How to Conduct a Walk Audit Webinar

Safe Routes to Parks and Healthy Retail
Webinar Series
June 25, 2020

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WALKSacramento is a
nonprofit planning and
advocacy organization that
improves quality of life and
health equity through
community-centered policy
and systems change in land
use, transportation, and
community development.
About WALK

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This webinar is part of our Safe Routes to Parks and
Healthy Retail webinar series funded by the Sacramento
County Public Health.
Special Thanks to
The California Department of Public Health, with funding from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – USDA SNAP, produced this
material. These institutions are equal opportunity providers and employers. For important nutrition information, visit www.CaChampionsForChange.net

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Isaí Palma
Today's Speakers
Project Assistant
WALKSacramento
Moderator
Molly Wagner
Project Manager
WALKSacramento
Speaker
Jarah Crowner,
MPH, CHES
Policy & Program Analyst
Safe Transportation Research and
Education Center, UC Berkeley
Speaker
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
u

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• Defining a Walk Audit
• How to Conduct a Walk
Audit
⚬ Preparing for a Walk
Audit
⚬ What to Look For
⚬ Post-Audit Report Back
• Additional Resources: Street
Story Tool
• Q&A
Objectives

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A walk audit* identifies barriers to walking, biking, or rolling along a
designated route or to a specific destination.
Walk audits can:
• Identify deficiencies in pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure
• Identify potential improvements
• Identify features that would encourage more active travel
• Be an effective strategy for community members to prioritize
opportunities and challenges to active transportation in their
community
A Walk audit is not an official engineering study, but is a strong community
tool to demonstrate the need for further engineering studies or serve as
supporting information for grant applications.
What is a Walk Audit?
*Note: Walk Audits can have many focuses and can be referred to as Traffic Safety Audits,
Bike Audits, ADA Audits, etc. For simplicity of this presentation we will refer to audits as walk
audits.

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Who can conduct a Walk Audit?
Short Answer: Everyone!
Walk audits can be conducted by families, neighbors,
community groups, transit advocates, health professionals,
elected officials, etc.
Walk audits are a powerful community tool used to bring
residents and community stakeholders together to prioritize a
community vision and develop action steps to reach that
vision. It is critical that residents are involved and their voices
remain centered throughout the process.
As a group or individually?
Typically, Walk Audits are organized as a community events,
however due to COVID-19, social gatherings are limited. Walk
audits can still be conducted by members of a household.
Work with other interested participants to determine an
effective method to collaborate and share findings while
maintaining safe distances.

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Step 1: Identify Your Location
• Identify specific location or destination that you want to observe.
Example: Walking route to schools, parks, healthy food, employment
center, etc.
Step 2: Set Your Goals
• What is your vision for the area you are observing?
• Why are you doing the audit?
• What do you want to observe?
• What are the existing challenges?
• What solutions have already been tried?
• Brainstorm infrastructure and non-infrastructure elements that create
a safe and inviting environment. Prioritize your top 5.
Step 3: Plan Your Route
• Use a printed map or digital map to plan your route
• Include areas that you want to focus on (intersections, access to
destinations, other pain points).
• Be flexible!
How to Conduct a Walk Audit

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Step 4: Gather Materials
• Map of Route
• Note taking tools: Clipboard, notebook, pens/pencils
• Camera
⚬ Photos are really important to document observations. Remember
to be respectful of privacy when taking photos of people (no photos
of faces or children, unless given permission)
• Water
• Snacks
• Safety Vests
• Sun protection
Step 5: Walk, Bike, Roll!
• You've got everything you need. Now it's time to do the audit.
• Try to assess the environment from multiple angles and viewpoints. A
motorist sees the road differently than a bicycle or pedestrian.
How to Conduct a Walk Audit

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What to Observe: 5 Key Elements
Pedestrian
Facilities
Bicycle
Facilities
Land Use
Vehicle
Facilities
Transit
Facilities
You don't need to be a trained expert in any of these elements to observe
them around you. You are more of an expert than you know!

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What to Observe: Pedestrian Facilities
What are Pedestrian Facilities?
Pedestrian facilities include the presence and condition of
sidewalks, crossings, and other amenities that support
pedestrians.
As streets increase in volume and speed of traffic they
require wider sidewalks, greater separation of sidewalks
from traffic, and high visibility stop-controlled crossings to
help improve the pedestrian experience.
Things to consider on your audit:
• Are sidewalks wide enough for at least two people to
walk comfortably?
• Are there pedestrian amenities along this route
(benches, art, wayfinding signage, shade)?
• Do the current pedestrian facilities work for people with
disabilities, those with a mobility device, or stroller?
• Do crossings have adequate countdown signals?

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What to Observe: Bicycle Facilities
What are Bicycle Facilities?
Bicycle facilities include the presence and condition of bike
lanes and bike parking. When assessing bicycle facilities,
consider whether it feels safe and comfortable to bike along
the street.
Generally, as streets increase in volume and speed of traffic,
greater separation of bike lanes from traffic is desirable for
improving the biking experience.
• Are there existing bicycle lanes?
• Do the bicycle lanes feel comfortable to ride in based on
the level and speed of traffic?
• Is bicycle parking in plain sight and visible from well-
trafficked pedestrian areas?
• Is the available bike parking sufficient? Are the racks in
good condition or disrepair?
• Is there bicycle route signage indicating low stress
routes?

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What to Observe: Transit Facilities
What are Transit Facilities?
Transit facilities include the presence and condition of bus stops,
light rail stations, and bus travel lanes. Amenities such as shade,
seating, and schedule information improves the transit rider
experience. Transit facilities should be easy to access with safe
crossings nearby.
• Do buses have a dedicated bus lane?
• Is there adequate space to load and unload passengers?
• Is more space needed to maintain public health guidelines?
• Are amenities such as shade structures, seating, or long-term
bike parking provided?
• Are there accessibility features such as braille, auditory
assistance, or other features available to access important
information?
• Is the stop well lit?
• Is the stop well maintained? / Does it feel safe?

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What to Observe: Vehicle Facilities
What are Vehicle Facilities?
Vehicle facilities include the number of travel
lanes, width of lanes, and speed of traffic.
Generally, a greater amount and width of travel
lanes induce higher speeds, contributing to an
unsafe and uncomfortable walking and biking
experience.
• What is the posted speed limit along the
route and do drivers adhere to the speed
limit?
• How many lanes are dedicated to vehicles?
• Do drivers adhere to stop controls?

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What to Observe: Land Use
What is Land Use?
Land use includes general destinations nearby and buildings
along the route such as a mixture of housing and commercial
retail. Destinations such as community centers, schools, and
parks often attract pedestrian activity and should be considered
when thinking about transportation barriers and safety concerns.
• Do buildings have entrances that are close to the street?
• What are the key destinations nearby that attract different
types of users?
• Are parking lots shaded?
• Are windows covered by flyers and signage or open and
welcoming?
• Is there easy access to community centers, businesses, parks,
libraries, or other community assets nearby?
Image: Comstock's

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Once you have completed your audit, hold a post-audit
meeting.
This can be with your group or can be done using conference
calls or video calls, and shared documentation tools (Google
Docs).
• Debrief what you observed
• Share general ideas about infrastructure and non-
infrastructure changes
• Identify priorities that are:
⚬ High-cost
⚬ Low-cost
⚬ Short-term
⚬ Long-term
• Identify a list of stakeholders you want to engage to share
your findings with.
• Develop a next steps plan to ensure that the ideas from
your audit do not end there!
Reporting Back After the Audit

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Ideas to Keep the Momentum Going
Ideas for Keeping the Momentum Going

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Walk Audit Toolkit Street
Story
https://www.walksacramento.org/portfolio/
safe-routes-to-parks-and-healthy-retail/
https://streetstory.berkeley.edu
Tools & Resources

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STREET STORY
Transportation Safety
Community Engagement
Tool
WALKSacramento: How to Conduct a Walk Audit
June 25, 2020
Jarah Crowner
UC Berkeley SafeTREC

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What is Street Story?
• Street Story helps community groups and agencies collect and
understand information that is important for transportation
safety but is difficult to gather and analyze

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How to Provide Information

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Street Story Paper Version

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Street Story Data

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Street Story in the field - walk audit
• Plan a short walk with a group of 5-15 members, and take
notes on locations where people feel safe, unsafe or have
experienced a crash or near-miss in the past
• Convene at a location where group members can spend time
recording information onto the Street Story website

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Street Story in the field - community
meeting
• Convene at a location where meeting attendees can spend
time recording their experiences on the Street Story website
• Review the input made with meeting attendees

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Street Story in the field - community
events
• Bring Street Story to existing community events, including
farmers markets, Open Streets events, or health fairs
• Ask attendees to provide input, or hand out flyers with Street
Story information

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How to Conduct a Walk Audit Webinar

How to Conduct a Walk Audit Webinar

WALKSacramento

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