Assessing the degree of accessibility of sidewalks for people with disabilities

Ayman Halabya, Khaled El-Rayes

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Federal and state laws require state and local governments to provide and maintain accessibility on their sidewalks to prevent discrimination against people with disabilities. To comply with these laws, state and local governments are required to conduct self-evaluations to identify all non-compliant sidewalks in their right-of-way. The mandatory self-evaluation process includes assessing sidewalks' compliance with a long list of accessibility requirements. This paper presents the development of a novel model to automate the assessment of the degree of accessibility of sidewalks. The developed model enables decision makers to (i) quantify the degree of accessibility of sidewalks, (ii) calculate the overall degree of accessibility of a group of sidewalks to facilitate the ranking and prioritization of their upgrade, and (iii) determine the type of upgrade required to achieve full accessibility. A case study of a small town that includes 864 sidewalks is analyzed to evaluate the model performance and illustrate its unique and original capabilities.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication6th CSCE-CRC International Construction Specialty Conference 2017 - Held as Part of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Annual Conference and General Meeting 2017
PublisherCanadian Society for Civil Engineering
Pages243-250
Number of pages8
ISBN (Print)9781510878419
StatePublished - 2017
Event6th CSCE-CRC International Construction Specialty Conference 2017 - Held as Part of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Annual Conference and General Meeting 2017 - Vancouver, Canada
Duration: May 31 2017Jun 3 2017

Publication series

Name6th CSCE-CRC International Construction Specialty Conference 2017 - Held as Part of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Annual Conference and General Meeting 2017
Volume1

Conference

Conference6th CSCE-CRC International Construction Specialty Conference 2017 - Held as Part of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Annual Conference and General Meeting 2017
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityVancouver
Period5/31/176/3/17

Keywords

  • ADA.
  • Assessment.
  • Compliance
  • Self-evaluation.
  • Sidewalks.
  • Transition plan.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Building and Construction

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