Assessing the Walkability of the Workplace: A New Audit Tool

Abstract

Purpose.

Walking can be incorporated into most people's daily routines if the process is made convenient by a well-designed built environment. Walkability rarely is assessed in the workplace, where adults spend much of their time.

Methods.

From existing tools, we developed an instrument to audit walkability at a single government agency's facilities, which were located in multiple states. We used a five-point scale to evaluate nine elements of walkability: pedestrian facilities, pedestrian-vehicle conflicts, crosswalks, route maintenance, walkway width, roadway buffer, universal accessibility, aesthetics, and shade. Weighted scores ranged from 20 to 39 (poor), to 40 to 69 (fair), to 70 to 100 (good).

Results.

Of 79 walking route segments surveyed on 10 agency campuses, 34% were rated poor, 32% fair, and 34% good. Repeat assessment of 20 walking route segments by three independent observers yielded similar scores.

Conclusion.

Facility planners may find this walkability instrument useful in identifying and eliminating barriers to convenient walking opportunities in workplaces such as office parks and university campuses.