Abstract Manager

Curbs and sidewalks are essential transportation assets within the public right of way that agencies – especially municipalities – are responsible for managing. Like any asset, if appropriate and timely maintenance and rehabilitation is undertaken, the service life of a curb or sidewalk can be extended, while the life cycle costs and potential risk of injury to users can be reduced. However, due to limited budgets and resources, and competition with other assets, including the roadway network, sidewalks and curbs are often overlooked. They are generally omitted from pavement management analyses and/or sometimes only considered later during project selection and planning. As a pro-active measure to managing their roadway right-of-way assets, the City of Edmonton incorporated their curbs and sidewalk assets into their Pavement Management System (PMS), Highway Pavement Management Application (HPMA). This included an expansion of their inventory database, development of analysis models, and network analyses. Like their roads, a Visual Condition Index (VCI) was used as a performance index for curbs and sidewalks. The inventory and condition data were loaded into the City’s PMS database. Several models, including index prediction models, Maintenance & Rehabilitation (M&R) treatments, and decision trees were developed for both curbs and sidewalks. An integrated M&R analysis was conducted to identify M&R needs for roadways, curbs and sidewalks and generate a 10-year multi-asset M&R program.

The focus of this paper is on how curbs and sidewalks were incorporated into the City’s existing PMS, how the PMS models were developed, and how these right-of-way assets were considered in the overall M&R programming. The methodology presented in this study is a practical example of how agencies can incorporate other assets into their pavement asset management system. Looking at the results from a multi-asset perspective will lead to informed decisions based on sound asset management principles. Ultimately, resulting in curbs and sidewalk assets being maintained in a cost-effective manner at a network level.