South Burlington using sidewalk data to implement fixes

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – South Burlington officials say a new method to evaluate the condition of the city sidewalks is yielding results.

The city last year partnered with the company StreetScan to collect high-resolution video and images to identify sidewalk cracks, tripping hazards, and other surface distortions.

Now armed with several months of data, officials say results were better than expected and will be used to develop a maintenance plan and determine costs to taxpayers.

“This will help us so that we’re not always doing what’s called ‘the worst, first.’ If we know that, it might be more effective to get ahead of some problems we see coming, instead of always reacting to the very worst,” said the city’s Erica Quallen.

She says they hope to have that plan ready for summer as part of an effort to make sidewalks more accessible to pedestrians and cyclists.