From one-time inventory to living public infrastructure for safety, disability access, and equity

in WA State

Presenters: Kunal Mehta, Anat Caspi, PhD, Paulo Nunes-Ueno

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Taskar Center for Accessible Technology

supported by

Gaussian Solutions, LLC

and advisory board participants

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OS-CONNECT stakeholder advisory board, Spring, 2026

Taskar Center for Accessible Technology | OS-CONNECT

In this briefing:

• what Washington built
• how jurisdictions and communities engage
• what continuity requires
• Agenda

0:00–0:05 Welcome and framing�0:05–0:15 Draft 1 complete�0:15–0:30 Engagement update�0:30–0:45 Discussion: adoption and advisory board�0:45–1:00 Next phase: WayKeeper and stewardship�1:00–1:10 Legislative timing�1:10–1:15 Priorities and closing�

OS-CONNECT stakeholder advisory board, Spring, 2026

From one-time inventory to living public infrastructure

Safety, disability access, and nondriver travel in WA State

Taskar Center for Accessible Technology | OS-CONNECT

The state did not fund a one-time map.�It funded a reusable public asset.

Statewide sidewalk inventory in one standard, with pathways for updating, validation, and use.

Open-license sidewalk and accessibility dataset

Open-data publication tools

Base active transportation layer for all counties

Intended for WSDOT, local and regional agencies, tribes, and the public

The legislative proviso created a public dataset and the tools to publish it

WHY THIS EXISTS

Taskar Center for Accessible Technology | OS-CONNECT

One standard across jurisdictions, unincorporated areas, and CDPs

Connected graph rather than a patchwork of local files

Versioning, QA/QC outputs, and update pathways built in

788

datasets

12,397 km²

coverage area

822,225

curb nodes

589,523

crossings

537,670

sidewalks

Washington now has a connected statewide pedestrian accessibility layer

OS-CONNECT: STATEWIDE ASSET

Taskar Center for Accessible Technology | OS-CONNECT

OpenSidewalks

Schema + tools for representing pedestrian infrastructure.

Focus features: sidewalks • crossings • curb ramps • slopes

Attributes describe conditions.�Connectivity determines possible reach.

Missing sidewalk links disrupt people’s access

Connectivity in the graph shows where routable, usable infrastructure exists or is lacking

Comparable statewide data support real agency workflows

OS-CONNECT is more than a map

WHY CONNECTIVITY MATTERS

Taskar Center for Accessible Technology | OS-CONNECT

From “pieces of information” to a statewide operating picture

3

Where to focus safety, ADA improvements, and local validation first. QA/QC reports provide prioritization.

2

Which schools, transit stops, *ANY* services are reachable for different users. Planners use Walkshed

1

Where the network exists and where it breaks. AccessMap provides that for all travelers

What Washington now knows that it did not know before

KNOWLEDGE GAIN- what everyone has access to now

Collect → validate → publish → pilot stewards → update

A CLEAR ECOSYSTEM IS NEEDED TO SUPPORT STEWARDSHIP and MAINTENANCE

Taskar Center for Accessible Technology | OS-CONNECT

4

Use in planning and updated OS-CONNECT

3

Jurisdiction gets to review and validate

2

App attaches info to route or place context

1

Report a barrier or a recent fix via mobile app

This is not only engagement.�It is operational capacity to absorb information from the field.

Observations are tied to a place, route, and facility

Observations are in structured geolocated data, no pdf, CAD drawing or text to interpret in the back office later

Staff or partners review and validate inputs

Updated data flow back into planning, ADA work, and accountability frameworks

Lived experience and contractor close-outs immediately become operational data

OPERATION + ACTION

Nondrivers Alliance / TCAT community engagement events

Sedro Woolley, Skagit County

24 participants

AccessMap

Dayton,

Columbia County

17 participants

19 contributions

South Everett, Snohomish County

19 participants

33 contributions

12 participants

125 contributions

Spanaway,

Pierce County

51 participants

193 contributions

Vancouver,

Clark County

Target Zero * Town of Starbuck * Columbia County Public Works * Port of Columbia * Walla Walla Disability Network * Heart to Heart

Arc of Snohomish* Community Transit * WSDOT * Everett Transit * SNOCO

City of Anacortes * City of Sedro-Woolley *Skagit Transit * WSDOT * Anacortes Bike & Pedestrian Advisory Committee * SCOG Non-Motorized Advisory Committee

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Pierce Transit * Tacoma On The Go * City of Tacoma

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18 WA State School for the Blind students

* City of Vancouver * Clark County * C-TRAN * City of Camas * Community in Motion * Strong Towns Camas

Taskar Center for Accessible Technology | OS-CONNECT

Collect → validate → publish → pilot stewards → update

USE IN COMMUNITY CAN SUPPORT STEWARDSHIP and MAINTENANCE as long as systems exist to absorb feedback

Taskar Center for Accessible Technology | OS-CONNECT

Industry messaging: consistent data and single API endpoints facilitate traveler-facing use of a public asset.

Current OS-CONNECT industry partners:

Collect → validate → publish → pilot stewards → update

USE IN INDUSTRY CAN SUPPORT STEWARDSHIP and MAINTENANCE without duplicating systems

Taskar Center for Accessible Technology | OS-CONNECT

Jurisdictional messaging: input and process matters because it creates a usable, maintainable public asset.

• 26 out of 430 contacted responded.
• Pilots with 3, 1 with grant funding.
• 374 did not respond.

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Reached out to all WA jurisdictions and counties via 430 contacts:

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• CTA: join OS-CONNECT data with local knowledge, local data and imagery.
• Motivated by use cases: ADA Compliance, Vision Zero, Public Works
• Keep the dataset alive through updates and validation
• TCAT supports pilots via small grants, analytics and office hours

Collect → validate → publish → pilot stewards → update

A CLEAR ECOSYSTEM IS NEEDED TO SUPPORT JURISDICTIONAL STEWARDSHIP and MAINTENANCE

Taskar Center for Accessible Technology | OS-CONNECT

Not every agency needs the same starting point.

3. Use guided maintenance

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Work with an online, provided toolset (GIS desktop and mobile-app access), connect anytime via weekly office hours, QA/QC, merging, and validation support.

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Example: City of Goldendale

2. Submit a refresh

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Download, edit, or merge locally, then send back an updated release.

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Example: Camas

1. Flag an issue

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Use the viewer to report a mismatch, barrier, or outdated condition.

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Example: Richland

Three pathways let jurisdictions participate at different levels, based on capacity

HOW JURISDICTIONS ENGAGE

Taskar Center for Accessible Technology | OS-CONNECT

Agency priorities in -> comparable evidence out

Agency-designed (MPO + transit agency collab) forms and priorities

Collection over time, not a one-time inventory

Outputs that support improvement planning and public visibility

highlight:

The result is a richer map, enriched locally.

Also, through the process it is a locally governed data asset for ADA transition planning.

Goldendale and Gorge Transit show how local collection supports ADA transition planning

ADA Compliance USE CASE

Taskar Center for Accessible Technology | OS-CONNECT

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Number of Accessibility Islands 7

Number of Points of Interest 34

Number of Disconnected POIs 2

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Number of Accessibility Islands 1

Number of Points of Interest 17

Number of Disconnected POIs 2

What happened (2025):

Flooding and levee/bridge failures isolated communities such as Duvall and Carnation, effectively turning them into population islands, disrupting all movement

*) Precomputed accessibility islands for closure planning

*) Scenario-based edge removal to show what communities get cut off.

*) Ranked choke points for closure action or resource staging.

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What we all learned:

Isolation, not congestion- was the dominant failure mode in 2025.

Duvall

Carnation

Connectivity measures show who gets cut off when closures or failures occur

Useful for emergency planning as well as equity analysis

Extends the value of the data beyond inventory

Assessing resilience: Accessibility islands reveal how closures can isolate communities in emergency

Emergency Management USE CASE

Taskar Center for Accessible Technology | OS-CONNECT

SRTS USE CASE

103 schools analyzed in one city-scale workflow

One network, multiple user profiles

The gap between profiles shows where the map exists but access fails for some portion of students

Safe Routes to School: compare reach for different types of travelers within the 10 min walkshed

Taskar Center for Accessible Technology | OS-CONNECT

For the next 2 months, we will both brief and consult with you on these or other key advisory board contributions:

• identify grant and pilot opportunities
• identify where OS-CONNECT is most likely to be used first
• advise on what support jurisdictions need to participate
• help define a practical stewardship council charter
• help distinguish core maintenance from major imagery refresh
• help with a continuity narrative that is operationally realistic and legislatively clear
• other goals?

In the next phase, we need stakeholder engagement.

How can we best use your help, and what do you need to know. in order to shape conditions for OS-CONNECT sustainability.

ADVISORY BOARD ROLE

We built something really powerful…

But it’s hard to explain, hard to find, and hard to use as a single thing…

portal.tdei.us

https://www.accessmap.app

https://sidewalks.washington.edu/

WayKeeper as the operational home for Washington’s pedestrian accessibility data stewardship: a one-stop shop for finding, using, updating, validating, and sustaining OS-CONNECT.

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A one-stop-shop for sidewalk and accessibility data in Washington State.

Phase II: Washington WayKeeper

Open Data for Accessible Streets and Connected Communities

• Everyone in Washington can now use the Access Map app�Enunciated directions for blind and low vision�Personalized routes based on your ability�
• Every city, county, and agency now has�A complete map of pedestrian network including sidewalks, curb ramps, and crossings�Tools to visualize and prioritize improvements�A platform to manage updates to pedestrian data including Access Map�
• Neighborhood groups, advocates, and construction crews can�Flag a mismatch between data and real-world conditions�Create walk and roll quests to explore accessibility conditions�Update the data from the field when projects are completed

Washington Waykeeper

Washington WayKeeper

WayKeeper Data Platform

Scout Route

Walksheds��For planners

Accessmap

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For travellers

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WayKeeper is an ongoing conversation

Partner groundtruthing

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Staff, advocates, and residents can validate barriers and priorities together.

Structured campaigns

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Schools, bus stops, corridors, or neighborhoods can be surveyed in a consistent way.

Public feedback

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Residents can view data, flag issues, and suggest edits.

Washington Waykeeper

Timeline

Data refreshed

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Accurate Access map statewide

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Continued support for tools including public feedback and updates

Make the case for continued support

People use it, report issues, and keep it current

Invite Cities, Counties, and the Public

JAN 27

Legislative Session

Launch Washington WayKeeper

Create Statewide Connected Ped Network

JUN 26

Human and AI Vetting

Collect Aerial Imagery Data

JUN 27

JUN 24

Washington Waykeeper

Taskar Center for Accessible Technology | OS-CONNECT

The value is not only collection.�The value is the framework for assessing, updating, validating, and using the data over time.

Local updates continue

Community voices surface barriers

Agencies can reuse the data in ongoing workflows

With maintenance

Conditions change

Barriers emerge

Operational value declines

Without maintenance

Without maintenance, we have a snapshot.�With maintenance, we have a living, operational asset.

FROM SNAPSHOT TO LIVING ASSET

Taskar Center for Accessible Technology | OS-CONNECT

THANK YOU!

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Happy to take any questions

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Join us on Tuesday mornings 8-10am

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uwtcat@uw.edu

1. visit your data: https://osconnect-viewer.tdei.us/
2. Check your QA/QC report.
3. Apply for SCLIO funding
4. Proceed to 2-4 week pilot, we can help you assess:

Pedestrian Safety

Improve local planning

ADA Compliance

Prioritization responsive to policy objectives (Complete Streets, ADA, etc)

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Without continuity, the state has a static inventory.�With continuity, it has a living public asset.

Washington now has a statewide pedestrian accessibility asset.

The state vision is for stakeholders to preserve and activate it, with support.

Taskar Center for Accessible Technology | OS-CONNECT

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Applications are accepted on a rolling basis!

tcat.cs.washington.edu/participate/sclio-grants/

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We partner with organizations across Washington State to improve pedestrian access and active transportation using OS-CONNECT.

Please apply here and reach out with any questions!

https://tcat.cs.washington.edu/participate/sclio-grants/

uwtcat@uw.edu

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Apply for a SCLIO – We want to help fund your exploration with and adoption of OS-CONNECT

PROCESS SNAPSHOT

APPENDIX

Instead of sending people different places…

What if we could invite them to a single location:

WayKeeper

It helps people find their way…

And it helps agencies keep that information accurate over time

• A traveler can use it
• A city can update it
• A state agency can rely on it

Flag improvements needed…

FORMERLY Slide 8

Taskar Center for Accessible Technology | OS-CONNECT

Partner groundtruthing

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Staff, advocates, and residents can validate barriers and priorities together.

Structured campaigns

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Schools, bus stops, corridors, or neighborhoods can be surveyed in a consistent way.

Public feedback

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Residents can view data, flag issues, and suggest edits.

A jurisdiction can use OS-CONNECT as an access point for community participation

HOW COMMUNITIES ENGAGE

Taskar Center for Accessible Technology | OS-CONNECT

READINESS AND UTILITY

Readiness varies, but Washington partners are already using the data

Some already have usable data�They collaborate to reformat to the standard, receive QA/QC, and a route back to OS-CONNECT + AccessMap

Some have partial or mismatched data�They receive help with conversion, alignment, or validation + AccessMap

Some have little or no usable data�They receive OS-CONNECT base data, workflows, training, and Ped AccessMap routing tool.

Current examples�• FIFA accessibility planning�• Goldendale + Gorge Transit�• King County Metro workflows

Woodinville

Bothell

Taskar Center for Accessible Technology | OS-CONNECT

TCAT: Support the data, the update pathways, the community-facing mechanisms,�and the workflows that make the asset usable statewide

Community support & workflows

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Training, documentation, and integration into local action

QA/QC and stewardship

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Validation, topology review, and trusted maintenance

Refresh and update streams

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New imagery as available, local updates, and refresh cycles

What continuity requires

CONTINUITY