Municipal Sidewalk Inventories: A Tool for Equity and ADA Compliance

Abstract

Sidewalks are a critical but under-resourced part of our transportation system. Despite their importance in promoting equity, health, and safety, sidewalk networks are regularly underfunded and municipalities struggle to understand their network’s condition. We conducted document review, interviews, and a descriptive study of 21 selected cities to identify best practices for conducting a sidewalk inventory and the ways in which inventories can be leveraged to improve municipal sidewalk networks. The results showed the Americans with Disabilities Act is the primary motivator for conducting sidewalk inventories and the cost of conducting an inventory is not prohibitive. In addition, sidewalk inventories can be used to improve equitable network coverage which is the percentage of city streets that have sidewalks on at least one side of the street. Areas for future study include identifying the “ideal” level of network coverage that produces measurable positive health impacts in communities.

Keywords: Accessibility, Disabilities, Equity, Inventory, Pedestrian, Sidewalks