{"609048":{"#nid":"609048","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Guensler and Walls Survey Atlanta\u2019s Sidewalks, WABE Radio","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWith an inexpensive setup based on a wheelchair and a tablet computer, BBISS Fellow and School of Civil and Environmental Engineering\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/people\/Faculty\/901\/overview\u0022\u003EProfessor Randall Guensler\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;has helped Atlanta catalog 1,200 miles of sidewalks.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs residents will tell you, sometimes those paths can be a bumpy, cracked mess. But it\u0026rsquo;s difficult for cities to keep track. That\u0026rsquo;s why Guensler and his students have been working for several years on a simple system to help communities assess the condition of their sidewalks.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETheir latest project includes cataloging 200 miles in an Atlanta suburb in Cobb County.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAlong with graduate student Daniel Walls, Guensler\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.wabe.org\/atlanta-researchers-help-cities-track-their-sidewalk-problems\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Edemonstrated the system to WABE\u0026rsquo;s Stephannie Stokes\u003C\/a\u003E:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cblockquote\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs it rolls along, the tablet records video of the sidewalk and any rumbling the wheelchair experiences. The computer also documents the location.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGuensler\u0026rsquo;s students then review the data back at the lab to create an inventory of sidewalks \u0026mdash; and any problems, like cracks or obstructions.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGuensler said cities can use the inventories to make sure they\u0026rsquo;re meeting federal requirements to accommodate people with disabilities.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOtherwise, local governments can face lawsuits, like Atlanta has.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe city, for its part, has said it is working to comply with federal rules. And Guensler said cities around the country \u0026mdash; not just Atlanta \u0026mdash; have neglected their sidewalks.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESidewalks tend only to have a lifespan of about 40 years.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;They\u0026rsquo;re really not difficult to maintain. It\u0026rsquo;s just that we don\u0026rsquo;t consider them to be streets,\u0026rdquo; Guensler said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn other words, cities don\u0026rsquo;t consider the sidewalks to be part of their overall transportation system.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWalls, the graduate student, said this research has made him pay more attention.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s almost impossible for me to not recognize bad sidewalks now,\u0026rdquo; Walls said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/news\/listen-guensler-walls-show-wabe-how-they-re-tracking-atlanta-s-sidewalk-problems?utm_medium=email\u0026amp;utm_source=dailydigest\u0026amp;utm_campaign=july27\u0026amp;utm_content=sidewalks\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EStory courtesy of GT School of Civil and Environmental Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.wabe.org\/atlanta-researchers-help-cities-track-their-sidewalk-problems\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EListen to the full story on WABE NPR Radio.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWith an inexpensive setup based on a wheelchair and a tablet computer, BBISS Fellow and School of Civil and Environmental Engineering\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/people\/Faculty\/901\/overview\u0022\u003EProfessor Randall Guensler\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;has helped Atlanta catalog 1,200 miles of sidewalks.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs residents will tell you, sometimes those paths can be a bumpy, cracked mess. But it\u0026rsquo;s difficult for cities to keep track. That\u0026rsquo;s why Guensler and his students have been working for several years on a simple system to help communities assess the condition of their sidewalks.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETheir latest project includes cataloging 200 miles in an Atlanta suburb in Cobb County.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/sustainable.gatech.edu\/bigideas\/guensler-and-walls-survey-atlantas-sidewalks-wabe-radio\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERead More...\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"GT Professor, Randal Euensler and grad student Daniel Walls survey Atlanta\u0027s sidewalks for accessibility with low cost equipment."}],"uid":"27338","created_gmt":"2018-07-27 17:35:25","changed_gmt":"2018-10-10 20:08:42","author":"Brent Verrill","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2018-07-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2018-07-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"609049":{"id":"609049","type":"image","title":"Guensler_Walls_Sidewalks","body":null,"created":"1532714313","gmt_created":"2018-07-27 17:58:33","changed":"1532714313","gmt_changed":"2018-07-27 17:58:33","alt":"GT Professor Randal Guensler and grad student Daniel Walls demonstrating their wheelchair based sidewalk survey rig.","file":{"fid":"231975","name":"Guensler_Walls_Sidewalks.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Guensler_Walls_Sidewalks.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Guensler_Walls_Sidewalks.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":184993,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Guensler_Walls_Sidewalks.jpg?itok=3yvjJyHp"}}},"media_ids":["609049"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/news\/listen-guensler-walls-show-wabe-how-they-re-tracking-atlanta-s-sidewalk-problems?utm_medium=email\u0026utm_source=dailydigest\u0026utm_campaign=july27\u0026utm_content=sidewalks","title":"GT School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Website"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.wabe.org\/atlanta-researchers-help-cities-track-their-sidewalk-problems\/","title":"Story on WABE NPR Radio website."}],"groups":[{"id":"244191","name":"Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"11663","name":"Randall Guensler"},{"id":"178623","name":"Daniel Walls"},{"id":"168984","name":"sidewalks"},{"id":"360","name":"accessibility"},{"id":"166871","name":"bbiss_big_ideas"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brent.verrill@sustainable.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EBrent Verrill\u003C\/a\u003E, Communications Manager, BBISS\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brent.verrill@sustainable.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}