A methodology to prioritize absent sidewalk infrastructure for San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio lacks a complete sidewalk network, with 2,349 miles remaining to be constructed. Though sidewalks alone are insufficient to create walkability or to achieve important societal goals, they are an important fundamental component. Sidewalks or other pedestrian infrastructure are necessary to achieve important legal, social, and environmental goals. These include compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), combating pedestrian traffic deaths, addressing historical inequality, reducing vehicle miles traveled, attainment of the federal National Ambient Air Quality Standard, and reversing decades-long trends of reduced walking rates and increased obesity. The recently adopted SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan also explicitly details the desire to achieve walkability. The aim of this study is to generate a tool to evaluate the relative importance of absent sidewalks for construction. Importantly, the tool should be easy to maintain and absent sidewalk scores easy to update according to new or improved datasets. A weighted sum model was developed using input from a community focus group. Data was culled using existing data sets and sorted into four equally weighted indices. The analysis was performed using ArcGIS to arrive at absent sidewalk scores with a range of 0 to 400. The results are displayed in five classes using natural breaks. The study includes a discussion of funding implications, possible alternatives to sidewalks, and sidewalk maintenance. San Antonio needs to expand its efforts to provide walking infrastructure. In light of significant funding needs for sidewalks, the City should provide continually high funding levels for sidewalk construction through bonds. The City should attempt to find ways to offset large costs to sidewalk construction such as ADA non-compliant driveway construction. And, the City should explore alternatives to sidewalks, such as developing shared streets concepts and using existing street pavement to provide pedestrian space. Lastly, the City needs to develop an asset management program for existing sidewalk infrastructure. It needs to assess the condition of existing sidewalks and develop funding recommendations to ensure a high-quality and ADA-compliant sidewalk infrastructure is maintained.