While obtaining the sidewalk measures in our testing sites we encounter three common issues. We discuss those issues here as well as the solutions we used to overcome them.
First, for private sections of a neighborhood and gated communities images were not always available at the street level.
In these instances, we were required to zoom out to the aerial view level. In these instances we navigated to the nearest intersection and did a degree panoramic view to see if a view of the other side of the road was available, and if it was not, we zoomed out to the aerial view level. Third, in densely populated urban cores there were often trucks, buses, construction sites, etc.
In these instances we navigated forward or backward along the road at the street view level until we could see around the object s , or if need be, zoomed out to the aerial view level. The sidewalk measurement protocol developed in this study could be expanded in a number of ways. First, in addition to measuring the distance of sidewalks, it would be possible to measure the connectivity of sidewalks, in a similar manner to how road street connectivity measures are obtained.
The sidewalk connectivity measures could rely on the same type of indicators that are used to measure road connectivity such as the density of intersections per unit area, the percentage of intersections that are 3- or 4-way intersections, and the number of dead ends [ 7 ]. Researchers could take the sidewalk shapefiles saved at the end of Stage 2 in the protocol i. It may also be possible to integrate qualitative measurements of the sidewalks into the protocol, such as the sidewalk surface e.
Thus, rather than measuring the distance of all sidewalks, these distance measures could be broken down by qualitative features e. Previous built environment research on parks has demonstrated that Google Earth can be used to obtain valid qualitative data [ 17 ]. It would be possible to integrate this type of information into Stage 2 of the sidewalk measurement protocol. More specifically, each of the road segments with a sidewalk could be coded based on its qualitative features i.
Thus, in Stage 3 the distances of sidewalks that meet different characteristics could be calculated. A key advantage of the newly developed method is having the ability to measure sidewalk distances and coverage in a consistent manner in several different municipalities. This will allow researchers who are interested in these types of studies to conduct regional, national, and even international studies.
A key limitation of the newly developed method is that Google Earth does not provide street view and high resolution aerial images in all areas. In particular, these types of images are not available in many rural and remote areas. Another main limitation is the timing of when the Google Earth aerial and street view images were obtained relative to when the research study is completed.
For example, in our city Kingston, Ontario the aerial images for Google Earth were obtained in and the street view images were obtained in If we were to conduct a Kingston-based study in , some of the sidewalks in the city would have changed since and , particularly in newly developed areas. Thus, as with most GIS measures of the built environment, the sidewalk measurement protocol would have a limited utility in newly developed areas.
The measurement of built environment constructs is becoming an increasingly important component of public health research. This study provides a new measurement protocol that researchers can use to measure the distance and coverage of sidewalks along roadways. It is hoped that the use of this protocol in future studies will lead to an improved understanding of the walking environment and the determinants of walking in different areas.
Google Scholar. N Engl J Med. J Am Plann Assoc. Article Google Scholar. Dill J: Measuring network connectivity for bicycling and walking. Ewing R, Cervero R: Travel and the built environment - synthesis. Transport Res Rec. Int J Health Geogr. Am J Prev Med. Article PubMed Google Scholar.
Ann Behav Med. Am J Public Health. Urban Stud. Download references. The authors would like to thank Brandon Cheung for his assistance in obtaining the sidewalk measures. You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar. Correspondence to Ian Janssen. AR developed the sidewalk measurement protocol, obtained the sidewalk measures for many of the testing sites, and revised the manuscript for important intellectual content. IJ came up with the study idea, was responsible for writing the manuscript, and completing the statistical analysis.
Both authors approve the version that has been submitted. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. Reprints and Permissions. Janssen, I. Measuring sidewalk distances using Google Earth. Download citation. Received : 13 October You can have a gently curving sidewalk, or one made from a more interesting material than standard concrete.
Learn more about walkway shape. The appearance of your sidewalk greatly impacts curb appeal. Keeping things neat and tidy will make your neighbors feel that you have a sense of pride in the community.
This means that plants near your sidewalk will need regular water to keep looking healthy. You can use drip irrigation or sprinklers. Garden Artisan Scott Cohen warns about installing sprinklers that have too much overspray. Bill My surburban sidewalk run 3 feet wide. Its somewhat dependent on local zoning, so you may have a different result.
Typically residential seem to be about 3 feet wide with of grass, then about a 4 inch wide curb with typically rise over the roadway. Commercial tend to be anything from about 6 feet to 12 feet, with most in the foot range. Curbs usually around 4 inches, but range inches. It really varies with age, zoning, and region.
So for a city sidewalk in 28mm, about two slottabases wide? Each slab would be about 1" x 2"? American Public Works Association requires that a sidewalk be a minimum of five feet in width plus the six inches width of the curb if no vegetative buffer strip is in place.
The American Disabilities Act for accessability requires that there be at least 44 inches clearance from any obstacle or such. The new urbanism that is sweeping the country tries to establish sidewalks that are eight feet in width or more for a more pedestrian friendly walkable community.
Just to add to the confusion, what the British call a "footpath", is a "track" in NZ, and Americans call it a "trail". I am involved in road safety education, where these differences in terminology can cause confusion for young children especially as NZ children see so much American and British television. Bill, just leave them out, sand say it's a Japanese suburb; from what I remember, only downtown areas have pavements sidewalks.
Residential streets just have a white line painted on the road. I assume your making sidewalks for a pulp game or something similar. Best suggestion is to make them wide enough for two figures to stand side by side with a tad left over for the curb and a bit of walk between the stand of the inside figure and the buildings. Locally our downtown sidewalks, built in the early 's range from three feet or so on the side streets to more than ten feet in front of some of the buildings. Do I need rebar in my sidewalk?
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