{"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\u003Cp\u003EAs residents will tell you, sometimes those paths can be a bumpy, cracked mess. But it\u2019s difficult for cities to keep track. That\u2019s 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\u003Cp\u003ETheir latest project includes cataloging 200 miles in an Atlanta suburb in Cobb County.\u003C\/p\u003E\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\u2019s Stephannie Stokes\u003C\/a\u003E:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\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\u003Cp\u003EGuensler\u2019s students then review the data back at the lab to create an inventory of sidewalks \u2014 and any problems, like cracks or obstructions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGuensler said cities can use the inventories to make sure they\u2019re meeting federal requirements to accommodate people with disabilities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOtherwise, local governments can face lawsuits, like Atlanta has.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe city, for its part, has said it is working to comply with federal rules. And Guensler said cities around the country \u2014 not just Atlanta \u2014 have neglected their sidewalks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESidewalks tend only to have a lifespan of about 40 years.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThey\u2019re really not difficult to maintain. It\u2019s just that we don\u2019t consider them to be streets,\u201d Guensler said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn other words, cities don\u2019t consider the sidewalks to be part of their overall transportation system.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWalls, the graduate student, said this research has made him pay more attention.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s almost impossible for me to not recognize bad sidewalks now,\u201d Walls said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\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\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EStory courtesy of GT School of Civil and Environmental Engineering\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\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","summary":"","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":"2025-06-18 15:19:36","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:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Guensler_Walls_Sidewalks.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":184993,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Guensler_Walls_Sidewalks.jpg?itok=pviWKNtu"}}},"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"},{"id":"194566","name":"Sustainable Systems"}],"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","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brent.verrill@sustainable.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}