Sidewalk Network in Champaign County Becoming Friendlier to People with Disabilities
The sidewalk network in Champaign County continues to become more and more welcoming to people with disabilities, according to data collected by the RPC in 2023. During the year the agency’s Data & Technology division collected information on more than 19 miles of sidewalks, 180 individual curb ramps, several dozen crosswalks, and assorted pedestrian signals. Analysis of the data shows that the county’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance score has once again increased in line with previous years.
Handled by the RPC’s GIS Analysts and Data Collection Interns, the update to the Sidewalk Network Inventory and Assessment was completed in October, which was followed by quality checking all data collected during the year. Residents are invited to view the Sidewalk Explorer, which shows how much Champaign County ADA compliance has improved since 2015, when data collection first began. The website also now allows viewers to filter by municipality.
“This work collecting and analyzing public infrastructure provides local municipalities with a guide to updating their worst ADA compliance areas, allowing them to easily prioritize annual repairs,” says Tyler Rainey, the RPC’s Data & Technology Division Director. “We recognize the impact this has on creating a healthy and connected community and are proud to be part of it.”
Observation and analysis of the 2023 data includes:
Champaign-Urbana Urban Area
- There was modest change in accessibility compared to 2022.
- Sidewalk compliance scores continue their upward trend since 2020, but the rate of increase has plateaued considerably compared to previous years.
- Vertical faults remain a persistent challenge, showing a slight improvement over the last year.
- All measures increased except for vertical fault counts per mile and overall condition. The count of vertical faults per mile and overall condition experienced a modest decrease from 2022, but still mark an improvement after falling below the 2015 baseline in 2021.
- Curb ramps exhibit modest gains in ADA compliance, with changes in scores primarily influenced by the detection warning system (pavement grooves were replaced by truncated domes in many instances; this can increase compliance scores by up to 50 points).
- Compliance scores for crosswalks remain very high, despite a slight decrease from 2022.
- Pedestrian signals remain stable compared to the data from 2022.
Mahomet
- There have been 10 miles of sidewalk built in Mahomet since 2019, with the miles of sidewalk under compliance more than quadrupling due to improvements in cross slope and width.
- Curb ramps increased in ADA compliance, aided by the continued addition of curb ramps in the network.
- Despite a modest decrease in the percent of crosswalks, the overall mileage under compliance increased.
- Pedestrian signals remain a challenge, but all of them are under compliance.
Rantoul
- Compliance of sidewalks remained stable from 2022.
- Several sidewalks rated 70 to 80 were decreased to 60 to 70 range due to width, but the mileage and percent of sidewalks at ADA compliance saw no change.
- Curb ramp compliance decreased slightly, due to decreases in compliant detectable warning systems and ramp width.
- Crosswalks saw a slight increase in ADA compliance.
- While pedestrian signals remain a challenge, all remain under compliance.
“Personally immersing myself in the field has been a rewarding experience,” comments GIS Analyst Amer Islam. “It has allowed me to witness firsthand the tangible improvements to sidewalk infrastructure and how they contribute to the positive transformation of our community.”
As for St. Joseph, the RPC applied for a grant to collect sidewalk data in that community in 2024 to eventually provide it with a Safe Routes to School assessment.