San Diego County, Calif.
Walking and bicycling – forms of “active transportation” – have proven health benefits, can reduce vehicle miles traveled and benefit the environment. Before promoting active transportation, we need to provide infrastructure that people can use. The Pedestrian Gap Analysis (PGA) assessed existing pedestrian facilities within the County of San Diego’s unincorporated area by walking over 750 miles to evaluate the condition and existence of sidewalks near places with high numbers of pedestrians, such as parks, schools and community centers. The effort also involved prioritizing future improvements based on a new methodology that included factors like proximity to schools, community centers, libraries, etc.; health factors like juvenile diabetes and obesity; and socio-economic factors. The County developed an app for use on a portable tablet to capture data, store GIS information and to produce maps. The information collected provided a database to identify locations where new sidewalks are needed and resulted in the creation of a program to prioritize project lists for pedestrian infrastructure maintenance and improvement needs.
Contact:
Ms. Lindsay Palmer
CAO Staff Officer
