Local Access Scores

Tim Reardon

Director of Data Services

Metropolitan Area Planning Council

A New Measure of Network Utility

for Complete Streets Planning and Implementation

Moving Together 2016

What inputs do local governments use

when determining where to build

sidewalks and bike facilities?

77% of Massachusetts roadways

lack sidewalks:

35,000 miles of incomplete streets

Constituent Requests

Ad hoc

School Administrators

Local Committee

Prioritization plans

need prioritization criteria

Speed

Crashes

Feasibility & Cost

Demographics

ADA compliance

Field Surveys

What about utility?

Is Proximity Paramount?

Which streets and roads

are likely to have the

greatest utility

for pedestrians and cyclists

traveling to local destinations,

if safe and complete streets

were available?

Introducing…

Active Transportation Network Utility

Local Access Score:

Walk to Shops and Restaurants

Local Access Score:

Bike to Shops and Restaurants

Local Access Score:

Composite

localaccess.mapc.org

Interactive map

Data download

User Guide

Technical Documentation

Local Access Score: Applications

Pedestrian Prioritization Plans

Capital Investments

Wayfinding

Pedestrian and Bicycle Counts

Maintenance and Enforcement

ADA Assessments

Local Access Score:

Crash Overlay

High-Utility road segment

connects residential areas,

schools, & downtown, but

lacks sidewalks

Local Access Score:

Sidewalk Gap Analysis

Aerial photo confirms no

sidewalk present

Local Access Score:

Sidewalk Gap Analysis

Desire Lines:

the best indicator of

sidewalk need

Local Access Score:

Sidewalk Gap Analysis

A rationale for saying “no”

to sidewalk requests…

A reason to say “why not?”

Connectivity errors in the source data

Informal or unmapped walking routes missing

Travel around/within blocks nor represented

School trips assume proximity-based assignment

Transit trips hard to estimate

Not all trip types represented

Pedestrian Infrastructure Isn’t Perfect

and Neither are We…

MAPC Can Help!

If you…

Have questions about Local Access Scores;

Need assistance with pedestrian prioritization plans;

Have detailed data on ped & bike connections that

would improve the Local Access model results;

Want to customize the model for specific populations

or destinations; or

Want to test out bike lanes & road diets with

temporary installations.

data@mapc.org

Tim Reardon, Director of Data Services

Metropolitan Area Planning Council

treardon@mapc.org

data.mapc.org

localaccess.mapc.org

With funding support from:

In collaboration with:

Massachusetts Community

Innovation Challenge

Grant Program