Sidewaze is an app designed to explore the feasibility of crowdsourced sidewalk condition data within the Region of Waterloo, Canada. Its design was informed by user research with primary sidewalk users, including parents with small children, wheelchair users, and those with mobility concerns. Competitive research showed several solutions in the space, but few which aimed to leverage crowdsourcing and none which attempted to capture the impact of poor sidewalk conditions at a personal level. Design and subsequent usability testing of a smartphone prototype application was conducted and it was shown to be quite effective on an individual level. Several key shortcomings were identified, however, with the most obvious being its inability to enter high volumes of condition data quickly.

As more municipalities revisit active transportation, especially the role of sidewalks as the backbone of such a policy, recognizing and measuring the impact of poor sidewalk conditions is critical.