Pedestrian Infrastructure and ADA Compliance: Leveraging Advances in Spatial Technologies [Research Brief]

Details

• Creators:
  Marshall, Wesley ; Janson, Bruce ; Cameron, Christopher ; Todorut, David
• Corporate Creators:
  University of Colorado at Denver ; University of Massachusetts at Amherst
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program ; United States. Department of Transportation. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Compliance
  • Curbs
  • Geographic information systems
  • Infrastructure
  • Laser radar
  • Legislation
  • Mapping
  • Sidewalks
  • Smartphones
  • Pedestrians
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  MPC 24-563
• Resource Type:
  Brief
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  Mountain-Plains Consortium
• Abstract:
  This research examines how mobile light detecting and ranging (LiDAR) technology, such as that in the iPhone Pro, can improve the efficiency and accuracy of assessing ADA compliance for sidewalks and curb ramps, address gaps in current methods, and help to make pedestrian infrastructure more accessible for individuals with disabilities. LiDAR is a remote sensing technology that uses pulsed laser light to measure distances and create 3-D maps. Traditional methods of gathering pedestrian infrastructure data are often slow and inefficient. In the first part of the study, the iPhone’s LiDAR performance was compared to a high-end Trimble TX8 LiDAR unit and field measurements. Results showed that while the iPhone’s LiDAR is generally effective at detecting ADA compliance issues, there is some inconsistency in measuring curb ramp slopes. In the second part of the study, the impact of obstructions, like vegetation and parked cars, on data quality was examined. These obstructions were tested to see how they might affect ADA compliance assessments when data are collected from the middle of the street rather than directly from the sidewalk.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  MPC-678
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/87091/dot_87091_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.13 MB]
• Collection(s):
  University Transportation Centers
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2d92eb156547ee6bb6d2db095fda9e95b5b0b8efd560ac611079115a2dfe50f35b6b3a2838e7d188a56feabd74c525eac433e3ad7e69cc6551d20514d1764d22