Sidewalk Conditions Index

The City of Portsmouth Department of Public Works conducted a conditional sidewalk assessment on City maintained sidewalks during the summer of 2015. Applicable sidewalks were evaluated on their usability and mapped out using Trimble handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) units. Vanasse Hangen Bustlin, Inc. (VHB) project manager Lance Baden trained employees on the fundamentals of performing conditional assessments prior to the start of the project. The purpose of this project was not to identify specific points of impairments or access ADA compliance, but rather to provide a baseline for conducting such surveys in the future.

The assessment provides City staff with detailed information regarding it’s sidewalks including: sidewalk and curb material, width, major distresses, estimated percent repair, and a ranking of each individual sidewalk’s condition. The conditions were classified as excellent, good, fair, or poor. Through the assessment, a database was established within a Geographic Information System (GIS) inclusive of all information collected in the field. The data collected provides staff and decision-makers with a clearer depiction of the overall conditions of the City’s sidewalks and offers detailed information to aid in the implementation of Portsmouth’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan.

This report will describe the methodology of the assessment, outline the results of field evaluations which will include detailed maps and figures, as well as provide the cost estimations from a detailed budget analysis.