STEP 2: GATHER INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR COMMUNITY

Data is the language of decision making.  The more evidence you have to support your goals, the more successful you will be in advocating for change. Data can take many forms, from qualitative insights (such as community members sharing how safe they feel walking in certain areas) to quantitative measurements (such as the number of students walking to school or the accessibility of a specific route). 

Collecting data serves two key purposes:
  1. To help understand your community’s specific needs
  2. To give decision-makers a clear picture of community priorities
 
Data collection can occur at different scales: a single neighborhood, Main Street district, school, church, or an entire community. Assessments should be conducted near important community destinations or in places where there is a high concentration of people or businesses. Also consider places where people currently walk and bike or places where there is potential to increase walking and biking.
The PARTNER Toolkit Highlights 5 Data Collection Techniques:
These techniques can be used individually or as a set, depending on your planning needs and the available resources. By selecting the appropriate tools, your coalition can build a strong, data-driven case for improving active transportation in your community.
Technique 1: Mapping your community
 
How easy or difficult is it to walk or bike in your community? One of the most effective ways to improve active travel is by creating activity-friendly routes that make walking and biking convenient, safe, and appealing. To assess walkability and bikeability, begin by documenting key aspects of the built environment that influence safety, accessibility, and connectivity.
 
The following are key areas to evaluate:
  • Existing walking and biking infrastructure. Where are sidewalks, bike lanes, and trails present? Where are they missing? Can motorized/non-motorized wheelchairs or those pushing strollers or using walkers navigate the area?
  • Safety concerns. Are there dangerous roadways, intersections, or crossings that make walking and biking difficult?
  • Potential routes for improvement. Where could new infrastructure enhance connectivity?
  • Everyday destinations. What locations do residents frequent the most, and how accessible are they by foot or bike? 
Technique 2: Photovoice
 
Photovoice is an activity that combines photographs with short text descriptions to convey key aspects of your community’s walking and biking conditions. This exercise allows your coalition to examine the good, the bad, and the unexpected elements of the local active transportation environment. Participants will document concerns, strengths, and ideas by capturing images and adding brief captions that explain what they observed. These photos and insights should then be reviewed as a group, fostering discussion and learning from different perspectives.
 
Tips for Taking Photos:
  • Try to capture people in photos.
  • Make sure the images are representative of your community and represent typical residential, retail, or community settings.
  • Capture routes to everyday destinations, such as schools, the post office, courthouse, grocery stores, pharmacies, retail shopping areas, or other popular destinations in your community.
  • Change your perspective by holding cameras up higher or standing further back to get a better view.
Technique 3: Walking Audits
 
One of the most common methods for assessing walking and biking networks is the walk audit—a process where participants walk, stroll, roll, or bike through different areas to observe and evaluate how safe and inviting these spaces are for active transportation. By traveling along a designated route, participants can observe conditions firsthand and identify opportunities for improvement.
 
Keep a look out for the following elements while conducting a walk audit:
  • Presence or absence of sidewalks and bike facilities
  • Sidewalk and bike lane maintenance needs (cracks, obstructions, broken pavements, etc.)
  • Gaps in sidewalks and bike networks that disrupt connectivity
  • Ease or difficulty of crossing intersections
  • Areas where the road is unusually wide or narrow, affecting speed and safety
  • Signage for pedestrian crossings, bike lanes, and wayfinding—or a lack of signage
Technique 4: Active Routes Visualization (ARV) Tool
 
The Active Routes Visualization (ARV) Tool is a flexible, Python-based ArcGIS Pro toolbox that helps communities identify high-potential active transportation routes. The tool uses readily available community data to forecast walking and biking travel demand between homes and key destinations, helping planners and coalitions prioritize infrastructure improvements.
 
The tool generates a planning map highlighting the roadways and routes most likely to support walking and biking between residential areas and everyday destinations. The results may align with existing walking and biking patterns or reveal alternative routes that the community prefers—such as quieter streets that avoid heavy traffic, busy intersections, or high-speed roadways. Both outcomes are valuable, as they provide data-driven insights to help decision-makers select and promote the best active transportation routes.
 
The ARV Tool is designed to spark informed discussions about where to invest time, energy, and funding to improve active travel.
​Technique 5: Road Safety Audits
 
Many state and federal programs require that you evaluate safety data before applying for funding to support a walking and cycling improvement project.
A safety audit answers two questions:
  1. What characteristics of the roadway are causing safety issues for your community?
  2. What are some potential solutions to help address these issues?
 
Safety data should describe vehicle crashes that involve pedestrians, bicyclists, joggers, and other non-motorized vehicles.  Specifically, the data should describe where crashes occurred, who was involved, the severity of the crash, what caused the crash, and the surrounding circumstances.
 
Crash data is often available from state Departments of Transportation (DOTs), as they work with local and state law enforcement agencies to collect detailed records on all crashes that occur in your community. Reach out to the safety-related division in your state DOT to get this information
>> Back to the PARTNER Toolkit Process
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