Institute of Urban Studies

Sidewalk Safety Index: Safe Communities Winnipeg - Creating an Index to Rate Sidewalk Safety and Conditions

The rain and subsequent ice that occurred in February 2010 was the impetus for the Falls Committee of Safe Communities Winnipeg to dream about the possibility of a sidewalk index. We envisioned that such an index would provide important information to the public about the condition and safety of sidewalks in Winnipeg during the winter months so that pedestrians can make safer choices and prepare appropriately before venturing out in poor conditions. From these early ideas, we have developed a research project to determine if a summary rating of sidewalk conditions can be created that is applicable to all areas of Winnipeg.

The development of a sidewalk safety index is an innovative concept as we have been unable to find a similar initiative in any other winter city. While this supports the need for our work, it also creates barriers as we have been unable to identify any methodological approaches that could inform our research question.

The development of the sidewalk index has been supported by the collaboration of many stakeholders including the City of Winnipeg, IMPACT and the University of Winnipeg. With the financial support of Safe Communities Winnipeg, students have been hired through the Institute of Urban Studies to develop and test a sidewalk index. During the winter of 2009-2010, these students, along with the assistance of various partners, completed sidewalk index forms throughout the city of Winnipeg. The goal of this data collection was to determine whether sidewalk ratings were similar throughout Winnipeg.

Through the fieldwork of last winter, a sidewalk index has been refined to include a scale of the ease or difficulty of using the sidewalk, as well as descriptions of sidewalk conditions. The next steps require that we consult with a range of community members to obtain feedback about the usefulness of the sidewalk index. As part of the community consultation, we are particularly interested in speaking with members of our community who may have mobility challenges. The main objective of the group discussion will be to:

1. Address common concerns about sidewalk accessibility in winter
   
   
2. Evaluate how participants would rate sidewalk conditions using the index
   
   
3. Examine the perspective of participants as to the usefulness of the index 
   
   
4. Discuss how information on a daily sidewalk index would be accessed

It is anticipated that the City of Winnipeg will collaborate in disseminating information about the sidewalk safety index on a daily basis. It is intended that if a sidewalk safety system is put into action, sidewalk conditions could be made known in the same way the ultraviolet (UV) index is broadcast through various media outlets to help people protect themselves from the harmful effects of the sun.