Assessing Walkability in College Park:

A Six Week GIS Internship Investigation

Sarah Bender, Xavier Benjamin, Quentin Davis,

Iko Esemoto, Albert Jiang, Gregory McCourt and Alex Tran

Internship Background•Ms. Chelsie Miller, Intern coordinator•Dr. Alex Chen, Intern Advisor•June 24, 2014 – July 31, 2014

• Weeks 1 – 3: Data collection• Weeks 4 – 6: Data analysis

Complete Streets•The National Complete Streets Coalition describes “Complete Streets” as “streets for everyone, no matter who they are or how they travel” (http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets/complete-streets-fundamentals#presentation)Complete

•Streets have an unique identity

Walkability Findings

•Currently unsafe to walk in College Park•Route 1 and surrounding roads have high accident rate•Lack of parks and places to go•Abundance of strip malls and retail stores•Many roads are in poor condition•Incomplete Streets

• No/damaged sidewalk• Lack of street lamps

Data Collection• 6 streets near Route 1

• Berwyn Rd• Berwyn House Rd• Cherokee St• Fox St• Edgewood Rd• Hollywood Rd

• 64 segments• Survey Data Collection

• street condition survey• sidewalk/street side condition survey• Photo-inventory

Accident Heat Maps

Census Map

SWOT Analysis• Pictures of areas that can be improved• Story of each street• Each street has to have identity

Street Grading Scale

•100 point maximum•Segment – 40 points•Street – 30 points•Area – 30 points

(Further Breakdown of the Rubric disclosed in written report)

Berwyn House Road• Overall Grade: B• Pros: Sidewalk present, a small park, one of the better streets in College Park• Cons: Vacant building and a very damaged empty lot, polluted• Proposed Fixes: add trash cans, bike rack, fix empty lot

Berwyn Road• Overall Grade: C• Pros: Sidewalk present, school with park, small town

square, well lit• Cons: Front of street is less welcoming

retails stores on Route 1, strip mall and motel• Proposed Fixes: More trees/park to

block strip mall out, move utility poles a bit further from sidewalk

Cherokee Street• Overall Grade: F• Pros: Church and Church School, • Cons: Recent Shooting nearby, no sidewalk and poorly maintained streets. • Proposed Fixes: Street repair, stricter neighborhood watch, increased police patrol.

Fox Street• Overall Grade: F• Pros: Speed bumps, a few road

signs • Cons: No sidewalk, no

crosswalks, poorly maintained streets, lackluster, nothing

of interest• Proposed Fixes: Park Creation and

street repair

Hollywood Road• Overall Grade: F• Pros: A park, crosswalks, a good area for kids• Cons: No sidewalk, park is too close to street• Proposed Fixes: Sidewalk, safer environment

for kids, increased road sign regulations

Edgewood Road• Overall Grade: B• Pros: Sidewalk, Crosswalks, Speed

Bumps, Low pedestrian/bicyclist ratein regards to traffic activity• Cons: High car Accident rate at the

intersection with Route 1, crime is moderate• Proposed Fixes: Add sidewalk buffer, move utility poles further from sidewalk

Final Evaluation• Mean Score: 65.167/100• Average Score(highest and lowest scores removed, remaining 4 averaged): 64.5/100• Median: 61.5/100• Standard Deviation: 15.79135• Wide variety of street conditions, no outliers. • Significant gap between streets with and without

sidewalk(50, 52, 52) to (71, 83, 83)

Proposed Solution Plan• Adding sidewalks to every street will instantly bring

the average from a D to a low B or High C• Not economically feasible• Baseline Solution: Take the average, round and try to

make all streets below that baseline at least the baseline value. • Baseline of 65 - Try to bring Cherokee, Hollywood, and

Fox Street to this rating. • This consists of making the area safer, increasing

street condition and more

Proposed Solutions

Proposed Solutions• Sidewalk/Bike Lanes• Street/sidewalk Repair• Increased neighborhood patrol to improve safety• Increase/utilize open green space, make more parks• Increase lighting, move utility poles further from

sidewalk• Reduce pollution by adding more trash cans• Block out strip malls with parks

Final Conclusions• College Park roads have potential• Encourage Biking and Walking• Safety• Identity• Presence/Environment

Acknowledgements• Chelsie Miller• Dr. Alex Chen• City of College Park• Urban Studies and Planning Program, UMD• National Center for Smart Growth Research and

Education, UMD• University of Maryland Community• Mary Kate Cannistra , Eli Knaap, and Niambi Wilder

Questions?