Automated Sidewalk Quality and Safety Assessment System
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GEORGIA DOT RESEARCH PROJECT 12-16 FINAL REPORT Automated Sidewalk Quality and Safety Assessment System (Regional University Transportation Center Subproject) OFFICE OF RESEARCH 15 KENNEDY DRIVE FOREST PARK, GA, 30297-2534 1.Report No.: 2. Government Accession No.: 3. Recipient's Catalog No.: FHWA-GA-15-1216 NA NA 4. Title and Subtitle: 5. Report Date: Automated Sidewalk Quality and Safety September 2015 Assessment System (Regional University 6. Performing Organization Code: Transportation Center Subproject) NA 7. Author(s): 8. Performing Organization Report No.: Randall Guensler, Alice Grossman, Alexandra 12-16 Frackelton, Vetri Elango, Yanzhi Xu, Chris Toth, Alper Akanser, Felipe Castrillon, Evangelos Palinginis, and Ramik Sadana 9. Performing Organization Name and Address: 10. Work Unit No.: Georgia Institute of Technology NA School of Civil and Environmental Engineering 790 Atlantic Dr. 11. Contract or Grant No.: Atlanta, GA 30332-0355 0011746 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address: 13. Type of Report and Period Covered: Georgia Department of Transportation Final; August 2012 – September 2015 Office of Research 14. Sponsoring Agency Code: 15 Kennedy Drive NA Forest Park, GA 30297-2534 15. Supplementary Notes: Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. 16. Abstract: Sidewalks are often unsafe, exposing pedestrians, wheelchairs users, travelers with strollers, and persons carrying heavy loads to unnecessary risk. However, prioritizing sidewalk repairs and improvements requires knowledge about the current system state. The Automated Sidewalk Quality and Safety Assessment System developed in this project can help communities evaluate the condition of sidewalks and pathways based on sidewalk existence, condition, and conformance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. In consultation with local transportation planners and public interest groups, the team calibrated the system to assess sidewalk characteristics and developed an initial sidewalk quality index (SQI). The team then developed a weighted ranking system to prioritize pedestrian projects by coupling app-derived ADA compliance data with pedestrian safety indicators (crash rates), land use, and demographic data (pedestrian activity). The researchers collected and analyzed sidewalk data for 1,352 miles of sidewalks within the City of Atlanta and used the system to derive block-level pedestrian potential and deficiency indicators to prioritize planning investments within a subarea of Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. The results of the rank-order prioritization analyses indicate that blocks near rail stations and high-density land uses should be prioritized for investment. The system developed in this project can help communities evaluate sidewalk condition, ADA compatibility, and help agencies use the data in prioritizing pedestrian infrastructure repairs and improvements. Further refinements will extend the application of the methods to larger geographic scales and to incorporate repair costs into the prioritization framework. 17. Key Words: 18. Distribution Statement: Sidewalks, ADA Transition Plan, Pedestrian NA Access, Infrastructure management 19. Security Classification 20. Security 21. Number of Pages: 22. Price: (of this report): Classification 149 NA Unclassified (of this page): Unclassified Form DOT 1700.7 (8-69) GDOT Research Project 12-16 STRIDE Project Number: #2012-067S Final Project Report Automated Sidewalk Quality and Safety Assessment System By: Randall Guensler Alice Grossman, Alexandra Frackelton, Vetri Elango, Yanzhi Xu, Chris Toth, Alper Akanser, Felipe Castrillon, Evangelos Palinginis, and Ramik Sadana School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology Contract with Georgia Department of Transportation and Southeastern Transportation Research, Innovation, Development, and Education Center September 2015 The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the Georgia Department of Transportation or of the Federal Highway Administration. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. Acknowledgments This research would not be possible without the generous support of the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and the Southeastern Transportation, Research, Innovation, Development, and Education (STRIDE) University Transportation Center. We also extend an extra thank you to the City of Atlanta, Midtown Alliance, and the Atlanta Regional Commission for providing valuable input and data sources that inform transportation planning at local and regional scales. Finally, thanks go out to our very talented pool of undergraduate research assistants who, working in groups of two to three, collected video and vibration data for 1,352 miles of city sidewalks (in Atlanta’s summer heat and humidity and biting winter chill). Executive Summary Transportation planners, engineers, and decision-makers generally recognize that non- motorized transportation provides environmental, economic, and public health benefits. However, many sidewalks in Atlanta and across the country do not adequately provide for pedestrian needs and fail to help make communities safe and livable. Sidewalks that do not meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) design criteria are often unsafe, exposing pedestrians, wheelchairs users, travelers with strollers, and persons carrying heavy loads to unnecessary risk. Best practices for pedestrian planning suggest that jurisdictions prioritize pedestrian projects based on a variety of concerns, such as high pedestrian activity, pedestrian safety, accessibility to transit, and mobility for persons with disabilities, children and older adults. Most regions lack a spatial sidewalk inventory and could benefit greatly from the development of a systematic approach to evaluating sidewalk quality and ADA compliance. The Automated Sidewalk Quality and Safety Assessment System developed in this project helps communities evaluate sidewalk condition and ADA compatibility. Results will help agencies to prioritize sidewalk improvements and improve pedestrian infrastructure. The first step in achieving improvements to pedestrian infrastructure and increased walkability is assessing current infrastructure quality. Prioritizing improvements requires knowledge about current system state. The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) research team successfully deployed a new sidewalk quality assessment Android application (app) to collect global positioning system (GPS) tagged video of the sidewalks and record Android tablet gyro and accelerometer data for use in evaluating sidewalk quality. By adapting video processing tools previously developed by Georgia Tech researchers for vehicle tracking, the researchers were able to post-process the video to estimate sidewalk width, identify cracks and potholes in need of maintenance, and record the localized presence of walkway obstructions. Although the research team could not completely automate the video data processing, the final semi-automated system significantly reduces labor required to assess sidewalk quality and the video facilitates for consistency reviews and state-of- system asset management archives. In consultation with local transportation planners and public interest groups, the team calibrated the system to assess sidewalk characteristics and developed an initial sidewalk quality index (SQI). The team developed a weighted ranking system that can be used to prioritize pedestrian projects. The system couples app-derived ADA compliance data with pedestrian safety indicators (crash rates), and land use and demographic data (pedestrian activity). Researchers collected and analyzed sidewalk data for 1,352 miles of sidewalks within the City of Atlanta. The team used the system to derive block-level pedestrian potential and deficiency indicators to prioritize planning investments within a subarea of Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. The results of the rank-order prioritization analyses indicate that blocks near rail stations, the Georgia Tech, and Technology Square (based upon both existing condition and pedestrian activity) should be prioritized for investments. Further refinements are still needed to extend the application of the methods to larger geographic scales and to incorporate repair costs into the prioritization framework. The final outreach and education project involved development of an ADA transition plan for the downtown Hotel District by a class of Georgia Tech undergraduate honors students. Table of Contents 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 2 Sidewalks and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ............................................. 2 2.1 Sidewalk Quality and Walkability in the Literature ...................................................... 2 2.1.1 Sidewalk Quality ........................................................................................................ 4 2.2 The Americans with Disabilities Act ............................................................................. 5 2.3 ADA Background .......................................................................................................... 7 2.4 ADA Sidewalk and Ramp Design Standards................................................................