A recent audit of virtually every sidewalk in Downtown Boston and Chinatown found nearly 150 serious infrastructure issues in the area.
The Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association put together a database highlighting most major crosswalks, sidewalks and ramps in two of Boston’s busiest areas.
“Nobody should have to avoid a part of their neighborhood because of issues,” said Rishi Shukla, co-founder of the association.
The issues the organization found ranged from unmarked or faded crosswalks to huge divots in the roads. These problems can make travel difficult — even dangerous — for people who use wheelchairs or other mobility devices, parents with strollers, and other pedestrians.
The database includes nearly 1,000 images and computer-based models that implement AI for data visualization which is being used to create “current condition scores” for pathways and ramps in the area. The model grades on a 1-10 scale by evaluating elements like surface evenness, trip hazards and obstructions to determine the score.
Shukla said the data will be a game changer for analyzing data and making infrastructure improvements.
“We’ve said, ‘Let us help take a first pass and objectively get all of the data in one place so we can describe the issue visually,’” he said. “Then number two, let’s apply the logic model body of work to other issues.”
The work that the association has been doing has led to some change. For example, worn areas along Winter Street have already been replaced. There has been the removal of concurrent walk signals — when pedestrians are crossing the street at the same time as the cars are turning — at the intersection of Boylston and Tremont streets The city has also replaced 400 light fixtures across Downtown and Chinatown in recent months.
With the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act this past weekend, Shukla said it was as good a time as any to address these accessibility issues in one of the city’s busiest areas.
The issues highlighted in the report disproportionately impact people with disabilities.
The organization said that the health of the pathways is critical to achieving a world-class infrastructure in a world-class city like Boston.
Shukla said that these issues aren’t unique to Downtown and Chinatown. But it is a great place to focus efforts on improvement.
“We want to make sure that our streets and sidewalks are, number one, safe for everybody,” he said. “And number two, if you’re on our sidewalks or going through our parks, that you feel safe and that you are safe, without exception.”
