Sidewalks are a critical but underresourced part of our transportation system. Despite their importance in promoting equity, health, and safety, sidewalk networks are often underfunded and municipalities may have little information about their condition. We conducted a document review, informant interviews, and a descriptive study of 21 selected U.S. cities to compare practices for conducting sidewalk inventories and their use for improving municipal sidewalk networks. Although diverse in geography, population size, density, and median household income, the selected cities represent a sample of convenience and not a random sample of U.S. cities. The results suggested that compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act is a primary motivator for conducting sidewalk inventories and the cost of conducting an inventory is not prohibitive. Inventory methods included walking each sidewalk segment using handheld devices, LIDAR mounted on wheeled vehicles, and aerial photography, with data uploaded to geographic information system databases. Sidewalk inventories can be used to promote equity by increasing the percentage of city streets that have sidewalks. Areas for future study include developing better cost estimates for each type of sidewalk inventory method, examining the legal implications of sidewalk inventories, and estimating the incremental health benefits obtained for each additional investment in sidewalk construction and repair.


    Access

    Download

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Municipal Sidewalk Inventories: A Tool to Support Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act


    Additional title:

    Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board


    Contributors:


    Publication date :

    2024-11-11




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English





    Sidewalk Cross-Slope Requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act: Literature Review

    Kockelman, K. / Zhao, Y. / Heard, L. et al. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2000


    Sidewalk Cross-Slope Requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act: Literature Review

    Kockelman, Kara / Zhao, Yong / Heard, Lydia et al. | Transportation Research Record | 2000


    SIDEWALK TRAVEL SUPPORT SYSTEM AND SIDEWALK TRAVEL SUPPORT SOFTWARE

    HAYASHI HIDEMI / ARITA HIDEAKI / OZAKI NAOTO et al. | European Patent Office | 2019

    Free access