Safer Sidewalks
A new ASTM International standard will make sidewalks safer and more comfortable for wheelchair users. The standard (E3028, Practice for Computing Pathway Roughness Index from Longitudinal Profile Measurements) describes a method to collect and analyze data from a sidewalk to determine its roughness. The standard was developed by ASTM Committee E17 on Vehicle-Pavement Systems with the support of several organizations, including the United States Access Board.
Roughness can make sidewalks uncomfortable and risky for wheelchair users and others such as parents pushing strollers, postal carriers pushing three-wheeled carts, and people using wheeled walkers.
According to ASTM member Dr. Jon Pearlman, the new standard will be useful in several ways. "For businesses, the standard could increase the number of customers who are wheelchair users," says Pearlman, Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board and Co-Founder of Pathway Accessibility Solutions Inc., as well as an Associate Professor in the Rehabilitation Science and Technology Department of the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Pearlman said he is working with the U.S. Access Board and the U.S. Department of Transportation to incorporate this standard info future Americans with Disabilities Act Public Rights of Way Guidelines.
To purchase standards, visit www.astm.org and search by the standard designation, or contact ASTM Customer Relations (tel +1.877.909.ASTM; sales@astm.org). ASTM welcomes participation in the development of its standards. Become a member at www.astm.org/JOIN.
ASTM Committee E17 on Vehicle-Pavement Systems Next Meeting: Dec. 5-6, 2016, December Committee Week, Orlando, Fla.
Technical Contact: Jonathan L. Pearlman, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa., tel +1.412.822.3664
ASTM Staff Contact: Julia Moynihan, tel +1.610.832.9681
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