in children's meals Monday at 1 p.m. at City Hall.

How to pay for San Francisco's agencies, committees, departments? Trash taxes   further supervising one's personal life.

Gum and cigarettes already come with in a built in clean up tax in San Francisco, now the City by the bay is exploring taxing fast-food to clean up after itself.

(Walkers, who are probably slow food eaters who certainly don't generate fast food and cigarette trash, wouldn't want cigarette butts to impede their walking.)

So walk, walk, walk San Franciscans to not only make the podiatrists happy but to keep the city's 12 walking issues agencies in business.