This document establishes an assessment scale to evaluate sidewalk health. To demonstrate the usefulness of our scale, we surveyed sidewalks in British Columbia, in the North Vancouver area. Vancouver has been rated as the most walkable city in Canada[1], indicating that pedestrian infrastructure is frequently used by Vancouverites. Thus, it is important that pedestrian infrastructure remains well maintained to further promote Vancouver’s walkability and help to mitigate any potential risk to pedestrians and risk of infrastructure failure.
Methodology
The methodology of this rating scale closely aligns with the rating scale used by the Canadian Infrastructure Report Card 2019 (CIRC). The CIRC scale was used as the backbone for our rating scale because it has been used repeatedly for the assessment of Canadian Infrastructure[2]. Therefore, it helps to provide a consistent and proven structure for assessing infrastructure health. To further expand on the CIRC rating scale, we have also integrated the severity scale concept from the document, “European Risk Assessment Methodology for Critical Infrastructure”, into our assessment. “European Risk Assessment Methodology for Critical Infrastructure” focuses on the impact that infrastructure failure has on businesses, people, and government[3], and builds a severity scale to assess the impact that infrastructure failure may have. A severity scale is useful for assessing the potential interdependencies of infrastructure[4] and adds additional nuance to infrastructure assessment.
Our infrastructure assessment scale was kept simple and clear in order to facilitate clarity and ease of use for operators[5]. This allows the scale to be used by individuals with or without in-depth knowledge of infrastructure management and practices[6]. Furthermore, clear assessment guidelines make the scale easy to use for repeat assessments of infrastructure. Assessment criteria focused on features such as levelness, cleanliness[7], and surface distress[8]. These criteria were chosen as they have a large effect on sidewalk functionality and accessibility, along with being non-destructive assessment criteria. Additionally, the 5-point scale can be expanded to encompass other scales, like the 100-point scale, making it applicable across industries with different standards. Our scale is also incredibly modular, allowing for the scale to be modified for the assessment of other types of infrastructure simply by changing the descriptive criteria.
Barrett Sidewalk Scale
Findings
118 13th St W. – Rating: 1 – Very Poor
This sidewalk is in Very Poor condition. The concrete for the sidewalk has been fully removed and roped off to mitigate risk to pedestrians. The sidewalk is unusable and inaccessible. Asset replacement is necessary, and the city is in the process of rebuilding the sidewalk to correct any issues that previously existed.
1101-1129 Montroyal Blvd. – Rating: 2 – Poor
This sidewalk is in Poor condition. The sidewalk has significant signs of wear with large cracks spanning multiple sections. The sidewalk is not level due to the large number of cracks in the concrete, which poses a potential risk to pedestrians. The sidewalk is still able to serve its purpose, however it is clearly at the end of its life and needs replacement to mitigate the potential for injury.
4052 – 4088 Virginia Crescent – Rating: 3 – Fair
This sidewalk is in Fair condition. The sidewalk is mostly even with some minor abrasions. There is one noticeable crack in the sidewalk, however it is unlikely that the crack poses a danger to pedestrians. In the future, the crack in the sidewalk may cause unevenness, but currently the sidewalk functions adequately.
1555 Phillip Avenue – Rating: 4 – Good
This sidewalk is in Good condition. The sidewalk looks fairly new with no noticeable signs of degradation. Examined closely, there are some signs of abrasion to the concrete, however it is unlikely to lead to any issues in the near future. The sidewalk functions well and appears to be mid way through its expected lifespan.
1320 Lonsdale Avenue – Rating: 5 – Very Good
This sidewalk is in Very Good condition. The sidewalk is freshly paved and shows no sign of deterioration. The sidewalk is even and poses no threat to pedestrians. The sidewalk functions very well and appears to be at the beginning of its lifespan.
Overall
Sidewalks in the District of North Vancouver and City of North Vancouver appear to rest mainly in the Fair to Very good sections of the scale. Our assessment only found one example of a sidewalk in the Very Poor condition and limited examples of sidewalks in the Poor condition. Both the District and City of North Vancouver have done a good job in maintaining pedestrian infrastructure and mitigating potential risk to their citizens.
[1] Lily Katz, “5 Most Walkable Canadian Cities of 2020,” Redfin, February 10, 2020, https://www.redfin.com/blog/most-walkable-canadian-cities-2020/.
[2] Canada Infrastructure, “Canadian Infrastructure Report Card 2019”, pp.8
[3] M. H. A. Klaver et al. “European risk assessment methodology for critical infrastructures.” 2008 First International Conference on Infrastructure Systems and Services: Building Networks for a Brighter Future (INFRA), pp.5
[4] Ibid. pp.2
[5] Alexander Fekete, “Common criteria for the assessment of critical infrastructures.” International Journal of Disaster Risk Science 2, no. 1 (2011), pp.1
[6] Canada. City of Ottawa. “State of the Asset Report 2017.”, pp.41
[7] Joel E. Williams et al. “Development and Use of a Tool for Assessing Sidewalk Maintenance as an Environmental Support of Physical Activity.” Health Promotion Practice, Vol. 6, no. 1 (2005), pp.83
[8] Maria Vittoria Corazza, Paola Di Mascio, Laura Moretti. “Managing sidewalk pavement maintenance: A case study to increase pedestrian safety.” Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering, Vol. 3 (3), (2016)pp.208
Bibliography
Canada. City of Ottawa. “State of the Asset Report 2017.” June 14, 2017. https://documents.ottawa.ca/sites/documents/files/2017_state_of-assets_en.pdf
Canada Infrastructure. “Canadian Infrastructure Report Card 2019.” Canada Infrastructure, October 10, 2019. http://canadianinfrastructure.ca/en/index.html
Corazza, Maria Vittoria, Paola Di Mascio, Laura Moretti. “Managing sidewalk pavement maintenance: A case study to increase pedestrian safety.” Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering, Vol.3 (3), (2016): 203-214
Fekete, Alexander. “Common criteria for the assessment of critical infrastructures.” International Journal of Disaster Risk Science 2, no. 1 (2011): 15-24.
Katz, Lily. “5 Most Walkable Canadian Cities of 2020.” Redfin, February 10, 2020. https://www.redfin.com/blog/most-walkable-canadian-cities-2020/.
Klaver, M. H. A., H. A. M. Luiijf, A. H. Nieuwenhuijs, F. Cavenne, A. Ulisse, and G. Bridegeman. “European risk assessment methodology for critical infrastructures.” In 2008 First International Conference on Infrastructure Systems and Services: Building Networks for a Brighter Future (INFRA), pp. 1-5. IEEE, 2008.
Williams, Joel E., Martin Evans, Karen A. Kirtland, Marlo M. Cavnar, Patricia A. Sharpe, Matthew J, Neet, and Annette Cook. “Development and Use of a Tool for Assessing Sidewalk Maintenance as an Environmental Support of Physical Activity.” Health Promotion Practice, Vol. 6, no. 1 (2005): 81-88