A Database for Active Transportation Infrastructure and Volume

Information about pedestrian infrastructure and volume is indispensable to monitoring, evaluating, and improving the environment for comfortable and safe walking. However, determining and organizing the various types of data in a way that is easy to update and analyze can present challenges. This study designed and developed a relational database for pedestrian infrastructure and volume, and comprises two core components (node table and approach table) and several sub-components (tables for crosswalks, sidewalks, buffers, signs, transits, bikeways, bicycle parking, and volumes). Important measurements were proposed based on the literature and practice review and grouped into different component categories based on their attributes and relationships. To connect all the components, links were defined according to their relative locations. To prove the feasibility of the database, an infrastructure data collection pilot was conducted across 100 miles of California highways using computer imagery, and across seven miles of highways using field inventory. Time costs associated with collecting infrastructure data for the entire State Highway System were estimated to be 4,006 hours and 8,935 hours for using computer and field collection methods respectively. This study demonstrates that the database is easy to maintain, flexible to update, and feasible for data collection both via computer imagery and in the field. Although most of the data in the database is related to pedestrian, basic bicyclist related information is also included to demonstrate the transferability of the database to store bicyclist infrastructure and volume in the future.