assessing walkability in college park: a six week gis internship investigation
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Assessing Walkability in College Park:
A Six Week GIS Internship Investigation
Sarah Bender, Xavier Benjamin, Quentin Davis,
Iko Esemoto, Albert Jiang, Gregory McCourt and Alex Tran
Internship Background•Ms. Chelsie Miller, Intern coordinator•Dr. Alex Chen, Intern Advisor•June 24, 2014 – July 31, 2014
• Weeks 1 – 3: Data collection• Weeks 4 – 6: Data analysis
Complete Streets•The National Complete Streets Coalition describes “Complete Streets” as “streets for everyone, no matter who they are or how they travel” (http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets/complete-streets-fundamentals#presentation)Complete
•Streets have an unique identity
Walkability Findings
•Currently unsafe to walk in College Park•Route 1 and surrounding roads have high accident rate•Lack of parks and places to go•Abundance of strip malls and retail stores•Many roads are in poor condition•Incomplete Streets
• No/damaged sidewalk• Lack of street lamps
Data Collection• 6 streets near Route 1
• Berwyn Rd• Berwyn House Rd• Cherokee St• Fox St• Edgewood Rd• Hollywood Rd
• 64 segments• Survey Data Collection
• street condition survey• sidewalk/street side condition survey• Photo-inventory
Accident Heat Maps
Census Map
SWOT Analysis• Pictures of areas that can be improved• Story of each street• Each street has to have identity
Street Grading Scale
•100 point maximum•Segment – 40 points•Street – 30 points•Area – 30 points
(Further Breakdown of the Rubric disclosed in written report)
Berwyn House Road• Overall Grade: B• Pros: Sidewalk present, a small park, one of the better streets in College Park• Cons: Vacant building and a very damaged empty lot, polluted• Proposed Fixes: add trash cans, bike rack, fix empty lot
Berwyn Road• Overall Grade: C• Pros: Sidewalk present, school with park, small town
square, well lit• Cons: Front of street is less welcoming
retails stores on Route 1, strip mall and motel• Proposed Fixes: More trees/park to
block strip mall out, move utility poles a bit further from sidewalk
Cherokee Street• Overall Grade: F• Pros: Church and Church School, • Cons: Recent Shooting nearby, no sidewalk and poorly maintained streets. • Proposed Fixes: Street repair, stricter neighborhood watch, increased police patrol.
Fox Street• Overall Grade: F• Pros: Speed bumps, a few road
signs • Cons: No sidewalk, no
crosswalks, poorly maintained streets, lackluster, nothing
of interest• Proposed Fixes: Park Creation and
street repair
Hollywood Road• Overall Grade: F• Pros: A park, crosswalks, a good area for kids• Cons: No sidewalk, park is too close to street• Proposed Fixes: Sidewalk, safer environment
for kids, increased road sign regulations
Edgewood Road• Overall Grade: B• Pros: Sidewalk, Crosswalks, Speed
Bumps, Low pedestrian/bicyclist ratein regards to traffic activity• Cons: High car Accident rate at the
intersection with Route 1, crime is moderate• Proposed Fixes: Add sidewalk buffer, move utility poles further from sidewalk
Final Evaluation• Mean Score: 65.167/100• Average Score(highest and lowest scores removed, remaining 4 averaged): 64.5/100• Median: 61.5/100• Standard Deviation: 15.79135• Wide variety of street conditions, no outliers. • Significant gap between streets with and without
sidewalk(50, 52, 52) to (71, 83, 83)
Proposed Solution Plan• Adding sidewalks to every street will instantly bring
the average from a D to a low B or High C• Not economically feasible• Baseline Solution: Take the average, round and try to
make all streets below that baseline at least the baseline value. • Baseline of 65 - Try to bring Cherokee, Hollywood, and
Fox Street to this rating. • This consists of making the area safer, increasing
street condition and more
Proposed Solutions
Proposed Solutions• Sidewalk/Bike Lanes• Street/sidewalk Repair• Increased neighborhood patrol to improve safety• Increase/utilize open green space, make more parks• Increase lighting, move utility poles further from
sidewalk• Reduce pollution by adding more trash cans• Block out strip malls with parks
Final Conclusions• College Park roads have potential• Encourage Biking and Walking• Safety• Identity• Presence/Environment
Acknowledgements• Chelsie Miller• Dr. Alex Chen• City of College Park• Urban Studies and Planning Program, UMD• National Center for Smart Growth Research and
Education, UMD• University of Maryland Community• Mary Kate Cannistra , Eli Knaap, and Niambi Wilder
Questions?
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