The AccessMap team won a City of Seattle Hack the Commute competition in 2015 and subsequently participated the Data Science for Social Good summer program sponsored by the eScience Institute, and Microsoft. While it is particularly useful for people with disabilities, information about elevation and curb ramps can also help delivery drivers who push hand trucks, people on crutches or knee scooters, travelers hauling luggage to a light rail stop or children learning to bike or roller skate. Information that allows for safe, accessible travel planning on pedestrian pathways previously did not exist in one place or in a user-friendly format. “Identifying routes that optimize not for time or distance but for things like changes in elevation and curb cuts is a really big and important change.” “The big highlight now is our ability to offer automated routing and accessible travel planning for Seattle residents who may have mobility challenges or may simply want to find the easiest way to navigate a neighborhood with a toddler on a tricycle,” said Taskar Center director Anat Caspi. The team of student engineers and computer scientists, through its OpenSidewalks project, is also creating a set of standards and toolkits that will eventually let users in Seattle and other communities crowdsource and map detailed, real-world conditions on pedestrian pathways and intersections - from sidewalk widths and problematic surface conditions to the presence of ramps, handrails and adequate lighting. It will also route people around Seattle’s ubiquitous building and construction sites that can close sidewalks for entire blocks, forcing people who are traveling on foot or using assistive devices to embark on unforeseen detours. at the “ Open to All: Designing for the Full Range of Human Experience” exhibit at the Center for Architecture & Design, 1010 Western Ave. The Access Map and OpenSidewalks team will discuss those projects Feb. On Wednesday AccessMap – a University of Washington project spearheaded by the Taskar Center for Accessible Technology - launched a new online travel planner offering customizable suggestions for people who need accessible or pedestrian-friendly routes when getting from point A to B in Seattle. Obstacles include hills that are too steep for wheelchairs or people with certain health issues to climb and sidewalks without sloped “ curb cuts” that allow people using wheeled devices to safely and easily cross intersections. Transportation routing services primarily designed for people in cars don’t give pedestrians, parents pushing bulky strollers or people in wheelchairs much information about how to easily navigate a neighborhood using sidewalks.įor someone with limited mobility, using sidewalks or pedestrian paths in an unfamiliar area can be like driving without directions and hitting dead end after dead end. In this example, Access Map routes users trying to reach Seattle City Hall via Pike Street rather than directly up steep Seneca Street. AccessMap provides customized directions for Seattle pedestrians and wheelchair users looking to avoid hills, construction sites and other accessibility barriers.
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