Group Project Members: Alyssa Harris, Stephen McConkey, Grace Wooten
When looking at and scoring the walkability of sidewalks there are a number of factors that are included. Analyzing the number of parks, transit stops, and resting places, the quality and size of the sidewalk, and the presence of curbs and buffers we were able to score each segment appropriately and fairly. Our group walked from the Jackson Street Building on Jackson Street to the Flats Apartments on Oak Street. We noticed that as we got farther and farther from campus, the quality and walkability of the sidewalks decreased. Lastly, we found the score of each cross walk depending on the presence of ramps, crosswalk marks, and pedestrian walk signals. Over all, depending on the side of the road, our walk to and from the flats was pleasant and walkable. Keep scrolling to get our details of each segment, crosswalk and photos!
Segment A- Jackson Street
Walkability Score-15
Immediately outside of the Jackson Street Building this is a very beautiful segment of the sidewalk, but as a person makes their way to Baldwin Street the appearances and Walkability decrease.
Segment B- North Side of Baldwin Street
Walkability Score-16
This segment provides a lot of shade and ample sidewalk space for easy passing.
Segment C- North Side of Baldwin Street (2)
Walkability Score-10
The sidewalk continues with same width and is relatively comfortable until you reach a wooden bridge you have to cross under. It is very dark and particularly unsettling at night. When it rains, water leaks down from the bridge even hours after it’s stopped raining. This is a very uncomfortable segment to walk.
Segment D- North Side of Williams Street
Walkability Score-11
A very short segment, this sidewalk was not in good condition with tripping hazards and uncovered manholes. However there was a transit stop, places to sit, and plenty of room for walking.
Segment E-Oconee/Oak Street
Walkability Score-9
Walking alongside the heavy traffic without any buffer is uncomfortable especially next to four lanes of heavy traffic, but the sidewalk is wide.
Segment F- South Side of Williams Street
Walkability Score-7
There is no sidewalk here and forces pedestrians to walk on the parking lot. There is no shade and you are completely surrounded by cars and asphalt. These factors make walking through here on a hot summer’s day miserable. This car-dominated does not encourage walking.
Segment G- South Side of Baldwin Street (2)
Walkability Score-11
This segment also takes you under the damp and dark bridge — only on the other side of the road. It is just as repellent to walk under this side as the last. The hill only adds to the discomfort of this space.
Segment H- South Side of Baldwin Street
Walkability Score-10
The sidewalk here is nicely shaded and although there is no buffer to the road, there is a buffer to separate the sidewalk from the parking lot. There are Fortune’s Osmanthus planted along that smell wonderful while walking in the fall despite this uphill climb.
Intersection 1- Baldwin Crossing East Campus Road
Walkability Score-4
This intersection crosses over high traffic East Campus Road and the crossings always cause confusion. There is a crosswalk button that must be pressed and even still may not change the crosswalk sign after a full cycle of traffic. This causes pedestrians to ignore signals and walk when there is no traffic which is a safety issue. In addition to this issue, once you cross the street, it is impossible to walk to the left. Fortunately for our purposes, we didn’t need to turn left, but if we had, it certainly would have been an issue.
Intersection 2- Baldwin Crossing Mitchell Street
Walkability Score-2
Although Mitchell Street is a low traffic road, there are no crosswalks and this leads to much confusion between car and pedestrian. Normally, this is not an issue and simply requires heightened awareness, but safety could be improved with a simple painted crosswalk on the road.
Intersection 3- Crossing Williams Street
Walkability Score-4
Crossing Williams is a trouble free experience. There is a crosswalk signal, marked crosswalks, and ramps on either end. In addition to these, there is a concrete island, allowing pedestrians to stop halfway through crossing if there is a car attempting to take a right turn onto Oconee St.
Intersection 4- Williams Crossing Stone Mill Run
Walkability Score-2
Traffic coming from the River Mill apartment complex flows out and often blocks any path to safely cross. This is partly because there is no painted crosswalk to indicate to cars that they should leave the path clear. This causes confusion between drivers and pedestrians and while I’ve never witnessed an accident, I have certainly seen many close calls.
Intersection 5- Repeat of Intersection 1
Walkability Score-4
Once again, crossing over East Campus Road becomes an issue. The crosswalk signals seem to not work and once you cross, you are unable to turn left.
Intersection 6- Crossing Baldwin to Jackson Street
Walkability Score-4
This intersection is very straightforward. The crosswalk buttons are perfectly functioning and cars obey the clearly delineated crosswalk lines.
While our walkability scores show that lots of the areas are not too bad to walk through, there are still issues with the commute to the Flats. Part of the issues come from the steepness of some of the hills. The travel up and down Jackson Street has a dramatic slope, making it more unpleasant than the chart would suggest. Also, the crosswalks are spaced out less frequently than people would to cross. The commercial vs. residential section also was irrelevant because some of the commercial properties were ugly, even though they were still well maintained. Overall, the chart works decently, but does not completely encompass what makes a walk comfortable.