Residents taking it upon themselves to update maps showing city walkability

A group of people across the Carolinas is hoping to make it easier for anyone to get around Raleigh. They’ve surveying sidewalks and assessing how walkable the area is – sometimes without ever stepping foot here themselves.

"A sidewalk is much easier to accommodate all users – old, young, mobile challenges, people with strollers, those rolling things," said Leo Suarez, the project co-lead for Open Sidewalks, a civic tech project through Code with the Carolinas.

People like Suarez are evaluating the city's infrastructure to check for places where the sidewalks that are present are lacking important features like curb cuts or crosswalk markings. Then they're updating a site called Open Street Maps which is often used as a base for apps that assist people of all abilities based on accessibility.

"It allows wayfinding for people with mobility challenges – someone in a wheelchair or using a cane," said Suarez. "It might not give you the most direct route but it can give you, say, a flatter route that is better for someone in a powered wheelchair, for example."

Walkability has become more important recently as commuting, on foot, has increased in popularity. The most recent American Community Survey from the Census shows 2 percent of Raleigh residents primarily walk to work, up from 1.5 percent a decade earlier.

The walkability in Boylan Heights is one reason why the Demlers live in the area.

"We love walking to downtown," Carly Demler, who was wandering around that part of the city with her daughter, Romy.

While the proximity to downtown is a perk, there are some challenges with navigating around the older neighborhood.

"We’ve had to figure out a route where we zigzag to downtown because some are not super pedestrian friendly and some are," she said. "When we’re with the stroller sometimes that can be a little dicey. There's big roots and different challenges."

They’re not alone in noticing those barriers. Suarez says the project has helped him realize where the city needs improvements.

"There are some gaps and some connections that need to be made to complete the network," he said. "While we have sidewalks, there are points where there are safety concerns like unmarked crosswalks, not enough curb cuts where there should be."

Demler says should there be a tool for Raleigh which could help families to navigate safer, kid-friendly routes, she'd definitely use it.

"Oftentimes they’re on scooters or bikes," said Demler. "If we have little kids with us, [making it] as easy as it can possibly be to get some place would be really helpful."