You may recall the SDOT Sidewalk Survey from earlier this year – we posted on it in April, but the post was lost to the server migration. Anyway, the survey provided residents the opportunity to rate and rank sidewalk issues, like uneven sidewalks, blocked sidewalks, and poor surface conditions. Well, now the survey results are not only available, they’ve also been supplemented by literal feet on the street.
As of August 24, 2017, SDOT had inspected 95% of the city’s sidewalks as just one part of the City of Seattle Pedestrian Master Plan (PMP). The goal of the PMP is to make Seattle the most accessible and walkable city in the country, with improved safety and accessibility.
How’d they do it? In May, 14 college interns walked over 2,300 miles of Seattle sidewalks looking for sidewalk cracks, gaps, and obstructions. Here’s what they found:
The intrepid interns will complete their on-site surveys by the end of September. You can read more about the project on SDOT’s website.