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1    Pedestrian Infrastructure on the Public Right-of-Way: Aging Pedestrians and
  2    Prioritizing Sidewalk Hazards Using the Ultra Light Inertial Profiler (ULIP)
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 16                                                                   November 10, 2011
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 18                                                                            4,112 words
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 29    Corresponding Author
 30    Mr. Arfaraz Khambatta, CASp
 31    Director, Access Consulting
 32    Sally Swanson Architects
 33    220 Sansome St., Suite 800
 34    San Francisco, California 94104
 35    Phone: 4154453045
 36    Fax: 415 445 3055
 37    Email: ssa@swanarch.com
 38
 39    Mr. Franz Loewenherz
 40    City of Bellevue
 41    450 110th Ave. NE
 42    P.O. Box 90012
 43    Bellevue, Washington 98009
 44    Phone: 425-452-4077
 45    Email: FLoewenherz@bellevuewa.gov




TRB 2012 Annual Meeting                                         Paper revised from original submittal.
Khambatta & Loewenherz                                                                                        2


  1    ABSTRACT
  2    Walkability is an important criterion of livable communities and has been tied to health and social
  3    benefits. New planning concepts reducing car dependency will increase senior resident’s time on
  4    sidewalks. While cities are required by ADA laws to reduce sidewalk hazards, the time and cost of
  5    gathering exact data has been a deterrent. The typical sampling of elements such as sidewalks, curb
  6    ramps, pedestrian crossings, and obstructions do not provide an adequate understanding of the
  7    hazards and barriers throughout a district. In particular, prioritizing the most critical sidewalk hazard
  8    locations for city maintenance is not organized and tied to other street maintenance plans. A new and
  9    innovative tool, the ULIP, developed through the Federal Highway Administration, allows 100%
 10    sidewalk inventory and converts the data into a city’s GIS system. Knowing exactly the location and
 11    severity of sidewalk barriers increases the likelihood that all hazards are addressed, reducing the potential
 12    for falls and accidents. This innovative technology is now being tried in five cities. In the future, time and
 13    cost savings could be accrued, treating ADA code requirements on a regional rather that a city scale. As
 14    cities plan for greater sidewalk use by a new generation of aging residents, they can reduce potential
 15    accidents and the possibility of increased litigation.
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TRB 2012 Annual Meeting                                                                   Paper revised from original submittal.
Khambatta & Loewenherz                                                                                        3


  1    WALKABLE COMMUNITIES
  2    Livable communities are walkable communities; the two go hand in hand. Decreasing the time residents
  3    spend in their cars and increasing the time they spend walking is a component found on the agendas of
  4    city governments to create a better quality of life in their communities. Popular movements,
  5    organizational and government campaigns, including New Urbanism (www.cnu.org), the Center for
  6    Disease Controls’ Healthy Communities (www.cdc.gov), the American Institute of Architect’s livable
  7    communities (www.aia.org) and many others, place a new unprecedented focus on the walking
  8    environment.
  9             Many of the requirements for safe and accessible sidewalks already exist as required codes. The
 10    Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 provided civil rights protection to those with disabilities;
 11    amendments since that time have extended those rights to cover access to services, which includes
 12    accessible sidewalks. These code requirements are mandatory for cities and counties to uphold (1),
 13    although time and budget constraints have often turned compliance into a reactive endeavor through ADA
 14    complaints and litigation. Research exists documenting the need of improved sidewalk accessibility,
 15    particularly for seniors (2).
 16             America’s growing senior population has been a spur for the creation of walkable communities.
 17    Within 20 years, the US Census Bureau estimates that more than 19% of Americans will be over the age
 18    of 65 (3). The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), in their definition of livable
 19    communities, includes affordable and appropriate housing, supportive community features and services,
 20    and adequate mobility options. On AARP’s Evaluation Guide for Livable Communities, walkability is an
 21    important element with 20 criteria listed for rating.
 22             Walkability is a key requirement for livable communities because walkable communities have
 23    been linked to many health benefits. Studies show that physical activity, such as walking, can extend
 24    older persons’ independent life, lower death rates, and reduce costs of health care. Investing money in
 25    creating a more walkable community brings large returns in terms of health and social benefits. A report
 26    from the United Kingdom (4) lists walking as lowering death rates by 20%, reducing cardiovascular
 27    disease up to 30%, and reducing the risks of high blood pressure and cholesterol, aside from exercise
 28    helping to reduce weight. The positive impact on mental health, and social connection to a community,
 29    has also been researched (5), as well as it being an alternative that provides a safer mode of mobility to
 30    the aging than driving.
 31             In AARP’s livability survey, walkability criteria includes a number of factors, among them are
 32    ratings for sidewalk maintenance, appropriate curb cuts and sidewalk obstructions. The need to reduce
 33    sidewalk hazards, particularly for seniors, underlies their greater susceptibility to falls. Each year,
 34    Americans who are 65 and over fall, and a third of the falls cause injuries requiring medical
 35    treatment. The leading cause of injury deaths for those 65 and over are falls and about half of those
 36    resulted in traumatic brain injuries (6). As cities emphasize walking for health and spending more time
 37    out of doors, creating a safe walkable environment for seniors becomes critical.
 38
 39    THE ULIP
 40              The ADA requires state and local governments to prepare a Self-Evaluation Plan to identify all
 41    access issues. Public agencies are required to develop a Transition Plan to identify and schedule the
 42    removal of barriers to their programs and facilities. But regularly updating transition plans for pedestrian
 43    facilities on public rights of way (such as curb ramps and sidewalks) is challenging.
 44              In the traditional approach, sidewalk measuring is a labor intensive task. One person walks down
 45    the sidewalk, placing a level at a prescribed distance, usually every two to four feet, measuring the
 46    running slope (slope in the direction of travel), cross slope (slope perpendicular to the direction of travel),
 47    and slab-to-slab faulting inventory assessment. On average, measuring covers less than one mile per hour.
 48    The many digital images and measurements that result can make assessing compliance difficult when
 49    referencing then from a desk at a later point in time.
 50              Due to the high cost, length of time, and complexity of conducting accurate measurements, many
 51    agencies find that they cannot feasibly complete a 100% inventory; instead they conduct samplings and




TRB 2012 Annual Meeting                                                                   Paper revised from original submittal.
Khambatta & Loewenherz                                                                                     4


  1    extrapolate.               Often
  2    approximations, the data can
  3    also be out of date because
  4    budget limitations preclude
  5    updating on a regular basis.
  6              A new alternative
  7    methodology is based on an
  8    inertial profiler system that
  9    had been in use since the
 10    1970s to measure defects
 11    on highway            and airport
 12    pavement surfaces. The Ultra-
 13    light Inertial Profiler (ULIP)
 14    system was designed and
 15    developed by Starodub, Inc. in
 16    Kensington,       MD,      under
 17    contract with the Federal
 18    Highway          Administration,
 19    which is responsible for
 20    ensuring access to pedestrian
 21    facilities within the public
 22    right-of-way.
 23              The         innovative
 24    system, mounted on a Segway
 25    HT scooter, has both sensor
 26    and        data       acquisition
 27    components. The device’s
 28    laser measurement system,
 29    three accelerometers, and
 30    gyroscope       measure       the
 31    sidewalk profile at a rate of
 32    10,000 records of data per
 33    second.       Together,     these
 34    devices enable the capture of
 35    highly     accurate     location-
 36    specific information about          Figure 1: Accessibility Consultant performing surveys on the ULIP.
 37    sidewalk slope and small surface
 38    variations that can make a
 39    sidewalk difficult to navigate (7). The accompanying software is compatible with a City’s asset
 40    management database and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
 41              Using the new Segway approach, one person is able to measure, in more detail than the traditional
 42    method, six miles of sidewalk per hour. The ULIP is therefore a cost-effective solution for inventorying
 43    and mapping the degree to which sidewalks and curb ramps meet ADA standards. Also advantageous is
 44    that the ULIP allows 100% data collection rather than samplings, resulting in accurate information for any
 45    sidewalk within the measurement boundaries.
 46
 47    GIS INTEGRATION
 48    The ULIP uses ESRI ArcPad to automatically record the exact position of access barriers using the
 49    inertial navigation system. That information is then plugged into a GIS computer system to store, analyze,




TRB 2012 Annual Meeting                                                                Paper revised from original submittal.
Khambatta & Loewenherz                                                                                       5


  1    compare and display the information. The raw ULIP data is first imported into ArcGIS which turns the
  2    surveyed route into a digital rendering.
  3    Once the field data collection and validity checks are performed, the raw data is calibrated and processed
  4    so it can be analyzed. The data is associated to GIS layers, each representing one of several characteristics
  5    and linked to geographic points. For example, the ULIP measurements are one layer, curb ramps and
  6    pedestrian signals would each have a layer as well. GIS is used to overlap the data layers and determine
  7    the cumulative intensity of all characteristics throughout the area measured.
  8
  9    Technical Infeasibility Analysis
 10    Among the barriers measured are those sidewalk areas that are deemed “technically infeasible.” Side walk
 11    grades, per ADAAG standards, should not be greater than five percent. But sidewalks follow the existing
 12    topography and the slope doesn’t always meet the ADA guidelines. If a City is able to document the issue
 13    as technically infeasible because of the existing grade of the adjacent street, it can greatly reduce the
 14    amount of non-compliant barriers which the City is responsible for mitigating.
 15
 16    ADA Activity Ranking
 17    Sidewalk Data Aggregation involves converting all the data from the various sidewalk related datasets
 18    into attributes which are then attached to each individual sidewalk feature. This is an intermediate step for
 19    barrier ranking and the mapping interface required to create an ADA dataset. When completed, activity
 20    scores for each ADA feature are assigned. Pedestrian facilities heavily used are assigned a higher priority
 21    for repairs than those which are not as often used. A variety of spatial data characteristics such as socio-
 22    economic data, transit routes and stops, arterial classifications, housing and employment density, and
 23    others, are used to assess each feature and assign it a score. A key feature of this GIS-based ranking tool
 24    is a user-friendly interface which allows City staff to assign different weights to the various criteria and
 25    re-run the analysis in order to iteratively refine the analysis as needed.
 26
 27    ADA Impedance Scoring
 28    Scores are determined for each ADA feature based upon the field data collected. A sidewalk with large
 29    portions of non-compliant slope and grade, or with numerous obstructions, would be assigned a higher
 30    priority for repairs than one with few issues. User-friendly interfaces allow City staff to adjust weights
 31    and try different scoring scenarios to validate the scoring strategy.
 32




 33
 34        Figure 2: Prioritizing data to achieve barrier ranking




TRB 2012 Annual Meeting                                                                  Paper revised from original submittal.
Khambatta & Loewenherz                                                                                     6


  1    Final Prioritization scoring.
  2    The c activity and impedance scores from the above tasks are combined to create the final prioritization
  3    score for each feature.
  4
  5    A City then has the option to use the created data layers on their existing computer system or through a
  6    GIS viewer where all information could be accessed from a dedicated web page. This browser-based GIS
  7    Viewer is a lightweight, fast application which allows for basic viewing and reporting on the ADA dataset
  8    through ArcGIS Server web application & documentation. The application’s basic features and
  9    functionality:
 10             •     A set of cached base map services such as Bing Maps, aerial photography or similar, with
 11                   interface for toggling visibility between them
 12             •     A custom cached map service displaying data from the City’s GIS database, such as city
 13                   limits, landmarks, or similar
 14             •     A dynamic map service showing the ADA data
 15             •     Standard map navigation tools
 16             •     A Table of Contents widget allowing user to turn on or off individual ADA data layers
 17             •     Address search functionality allowing user to enter an address and zoom to it on the map
 18             •     Identify functionality, allowing user to click on an ADA feature to get attributes, photo or
 19                   hyperlink, etc
 20
 21    Staff training in the use of the barrier ranking tool and browser-based mapping interface would be
 22    important to achieve the best results.
 23
                                                                                                     24
                                                                                                     25
                                                                                                     26




          Figure 3: Diagram showing the process of how the ULIP works (Courtesy of F. Loewenherz).



TRB 2012 Annual Meeting                                                                Paper revised from original submittal.
Khambatta & Loewenherz                                                                                       7


  1    THE CITY OF BELLEVUE – REDUCING COSTS
  2    The customized ULIP system was implemented through a pilot program in the City of Bellevue. The city
  3    has a population of 120,000 residents, with approximately 15 percent living with a variety of disabilities
  4    and 13.4 % of the population over the age of 65. In 2006, the City initiated an update to their ADA
  5    transition plan documenting existing physical barriers for persons with disabilities. Bellevue considered a
  6    number of options for gathering data on its 336 miles of sidewalk and 4,000 curb ramps. Based on
  7    preliminary tests using existing options, the City concluded that the cost could be $1 million at a
  8    minimum (8).
  9             Hearing about the profiler technology, an interdepartmental City team partnered with federal and
 10    regional agencies to adapt it to their needs. In 2006, the FHWA’s Office of Pavement Technology funded
 11    Starodub to provide the City of Bellevue with a ULIP and support. Additional FHWA funding was
 12    provided in 2007 for software refinements.
 13             Bellevue’s city staff managed a three-agency partnership, including Transportation and IT
 14    Departments, to field test versions of the technology, and developed programming to synthesize ULIP
 15    data records into the city's GIS system.
 16             King County, a transit operator in the region, provides ADA curb-to-curb para-transit service,
 17    used extensively by the elderly. The service is a safety net for those whose disabilities prevent use of
 18    fixed route bus service. Bellevue consulted with the Department of Accessible Services to ensure that the
 19    ULIP technology would save time and money that would otherwise be spent conducting accessible
 20    pathway assessments. King County subsequently provided support for two staff members involved in the
 21    inventory process.
 22             The City of Bellevue sought confirmation that data acquired from the ULIP platform was
 23    reproducible and accurate as it was a new system. In 2007, during the trial period, Bellevue and
 24    Starodub, Inc. staff undertook numerous tests comparing grade and cross slope measurements from the
 25    ULIP and alternative measurement devices (e.g., digital smart level readings) before a decision was made
 26    to employ this technology citywide. Bellevue testing with global navigation satellite system (GPS) found
 27    the accuracy of latitude/longitude data degraded in areas with tall buildings or thick tree canopies. After
 28    evaluating alternative approaches a sensor-based inertial navigation system integrated with an ESRI
 29    ArcPad interface was selected to enhance the accuracy of the spatial data in the inventory. To establish
 30    travel path control points, field technicians entered the start and end points for each data collection run on
 31    an ortho-photo image on the ULIP’s notebook computer screen. The gyroscope, accelerometers and
 32    distance measurement instrument in the sensor box were used to compute the ULIP’s relative path of
 33    travel. The relative travel path was combined with the control points to produce a travel path consistent
 34    with the city’s GIS system (9).
 35             The ULIP technology's efficacy was further tested by the City in 2008, when two interns
 36    (supported by King County Metro’s contribution) were able to inventory the entire city's pedestrian
 37    system, across 33.9 square miles, within a few months. GIS systems organized the millions of data points
 38    generated during the study and were instrumental in developing a web-based mapping interface for asset
 39    management and compliance monitoring. For technical infeasibility, City of Bellevue staff developed a
 40    GIS script that enabled a comparison of every non-standard sidewalk segment to the grade of the adjacent
 41    roadway. Adjacent roadway grade profiles were derived from a digital elevation model, a representation
 42    of ground surface topography. Criteria were then used to filter out 95 miles of non-standard sidewalk
 43    grade locations deemed technically infeasible.
 44             The resulting ADA sidewalk and curb ramp self evaluation is documented on the City’s intranet.
 45    This internal web interface maps all non-standard data points related to curb ramp location and
 46    compliance rating – at the block face level, including sidewalk obstructions, heaving, running slope, and
 47    cross slope. Additional functionality of this geospatial database includes the ability to search and/or turn
 48    off certain barrier types and generate reports of the barrier information.
 49
 50




TRB 2012 Annual Meeting                                                                  Paper revised from original submittal.
Khambatta & Loewenherz                                                                                      8


  1          The ADA viewer interface creates a platform from which city staff will retrieve information on
  2    ADA barriers in the public right of way, informing the following accessibility programs:
  3              • New Development: New development or redevelopment projects must include sidewalks
  4                   and curb ramps.
  5              • Citizen Request Program: Citizens submit requests to have a new curb ramp installed or
  6                   have an existing curb ramp repaired at any location within the City.
  7              • Annual Installation, Repair, and Maintenance Program: The City’s Transportation
  8                   Department repairs sidewalks and installs new curb ramps annually as part of routine
  9                   maintenance.
 10              • Street-Related Capital Improvement Projects: Sidewalks and/or curb ramps are installed
 11                   and/or repaired in all street-related capital improvement projects (e.g., street widening or
 12                   other street upgrades).
 13
 14             The total cost of the city's ADA inventory effort - from technology development to complete data
 15    set - was $285,000, a 70 percent cost savings over the original estimate to conduct a traditional survey (8).
 16    The project began in 2008 and concluded in 2009.
 17             As a new technology, the City of Bellevue sought confirmation that data acquired from the ULIP
 18    platform was repeatable, reproducible, and accurate. Numerous tests were carried out comparing grade
 19    and cross slope measurements from the ULIP and alternative measurement devices (e.g., digital smart
 20    level readings). Bellevue and Starodub staff undertook a rigorous review of this data before a decision
 21    was made to employ this technology in a citywide inventory effort. During the citywide inventory effort,
 22    the city employed quality assurance and quality control protocol for validation testing of the software and
 23    hardware. The City of Bellevue advanced the ULIP platform and cities now using this system realize
 24    additional cost-savings because the technology has already been field tested and refined.
 25             After development and testing, the ULIP platform is the first technology of its kind that enables
 26    jurisdictions to quickly and accurately complete an ADA condition assessment inventory. Bellevue’s
 27    project was identified as a best practice (10).
 28             The ULIP system is now being utilized by the firm of Sally Swanson Architects in the following
 29    county and cities:
 30
 31
 32
 33
 34    County of St. Louis, MO
 35    Large Scope
 36    The County, with 992,000 residents of which almost 15% are over the age of 65, has a prohibitively large
 37    number of lineal miles of sidewalk across 524 square miles. Data collecting, using the ULIP, is being
 38    divided into phases, with Phase I covering 80 linear square miles of sidewalks on arterials and collectors.
 39    The project began in 2011 and will conclude in 2013.
 40
 41    The City of San Carlos
 42    Topographic Impassibility
 43    The City of San Carlos, with a population of 28,500 residents of which over 14% are over 65 years old, is
 44    located between San Francisco and San Jose, among hilly terrain. The City has technical and
 45    topographical infeasibility issues in meeting ADA compliance on 120 miles of sidewalk within six square
 46    miles. The accuracy of the ULIP will allow pinpointing where a sidewalk slope would not be able to be
 47    fixed because of the steepness of an existing hill. Digital elevation models created by the city overplayed
 48    on the ULIP models in GIS reveal slopes along adjacent roadways that match with sidewalks, which can
 49    then be labeled technically infeasible. The project began in 2011 and will conclude in 2012.
 50




TRB 2012 Annual Meeting                                                                 Paper revised from original submittal.
Khambatta & Loewenherz                                                                                      9


  1    The City of Clovis, CA
  2    DOJ requirements
  3    The City, with a population of 95,650 is under a court ordered consent decree by the Department of
  4    Justice, required to undertake a complete documentation of all their ADA barriers within the rights of
  5    way. The ULIP is in the process of gathering field data on 638 linear miles of sidewalk over 23.3 square
  6    miles. The project began in 2010 and will conclude in 2012.
  7
  8    The City of San Marcos, CA
  9    Planning                                                                                                Tool
 10    The City of San Marcos, with a population of approximately 85,000, is undergoing surveys of pedestrian
 11    facilities within the public rights of way using the ULIP. Their engineering department was interested in
 12    incorporating the data into their GIS system to be used as a scoping and planning tool (11). Rather than
 13    static data, the City engineers will be able to sort and sift the field information instantaneously and over
 14    time to incorporate it into the city’s overall maintenance plan. The project began in 2010 and will
 15    conclude in 2011.
 16
 17
 18    LESSONS LEARNED
 19    Partnerships
 20    Because agencies at all levels are required to respond to ADA mandates, developing partnerships
 21    increases the cost-effectiveness of technology development and compliance efforts. In the City of
 22    Bellevue, coordinated staffing and funding commitment from three participating agencies (Federal
 23    Highway Administration, King County, and the City of Bellevue) made it possible to undertake
 24    Bellevue’s proposal to assess the applicability of inertial profiling technology in identifying existing
 25    facilities that limit access for persons with disabilities.
 26
 27    GIS
 28    GIS can play an important role from data acquisition (i.e., organizing the millions of data points generated
 29    during the study) to project prioritization (i.e., determining priorities for improvements and displaying the
 30    corresponding locations on a variety of mapping interfaces.
 31
 32    Integration of improvements
 33    The data inventory goal is to create a method of fixing barriers that is not haphazard but that bundles
 34    similar requirements or areas to produce a prioritized improvement list that can be integrated into an
 35    agency or city’s capital improvement programming. The results provide cost-effectiveness through
 36    economies of scale and efficiency of delivery. In addition, the ULIP allows a priority ranking system of
 37    the most severe hazards, allowing them to be addressed first.
 38
 39    New Possibilities on a Regional Scale
 40    For over twenty years, city and counties have had the legal obligation of providing accessible sidewalks
 41    free of barriers. But agencies did not have a tool that allowed them to be proactive in accessing all
 42    barriers. With the ULIP’s ability to identify scope, a budget reflecting the specific barriers that need
 43    immediate attention can be folded into capital improvement projects and incorporated into GIS systems.
 44    The ULIP is an important component of this streamlined process for access.
 45              A rising population of elderly coupled with alternative planning movements for more walkable
 46    communities have made sidewalk safety an important issue. Walkable communities have been largely a
 47    district endeavor, because there has been little cost incentives to include larger areas. The ULIP opens the
 48    possibility of addressing sidewalk compliance as one issue of walkability on larger scales, even
 49    regionally. There is a cost advantage of gathering field data over many miles.
 50              While cities and towns strive to each have their walkable but fragmented areas, without much
 51    planning towards regional connectivity (12), cooperatively and collaboratively addressing the issues may




TRB 2012 Annual Meeting                                                                 Paper revised from original submittal.
Khambatta & Loewenherz                                                                                    10


  1    truly help in creating walkable communities. Pooling of resources could also ease the task of rights of
  2    way maintenance, which is time consuming and costly. As a greater percentage of the population ages,
  3    rising to 1 out of 5 Americans over the age of sixty-five by 2040 (3), and city budgets are strained, while
  4    more and more plan for walking environments, adhering to ADA access requirements need not fall
  5    through the cracks.
  6
  7
  8    ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
  9    The FHWA supported Starodub, Inc, in their development of the ULIP. Initially invented to measure
 10    roughness on newly poured concrete pavements for the FHWA, the device proved to be easily
 11    transportable and could access sidewalks. Therefore, the ULIP was adapted to sidewalk accessibility and
 12    measurement of smoothness. Starodub completed initial validation testing, then provided technical
 13    support for prototype evaluation trails. The first field tests took place in 2004 and refinements continued
 14    to 2009. The authors thank Dorit Fromm for her research assistance and contribution to this work.
 15
 16
 17
 18
 19
 20
 21    REFERENCES
 22
 23    1. Americans with Disabilities Act Code of Federal Regulations. Part 35 - Nondiscrimination on the
 24    Basis of Disability in State and Local Government Services. Chapter 1 of Title 28, (CFR).
 25
 26    2. Kockelman, K., L. Heard, Y. J. Kweon, and T. Rioux. Sidewalk Cross-Slope Design: Analysis of
 27    Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities 2.In Transportation Research Record: Journal of the
 28    Transportation Research Board, No. 1818, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies,
 29    Washington, D.C., p109
 30
 31    3. National Population Projections. Percent Distribution of the Projected Population by Selected Age
 32    Groups and Sex for the United States: 2010 to 2050. U.S. Census Bureau. NP2008-
 33    T3. www.census.gov/population/www/projections/summarytables.html. Accessed July 20, 2011.
 34
 35    4. Sinnett, Dr. D., K. Williams, Dr. K. Chatterjee, Dr N. Cavill. Making the Case for Investment in the
 36    Walking Environment A Review of the Evidence. Department of Planning and Architecture, Faculty of
 37    Environment and Technology, University of the West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, June 2011.
 38
 39    5. Leyden, K.M. Social Capital and the Built Environment: The Importance of Walkable Neighborhoods.
 40    American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 93, No. 9, 2003, pp. 1546-1551.
 41
 42    6. Thomas, K.E., J.A. Stevens, K. Sarmiento and M.M. Wald. Fall-Related Traumatic Brain Injury
 43    Deaths and Hospitalizations Among Older Adults – United States, 2005. Journal of Safety Research,
 44    Vol. 39, No. 3, 2008, pp. 269-272.
 45
 46    7. Starodub User’s Guide: Procedures using ULIP-ADA System. Starodub 2011, pp 1-90.
 47
 48    8. Loewenherz, F. Asset Management for ADA Compliance Using Advanced Technologies. Journal of
 49    Public Works and Infrastructure, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2010, pp241-253.
 50




TRB 2012 Annual Meeting                                                                Paper revised from original submittal.
Khambatta & Loewenherz                                                                                11


  1    9. City of Bellevue. Toward Universal Access: Americans with Disabilities Act Sidewalk and Curb Ramp
  2    Self-Evaluation Report for the City of Bellevue. September 2009, p 12.
  3
  4    10. Quiroga, C, S. Turner. ADA Compliance at Transportation Agencies: A Review of Practices.
  5    Texas Transportation Institute, The Texas A&M University System, Texas 2008 based on a study for the
  6    TRB: Asset Management Approaches to ADA Compliance. NCHRP 20-07 Task 249, National
  7    Cooperative Highway Research Program.
  8
  9    11. Schlossberg, M. From TIGER to Audit Instruments: Measuring Neighborhood Walkability with
 10    Street Data Based on Geographic Information Systems. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the
 11    Transportation Research Board, No. 1982, 2006, pp. 48-56.
 12
 13    12. Canepa, B. Bursting the Bubble Determining the Transit-Oriented Development’s Walkable Limits.
 14    Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Vol. 1992, 2007, pp.28-
 15    34.
 16
 17
 18
 19




TRB 2012 Annual Meeting                                                            Paper revised from original submittal.

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12 1439

  • 1. 1 Pedestrian Infrastructure on the Public Right-of-Way: Aging Pedestrians and 2 Prioritizing Sidewalk Hazards Using the Ultra Light Inertial Profiler (ULIP) 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 November 10, 2011 17 18 4,112 words 19 3 Figures 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Corresponding Author 30 Mr. Arfaraz Khambatta, CASp 31 Director, Access Consulting 32 Sally Swanson Architects 33 220 Sansome St., Suite 800 34 San Francisco, California 94104 35 Phone: 4154453045 36 Fax: 415 445 3055 37 Email: ssa@swanarch.com 38 39 Mr. Franz Loewenherz 40 City of Bellevue 41 450 110th Ave. NE 42 P.O. Box 90012 43 Bellevue, Washington 98009 44 Phone: 425-452-4077 45 Email: FLoewenherz@bellevuewa.gov TRB 2012 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
  • 2. Khambatta & Loewenherz 2 1 ABSTRACT 2 Walkability is an important criterion of livable communities and has been tied to health and social 3 benefits. New planning concepts reducing car dependency will increase senior resident’s time on 4 sidewalks. While cities are required by ADA laws to reduce sidewalk hazards, the time and cost of 5 gathering exact data has been a deterrent. The typical sampling of elements such as sidewalks, curb 6 ramps, pedestrian crossings, and obstructions do not provide an adequate understanding of the 7 hazards and barriers throughout a district. In particular, prioritizing the most critical sidewalk hazard 8 locations for city maintenance is not organized and tied to other street maintenance plans. A new and 9 innovative tool, the ULIP, developed through the Federal Highway Administration, allows 100% 10 sidewalk inventory and converts the data into a city’s GIS system. Knowing exactly the location and 11 severity of sidewalk barriers increases the likelihood that all hazards are addressed, reducing the potential 12 for falls and accidents. This innovative technology is now being tried in five cities. In the future, time and 13 cost savings could be accrued, treating ADA code requirements on a regional rather that a city scale. As 14 cities plan for greater sidewalk use by a new generation of aging residents, they can reduce potential 15 accidents and the possibility of increased litigation. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 TRB 2012 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
  • 3. Khambatta & Loewenherz 3 1 WALKABLE COMMUNITIES 2 Livable communities are walkable communities; the two go hand in hand. Decreasing the time residents 3 spend in their cars and increasing the time they spend walking is a component found on the agendas of 4 city governments to create a better quality of life in their communities. Popular movements, 5 organizational and government campaigns, including New Urbanism (www.cnu.org), the Center for 6 Disease Controls’ Healthy Communities (www.cdc.gov), the American Institute of Architect’s livable 7 communities (www.aia.org) and many others, place a new unprecedented focus on the walking 8 environment. 9 Many of the requirements for safe and accessible sidewalks already exist as required codes. The 10 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 provided civil rights protection to those with disabilities; 11 amendments since that time have extended those rights to cover access to services, which includes 12 accessible sidewalks. These code requirements are mandatory for cities and counties to uphold (1), 13 although time and budget constraints have often turned compliance into a reactive endeavor through ADA 14 complaints and litigation. Research exists documenting the need of improved sidewalk accessibility, 15 particularly for seniors (2). 16 America’s growing senior population has been a spur for the creation of walkable communities. 17 Within 20 years, the US Census Bureau estimates that more than 19% of Americans will be over the age 18 of 65 (3). The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), in their definition of livable 19 communities, includes affordable and appropriate housing, supportive community features and services, 20 and adequate mobility options. On AARP’s Evaluation Guide for Livable Communities, walkability is an 21 important element with 20 criteria listed for rating. 22 Walkability is a key requirement for livable communities because walkable communities have 23 been linked to many health benefits. Studies show that physical activity, such as walking, can extend 24 older persons’ independent life, lower death rates, and reduce costs of health care. Investing money in 25 creating a more walkable community brings large returns in terms of health and social benefits. A report 26 from the United Kingdom (4) lists walking as lowering death rates by 20%, reducing cardiovascular 27 disease up to 30%, and reducing the risks of high blood pressure and cholesterol, aside from exercise 28 helping to reduce weight. The positive impact on mental health, and social connection to a community, 29 has also been researched (5), as well as it being an alternative that provides a safer mode of mobility to 30 the aging than driving. 31 In AARP’s livability survey, walkability criteria includes a number of factors, among them are 32 ratings for sidewalk maintenance, appropriate curb cuts and sidewalk obstructions. The need to reduce 33 sidewalk hazards, particularly for seniors, underlies their greater susceptibility to falls. Each year, 34 Americans who are 65 and over fall, and a third of the falls cause injuries requiring medical 35 treatment. The leading cause of injury deaths for those 65 and over are falls and about half of those 36 resulted in traumatic brain injuries (6). As cities emphasize walking for health and spending more time 37 out of doors, creating a safe walkable environment for seniors becomes critical. 38 39 THE ULIP 40 The ADA requires state and local governments to prepare a Self-Evaluation Plan to identify all 41 access issues. Public agencies are required to develop a Transition Plan to identify and schedule the 42 removal of barriers to their programs and facilities. But regularly updating transition plans for pedestrian 43 facilities on public rights of way (such as curb ramps and sidewalks) is challenging. 44 In the traditional approach, sidewalk measuring is a labor intensive task. One person walks down 45 the sidewalk, placing a level at a prescribed distance, usually every two to four feet, measuring the 46 running slope (slope in the direction of travel), cross slope (slope perpendicular to the direction of travel), 47 and slab-to-slab faulting inventory assessment. On average, measuring covers less than one mile per hour. 48 The many digital images and measurements that result can make assessing compliance difficult when 49 referencing then from a desk at a later point in time. 50 Due to the high cost, length of time, and complexity of conducting accurate measurements, many 51 agencies find that they cannot feasibly complete a 100% inventory; instead they conduct samplings and TRB 2012 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
  • 4. Khambatta & Loewenherz 4 1 extrapolate. Often 2 approximations, the data can 3 also be out of date because 4 budget limitations preclude 5 updating on a regular basis. 6 A new alternative 7 methodology is based on an 8 inertial profiler system that 9 had been in use since the 10 1970s to measure defects 11 on highway and airport 12 pavement surfaces. The Ultra- 13 light Inertial Profiler (ULIP) 14 system was designed and 15 developed by Starodub, Inc. in 16 Kensington, MD, under 17 contract with the Federal 18 Highway Administration, 19 which is responsible for 20 ensuring access to pedestrian 21 facilities within the public 22 right-of-way. 23 The innovative 24 system, mounted on a Segway 25 HT scooter, has both sensor 26 and data acquisition 27 components. The device’s 28 laser measurement system, 29 three accelerometers, and 30 gyroscope measure the 31 sidewalk profile at a rate of 32 10,000 records of data per 33 second. Together, these 34 devices enable the capture of 35 highly accurate location- 36 specific information about Figure 1: Accessibility Consultant performing surveys on the ULIP. 37 sidewalk slope and small surface 38 variations that can make a 39 sidewalk difficult to navigate (7). The accompanying software is compatible with a City’s asset 40 management database and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). 41 Using the new Segway approach, one person is able to measure, in more detail than the traditional 42 method, six miles of sidewalk per hour. The ULIP is therefore a cost-effective solution for inventorying 43 and mapping the degree to which sidewalks and curb ramps meet ADA standards. Also advantageous is 44 that the ULIP allows 100% data collection rather than samplings, resulting in accurate information for any 45 sidewalk within the measurement boundaries. 46 47 GIS INTEGRATION 48 The ULIP uses ESRI ArcPad to automatically record the exact position of access barriers using the 49 inertial navigation system. That information is then plugged into a GIS computer system to store, analyze, TRB 2012 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
  • 5. Khambatta & Loewenherz 5 1 compare and display the information. The raw ULIP data is first imported into ArcGIS which turns the 2 surveyed route into a digital rendering. 3 Once the field data collection and validity checks are performed, the raw data is calibrated and processed 4 so it can be analyzed. The data is associated to GIS layers, each representing one of several characteristics 5 and linked to geographic points. For example, the ULIP measurements are one layer, curb ramps and 6 pedestrian signals would each have a layer as well. GIS is used to overlap the data layers and determine 7 the cumulative intensity of all characteristics throughout the area measured. 8 9 Technical Infeasibility Analysis 10 Among the barriers measured are those sidewalk areas that are deemed “technically infeasible.” Side walk 11 grades, per ADAAG standards, should not be greater than five percent. But sidewalks follow the existing 12 topography and the slope doesn’t always meet the ADA guidelines. If a City is able to document the issue 13 as technically infeasible because of the existing grade of the adjacent street, it can greatly reduce the 14 amount of non-compliant barriers which the City is responsible for mitigating. 15 16 ADA Activity Ranking 17 Sidewalk Data Aggregation involves converting all the data from the various sidewalk related datasets 18 into attributes which are then attached to each individual sidewalk feature. This is an intermediate step for 19 barrier ranking and the mapping interface required to create an ADA dataset. When completed, activity 20 scores for each ADA feature are assigned. Pedestrian facilities heavily used are assigned a higher priority 21 for repairs than those which are not as often used. A variety of spatial data characteristics such as socio- 22 economic data, transit routes and stops, arterial classifications, housing and employment density, and 23 others, are used to assess each feature and assign it a score. A key feature of this GIS-based ranking tool 24 is a user-friendly interface which allows City staff to assign different weights to the various criteria and 25 re-run the analysis in order to iteratively refine the analysis as needed. 26 27 ADA Impedance Scoring 28 Scores are determined for each ADA feature based upon the field data collected. A sidewalk with large 29 portions of non-compliant slope and grade, or with numerous obstructions, would be assigned a higher 30 priority for repairs than one with few issues. User-friendly interfaces allow City staff to adjust weights 31 and try different scoring scenarios to validate the scoring strategy. 32 33 34 Figure 2: Prioritizing data to achieve barrier ranking TRB 2012 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
  • 6. Khambatta & Loewenherz 6 1 Final Prioritization scoring. 2 The c activity and impedance scores from the above tasks are combined to create the final prioritization 3 score for each feature. 4 5 A City then has the option to use the created data layers on their existing computer system or through a 6 GIS viewer where all information could be accessed from a dedicated web page. This browser-based GIS 7 Viewer is a lightweight, fast application which allows for basic viewing and reporting on the ADA dataset 8 through ArcGIS Server web application & documentation. The application’s basic features and 9 functionality: 10 • A set of cached base map services such as Bing Maps, aerial photography or similar, with 11 interface for toggling visibility between them 12 • A custom cached map service displaying data from the City’s GIS database, such as city 13 limits, landmarks, or similar 14 • A dynamic map service showing the ADA data 15 • Standard map navigation tools 16 • A Table of Contents widget allowing user to turn on or off individual ADA data layers 17 • Address search functionality allowing user to enter an address and zoom to it on the map 18 • Identify functionality, allowing user to click on an ADA feature to get attributes, photo or 19 hyperlink, etc 20 21 Staff training in the use of the barrier ranking tool and browser-based mapping interface would be 22 important to achieve the best results. 23 24 25 26 Figure 3: Diagram showing the process of how the ULIP works (Courtesy of F. Loewenherz). TRB 2012 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
  • 7. Khambatta & Loewenherz 7 1 THE CITY OF BELLEVUE – REDUCING COSTS 2 The customized ULIP system was implemented through a pilot program in the City of Bellevue. The city 3 has a population of 120,000 residents, with approximately 15 percent living with a variety of disabilities 4 and 13.4 % of the population over the age of 65. In 2006, the City initiated an update to their ADA 5 transition plan documenting existing physical barriers for persons with disabilities. Bellevue considered a 6 number of options for gathering data on its 336 miles of sidewalk and 4,000 curb ramps. Based on 7 preliminary tests using existing options, the City concluded that the cost could be $1 million at a 8 minimum (8). 9 Hearing about the profiler technology, an interdepartmental City team partnered with federal and 10 regional agencies to adapt it to their needs. In 2006, the FHWA’s Office of Pavement Technology funded 11 Starodub to provide the City of Bellevue with a ULIP and support. Additional FHWA funding was 12 provided in 2007 for software refinements. 13 Bellevue’s city staff managed a three-agency partnership, including Transportation and IT 14 Departments, to field test versions of the technology, and developed programming to synthesize ULIP 15 data records into the city's GIS system. 16 King County, a transit operator in the region, provides ADA curb-to-curb para-transit service, 17 used extensively by the elderly. The service is a safety net for those whose disabilities prevent use of 18 fixed route bus service. Bellevue consulted with the Department of Accessible Services to ensure that the 19 ULIP technology would save time and money that would otherwise be spent conducting accessible 20 pathway assessments. King County subsequently provided support for two staff members involved in the 21 inventory process. 22 The City of Bellevue sought confirmation that data acquired from the ULIP platform was 23 reproducible and accurate as it was a new system. In 2007, during the trial period, Bellevue and 24 Starodub, Inc. staff undertook numerous tests comparing grade and cross slope measurements from the 25 ULIP and alternative measurement devices (e.g., digital smart level readings) before a decision was made 26 to employ this technology citywide. Bellevue testing with global navigation satellite system (GPS) found 27 the accuracy of latitude/longitude data degraded in areas with tall buildings or thick tree canopies. After 28 evaluating alternative approaches a sensor-based inertial navigation system integrated with an ESRI 29 ArcPad interface was selected to enhance the accuracy of the spatial data in the inventory. To establish 30 travel path control points, field technicians entered the start and end points for each data collection run on 31 an ortho-photo image on the ULIP’s notebook computer screen. The gyroscope, accelerometers and 32 distance measurement instrument in the sensor box were used to compute the ULIP’s relative path of 33 travel. The relative travel path was combined with the control points to produce a travel path consistent 34 with the city’s GIS system (9). 35 The ULIP technology's efficacy was further tested by the City in 2008, when two interns 36 (supported by King County Metro’s contribution) were able to inventory the entire city's pedestrian 37 system, across 33.9 square miles, within a few months. GIS systems organized the millions of data points 38 generated during the study and were instrumental in developing a web-based mapping interface for asset 39 management and compliance monitoring. For technical infeasibility, City of Bellevue staff developed a 40 GIS script that enabled a comparison of every non-standard sidewalk segment to the grade of the adjacent 41 roadway. Adjacent roadway grade profiles were derived from a digital elevation model, a representation 42 of ground surface topography. Criteria were then used to filter out 95 miles of non-standard sidewalk 43 grade locations deemed technically infeasible. 44 The resulting ADA sidewalk and curb ramp self evaluation is documented on the City’s intranet. 45 This internal web interface maps all non-standard data points related to curb ramp location and 46 compliance rating – at the block face level, including sidewalk obstructions, heaving, running slope, and 47 cross slope. Additional functionality of this geospatial database includes the ability to search and/or turn 48 off certain barrier types and generate reports of the barrier information. 49 50 TRB 2012 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
  • 8. Khambatta & Loewenherz 8 1 The ADA viewer interface creates a platform from which city staff will retrieve information on 2 ADA barriers in the public right of way, informing the following accessibility programs: 3 • New Development: New development or redevelopment projects must include sidewalks 4 and curb ramps. 5 • Citizen Request Program: Citizens submit requests to have a new curb ramp installed or 6 have an existing curb ramp repaired at any location within the City. 7 • Annual Installation, Repair, and Maintenance Program: The City’s Transportation 8 Department repairs sidewalks and installs new curb ramps annually as part of routine 9 maintenance. 10 • Street-Related Capital Improvement Projects: Sidewalks and/or curb ramps are installed 11 and/or repaired in all street-related capital improvement projects (e.g., street widening or 12 other street upgrades). 13 14 The total cost of the city's ADA inventory effort - from technology development to complete data 15 set - was $285,000, a 70 percent cost savings over the original estimate to conduct a traditional survey (8). 16 The project began in 2008 and concluded in 2009. 17 As a new technology, the City of Bellevue sought confirmation that data acquired from the ULIP 18 platform was repeatable, reproducible, and accurate. Numerous tests were carried out comparing grade 19 and cross slope measurements from the ULIP and alternative measurement devices (e.g., digital smart 20 level readings). Bellevue and Starodub staff undertook a rigorous review of this data before a decision 21 was made to employ this technology in a citywide inventory effort. During the citywide inventory effort, 22 the city employed quality assurance and quality control protocol for validation testing of the software and 23 hardware. The City of Bellevue advanced the ULIP platform and cities now using this system realize 24 additional cost-savings because the technology has already been field tested and refined. 25 After development and testing, the ULIP platform is the first technology of its kind that enables 26 jurisdictions to quickly and accurately complete an ADA condition assessment inventory. Bellevue’s 27 project was identified as a best practice (10). 28 The ULIP system is now being utilized by the firm of Sally Swanson Architects in the following 29 county and cities: 30 31 32 33 34 County of St. Louis, MO 35 Large Scope 36 The County, with 992,000 residents of which almost 15% are over the age of 65, has a prohibitively large 37 number of lineal miles of sidewalk across 524 square miles. Data collecting, using the ULIP, is being 38 divided into phases, with Phase I covering 80 linear square miles of sidewalks on arterials and collectors. 39 The project began in 2011 and will conclude in 2013. 40 41 The City of San Carlos 42 Topographic Impassibility 43 The City of San Carlos, with a population of 28,500 residents of which over 14% are over 65 years old, is 44 located between San Francisco and San Jose, among hilly terrain. The City has technical and 45 topographical infeasibility issues in meeting ADA compliance on 120 miles of sidewalk within six square 46 miles. The accuracy of the ULIP will allow pinpointing where a sidewalk slope would not be able to be 47 fixed because of the steepness of an existing hill. Digital elevation models created by the city overplayed 48 on the ULIP models in GIS reveal slopes along adjacent roadways that match with sidewalks, which can 49 then be labeled technically infeasible. The project began in 2011 and will conclude in 2012. 50 TRB 2012 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
  • 9. Khambatta & Loewenherz 9 1 The City of Clovis, CA 2 DOJ requirements 3 The City, with a population of 95,650 is under a court ordered consent decree by the Department of 4 Justice, required to undertake a complete documentation of all their ADA barriers within the rights of 5 way. The ULIP is in the process of gathering field data on 638 linear miles of sidewalk over 23.3 square 6 miles. The project began in 2010 and will conclude in 2012. 7 8 The City of San Marcos, CA 9 Planning Tool 10 The City of San Marcos, with a population of approximately 85,000, is undergoing surveys of pedestrian 11 facilities within the public rights of way using the ULIP. Their engineering department was interested in 12 incorporating the data into their GIS system to be used as a scoping and planning tool (11). Rather than 13 static data, the City engineers will be able to sort and sift the field information instantaneously and over 14 time to incorporate it into the city’s overall maintenance plan. The project began in 2010 and will 15 conclude in 2011. 16 17 18 LESSONS LEARNED 19 Partnerships 20 Because agencies at all levels are required to respond to ADA mandates, developing partnerships 21 increases the cost-effectiveness of technology development and compliance efforts. In the City of 22 Bellevue, coordinated staffing and funding commitment from three participating agencies (Federal 23 Highway Administration, King County, and the City of Bellevue) made it possible to undertake 24 Bellevue’s proposal to assess the applicability of inertial profiling technology in identifying existing 25 facilities that limit access for persons with disabilities. 26 27 GIS 28 GIS can play an important role from data acquisition (i.e., organizing the millions of data points generated 29 during the study) to project prioritization (i.e., determining priorities for improvements and displaying the 30 corresponding locations on a variety of mapping interfaces. 31 32 Integration of improvements 33 The data inventory goal is to create a method of fixing barriers that is not haphazard but that bundles 34 similar requirements or areas to produce a prioritized improvement list that can be integrated into an 35 agency or city’s capital improvement programming. The results provide cost-effectiveness through 36 economies of scale and efficiency of delivery. In addition, the ULIP allows a priority ranking system of 37 the most severe hazards, allowing them to be addressed first. 38 39 New Possibilities on a Regional Scale 40 For over twenty years, city and counties have had the legal obligation of providing accessible sidewalks 41 free of barriers. But agencies did not have a tool that allowed them to be proactive in accessing all 42 barriers. With the ULIP’s ability to identify scope, a budget reflecting the specific barriers that need 43 immediate attention can be folded into capital improvement projects and incorporated into GIS systems. 44 The ULIP is an important component of this streamlined process for access. 45 A rising population of elderly coupled with alternative planning movements for more walkable 46 communities have made sidewalk safety an important issue. Walkable communities have been largely a 47 district endeavor, because there has been little cost incentives to include larger areas. The ULIP opens the 48 possibility of addressing sidewalk compliance as one issue of walkability on larger scales, even 49 regionally. There is a cost advantage of gathering field data over many miles. 50 While cities and towns strive to each have their walkable but fragmented areas, without much 51 planning towards regional connectivity (12), cooperatively and collaboratively addressing the issues may TRB 2012 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
  • 10. Khambatta & Loewenherz 10 1 truly help in creating walkable communities. Pooling of resources could also ease the task of rights of 2 way maintenance, which is time consuming and costly. As a greater percentage of the population ages, 3 rising to 1 out of 5 Americans over the age of sixty-five by 2040 (3), and city budgets are strained, while 4 more and more plan for walking environments, adhering to ADA access requirements need not fall 5 through the cracks. 6 7 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 9 The FHWA supported Starodub, Inc, in their development of the ULIP. Initially invented to measure 10 roughness on newly poured concrete pavements for the FHWA, the device proved to be easily 11 transportable and could access sidewalks. Therefore, the ULIP was adapted to sidewalk accessibility and 12 measurement of smoothness. Starodub completed initial validation testing, then provided technical 13 support for prototype evaluation trails. The first field tests took place in 2004 and refinements continued 14 to 2009. The authors thank Dorit Fromm for her research assistance and contribution to this work. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 REFERENCES 22 23 1. Americans with Disabilities Act Code of Federal Regulations. Part 35 - Nondiscrimination on the 24 Basis of Disability in State and Local Government Services. Chapter 1 of Title 28, (CFR). 25 26 2. Kockelman, K., L. Heard, Y. J. Kweon, and T. Rioux. Sidewalk Cross-Slope Design: Analysis of 27 Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities 2.In Transportation Research Record: Journal of the 28 Transportation Research Board, No. 1818, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, 29 Washington, D.C., p109 30 31 3. National Population Projections. Percent Distribution of the Projected Population by Selected Age 32 Groups and Sex for the United States: 2010 to 2050. U.S. Census Bureau. NP2008- 33 T3. www.census.gov/population/www/projections/summarytables.html. Accessed July 20, 2011. 34 35 4. Sinnett, Dr. D., K. Williams, Dr. K. Chatterjee, Dr N. Cavill. Making the Case for Investment in the 36 Walking Environment A Review of the Evidence. Department of Planning and Architecture, Faculty of 37 Environment and Technology, University of the West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, June 2011. 38 39 5. Leyden, K.M. Social Capital and the Built Environment: The Importance of Walkable Neighborhoods. 40 American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 93, No. 9, 2003, pp. 1546-1551. 41 42 6. Thomas, K.E., J.A. Stevens, K. Sarmiento and M.M. Wald. Fall-Related Traumatic Brain Injury 43 Deaths and Hospitalizations Among Older Adults – United States, 2005. Journal of Safety Research, 44 Vol. 39, No. 3, 2008, pp. 269-272. 45 46 7. Starodub User’s Guide: Procedures using ULIP-ADA System. Starodub 2011, pp 1-90. 47 48 8. Loewenherz, F. Asset Management for ADA Compliance Using Advanced Technologies. Journal of 49 Public Works and Infrastructure, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2010, pp241-253. 50 TRB 2012 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
  • 11. Khambatta & Loewenherz 11 1 9. City of Bellevue. Toward Universal Access: Americans with Disabilities Act Sidewalk and Curb Ramp 2 Self-Evaluation Report for the City of Bellevue. September 2009, p 12. 3 4 10. Quiroga, C, S. Turner. ADA Compliance at Transportation Agencies: A Review of Practices. 5 Texas Transportation Institute, The Texas A&M University System, Texas 2008 based on a study for the 6 TRB: Asset Management Approaches to ADA Compliance. NCHRP 20-07 Task 249, National 7 Cooperative Highway Research Program. 8 9 11. Schlossberg, M. From TIGER to Audit Instruments: Measuring Neighborhood Walkability with 10 Street Data Based on Geographic Information Systems. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the 11 Transportation Research Board, No. 1982, 2006, pp. 48-56. 12 13 12. Canepa, B. Bursting the Bubble Determining the Transit-Oriented Development’s Walkable Limits. 14 Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Vol. 1992, 2007, pp.28- 15 34. 16 17 18 19 TRB 2012 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.