Seattle Deployment Cross-Reference Dataset

[jonfroehlich]

I was recently contacted by a wheelchair user about our planned deployment in Seattle. He pointed me to this Seattle DOT blog post on the first ever comprehensive survey of Seattle's sidewalks, which ran from Dec 2016 to ~September 2017. From this website, http://sdotblog.seattle.gov/2017/08/28/seattle-sidewalk-survey-update/

SDOT hired 14 college interns to take on the overwhelming task of walking over 2,300 miles of city sidewalks looking for sidewalk cracks, gaps, obstructions, and other features like benches and rear bus pads. Armed with electronic levels, fluorescent safety vests, mini iPads, and lots of sunscreen, our interns hit the streets in late May. They observe conditions where people walk that might be more challenging for some living with vision-impairment, or for those navigating in wheeled mobility devices, like wheelchairs.

My understanding is that this data is public; however, I didn't find it in my quick search. Would be an awesome dataset to use to compare with our deployment. The SDOT website also states this:

This new wealth of condition information will greatly improve our already existing Curb Ramp Map & Accessible Route Planner, which can be used to plan convenient routes that follow sidewalk surfaces without major slope and obstruction issues, and provide access to curb ramps

However, when I tried to visit the above website, it was locked behind credentials.

[jonfroehlich]

I met with Seattle DOT (SDOT) today. Here are links to the datasets:

• Observations: http://data-seattlecitygis.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/4e4c46b13e69415c93a34a7057e22689_0
• Sidewalks: http://data-seattlecitygis.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/ee6d0642d2a04e35892d0eab77d971d6_2
• Curb Ramps: http://data-seattlecitygis.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/ca5f0460e33448a3a968fafbb03f0b3f_0
• Crosswalks: http://data-seattlecitygis.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/827ae5eb76474c4ba101c24a9e03f0b3_1

They also have several public maps that display these data layers: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/permits-and-services/interactive-maps. It would be great to brainstorm how we might be able to use these open datasets in our work. (If nothing else, we can compare our virtual audit data to their physical audit data--I discussed this with SDOT and they were supportive of this idea).