Project Description:

The goal of this project is to develop data-driven pavement design parameters for optimum walking safety using human-centered biomechanical modeling and analyses. While this work will benefit all stakeholders of walkable communities, it has relevance for older adults with elevated fall risk. In the long term, this work is expected to significantly impact community health by identifying and mitigating aspects of walkable infrastructure associated with elevated slip/fall risk.

US DOT Priorities:

By using human-centered biomechanical modeling and analyses to develop data-driven pavement design parameters for walking safety, this project contributes to environmental preservation by promoting walking as a sustainable mode of transportation, reducing the reliance on carbon-emitting vehicles. Furthermore, it enhances climate stability by ensuring that walkable infrastructure is designed to encourage safe walking, reducing the risk of accidents that could lead to additional transportation-related emissions. Additionally, the project will utilize biomechanical modeling to address the specific safety concerns of older adults, a demographic often at elevated fall risk, which represents a novel and specialized approach. Ultimately, the research aims to significantly impact community health by identifying and mitigating slip/fall risks associated with walkable infrastructure.

Outputs:

The results of this work will include a novel procedure for investigating levels of lower extremity energy absorption, along with lower extremity kinematics and muscle activation, during walking on various paved surfaces. These biomechanical measurements, along with texture measurements from paved surfaces, constitute unique datasets that will be analyzed to determine the relationship between pavement parameters and biomechanical gait performance.

_{Figure 1: Representative plot from preliminary study showing body acceleration and lower extremity muscle activity during gait on a stamped brick surface.}

Outcomes/Impacts:

This work will enable the research team to identify pavement types and pavement parameters associated with optimum biomechanical performance (as defined by energy absorption, lower extremity kinematics, and lower extremity muscle activity). These results are likely to inform policy decisions related to pedestrian safety and walkable communities, particularly those utilized by fall-prone older adults and others with balance- or mobility-related deficiencies. Specifically, installation of safer walking surfaces in these environments is likely to reduce the cost of fall- related injuries.