Simulating and visualizing sidewalk accessibility for wayfinding of people with disabilities

Abstract

There are generally different and less wayfinding options for pedestrians than those for drivers. This makes developing models and tools that assist pedestrians in finding routes more challenging. The problem is even further exacerbated when specific routing requirements of people with disabilities are considered. While currently much research is focused on developing solutions for wayfinding of pedestrians, very few address the specific requirements of individuals with disabilities and none is focused on evaluation of the accessibility of built environments. In this paper, we propose a new approach in evaluating the accessibility of built environments for wayfinding of individuals with disabilities. The proposed approach involves simulation and visualization of the accessibility of sidewalk segments allowing urban planners, and other designers and engineers, to gain an understanding of how accessible built environments are and allowing individuals with disabilities to assess the accessibility of built environments with respect to their mobility needs. Simulations were conducted using a sidewalk network database which contains accessibility attributes based on the standards recommended by the Americans with Disabilities Act. To demonstrate the benefits of the proposed approach, a representative model was used to simulate scenarios for the wayfinding requirements at both community and individual levels. The results of the simulations are visualized in heat-maps.