Walk access to neighbourhood parks: evaluating availability, quality and connectivity Available to Purchase

Poor pedestrian infrastructure and road connectivity can deter people from walking to local parks. Using data from the ground observation of sidewalk and Google Earth, research was undertaken to evaluate the fundamental accessibility features of the built environment such as sidewalk availability and quality as well as connectivity. The study analysed road network density, availability and quality of sidewalks within a neighbourhood park's buffer area, and sidewalk connectivity by using a ‘sidewalk availability and quality index (SAQI)’ and ‘connectivity index’. The SAQI recognises that access is dependent on the pedestrian's ability to use the road network surrounding a neighbourhood park, whereas the connectivity indexes identify the access disparities among crossroads, T-junctions and dead-end and looping road segments, by assigning weights to represent the level of walk access. Together the indexes provide insight into the pedestrian's ability to access and use parks through the built environment. This method is demonstrated through the analysis of ten neighbourhood parks in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles. Using the analysis, this study identifies actual measurement of walkability of neighbourhoods surrounding local parks and proposes possible walk access solutions.