From the news · Accessibility · June 2026

Residents mapped sidewalks online, and their town won $3 million

Project Sidewalk, built at the University of Washington, lets anyone walk streets virtually in Google Street View and label broken sidewalks, missing curb ramps and faded crosswalks. In Mendota, Illinois, a town with many missing sidewalks and curb ramps, community members mapped the streets this way, and the town went on to win $3 million in grants for accessibility improvements. In Oradell, New Jersey, volunteers mapped nearly 36 miles of sidewalk, logged more than 11,000 possible problems and took the results to the town council to ask for curb ramps where none existed.

Source: Next City, 2026-06-08

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