Washington state has become the first in the US to develop a consistent, statewide routable mapped inventory of sidewalks, street crossings, and curb ramps, covering areas where 90% of the population lives.
The dataset, known as OS-CONNECT, was developed by the Taskar Center for Accessible Technology (TCAT) at the University of Washington, Seattle, with support from Gaussian Solutions and funding directed by the Washington State Legislature. It provides a shared foundation for understanding how people who do not drive – including pedestrians, wheelchair users, and others – reach jobs, schools, healthcare, transit, and everyday destinations across the state.
The launch sets the stage for OpenThePaths 2026, a two-day event to be held on February 26–27 at the University of Washington, bringing together community members, advocates, planners, technologists, transit leaders, and elected officials to discuss how the data can be used to improve pedestrian infrastructure planning and investment.
From guessing to planning
Prior to OS-CONNECT, agencies lacked a common reference point for evaluating pedestrian access. The shared inventory is intended to shift the conversation from guesswork to structured prioritisation, enabling local, regional, state, and federal partners to identify gaps, align funding, and measure progress.
“For a long time we’ve known we were missing information that would help us invest wisely,” says Representative Greg Nance of the Washington State Legislature. “Now we can fix that. With a modest investment in maintaining this data, we can avoid building disconnected pieces and instead fund the projects that truly help people. The state has a unique responsibility here, and this gives us a way to spend transportation dollars far more effectively.”
Day one of OpenThePaths will focus on immediate applications of the data, while day two will address how institutions can align responsibility, funding, and long-term stewardship of the inventory.
Regional coordination
King County Metro is among the agencies represented at the event. “My focus is building systems that give us meaningful metrics and then using those metrics to grow capacity, not just inside one agency, but across the region,” says Taryn Farley, ADA and universal access programme manager at King County Metro. “That’s how we move toward a transportation system that is genuinely accessible to everyone.”
Matthew Weidner, planner III at King County Metro Access (Paratransit) and product owner of Metro Flex, highlights the potential for data integration: “The value here is that the complexity is being handled. If the information our teams are already collecting can flow into a shared pipeline, we can grow this dataset faster and make it useful for more people.”
“At its heart, this is about designing transportation around the fullness of human experience,” says Anat Caspi, director of the Taskar Center for Accessible Technology. “When we can see where access works and where it fails, collaboration becomes possible, and so does accountability.”
OpenThePaths 2026 takes place at the Zillow Commons, Bill & Melinda Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering, UW Seattle Campus. The event is open to the public. Registration and the full schedule are available at tcat.cs.washington.edu/otp2026.
