launched in 2017, letting pedestrians tailor routes for their accessibility needs and preferences 鈥斅燼n alternative to the one-size-fits-all pedestrian directions in a system like Google Maps. But the app, created in the 91探花鈥檚 Taskar Center for Accessible Technology (TCAT), was limited to parts of Seattle. Over the years, including Everett, Mount Vernon and Bellingham.
Now, AccessMap is stretching across Washington state. A new data set called OS-CONNECT maps sidewalks and other pedestrian paths statewide, from Forks on the Olympic Peninsula to Clarkston in the southeast. In , the Washington State Legislature assigned TCAT to build the data set, which the team completed well ahead of its projected 2027 goal. The team will now perform deep quality checks, work with the different communities to analyze and interpret what the data means to them, and engage citizens in actions that promote public participation in data and active transportation. .
鈥淣o state has before used machine learning and human vetting to collect, in a consistent, standardized way, all of the pedestrian infrastructure in that state,鈥� said , TCAT鈥橲 director and a research principal in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, where TCAT is housed. 鈥淥S-CONNECT helps us answer the original question the state asked: 鈥榃ho has access to frequent transit?鈥� And now we can answer many other questions, such as: 鈥榃hat type of access do people with diverse needs have to important services like grocery stores, schools and health care?鈥欌��
The state compiled OS-CONNECT using TCAT鈥檚 , which combines machine learning with human vetting to catalogue pedestrian infrastructure. For instance, using the data set through the AccessMap app, a person using a wheelchair can plan a route only on streets that have sidewalks, don鈥檛 have an incline of greater than 5% and have curb ramps for any intersections.
The data can help local governments identify where sidewalks are in poor condition or missing. OS-CONNECT supports Walkshed, an accessibility app for urban planners, and聽 projects such as , a model for equitable infrastructure design, and , a Seattle project to end traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030.
鈥淣ot only are we including all sidewalks in Washington, which is huge,鈥� said Caspi. 鈥淏ut we are engaging communities and planners in a massive effort to support data production and the maintenance of this resource long term, to make it sustainable and translatable to other institutions. This way states across the U.S. could start using it.鈥�
For more information, contact Caspi at uwtcat@uw.edu.