Connecting People and Places
A two-day convening focusing on nondrivers’ freedom to move around and how shared stewardship of statewide pedestrian and transit data is a requirement for more just, accessible mobility.
Register here for OpenThePaths 2026
Conference Summary
OpenThePaths 2026 brings together community advocates, agencies, DOTs, and transit providers to learn how to use and maintain OS-CONNECT and allied statewide data. Over two days, participants explore real workflows for ADA compliance, Vision Zero, Safe Routes to School, and accessibility scoring that can be done in minutes, not months. Day 1 is organized as a user convening with shared morning sessions and parallel afternoon tracks; Day 2 focuses on power, policy translation, sustainability, and role-based collaboration.
Goals of the Conference
- Help agencies, transit providers, and community partners understand how to use OS-CONNECT and related statewide datasets in concrete workflows (ADA, Vision Zero, Safe Routes To Schools, accessibility scoring, walksheds, and planning where to live).
- Show how different stewards – DOTs, local jurisdictions, transit operators, contractors, and community organizations – can maintain and contribute data in a decentralized, sustainable way.
- Co-design governance models, responsibilities, and triggers for multi-steward guardianship of pedestrian and access networks.
- Support regional partnerships in developing SCLIO-ready projects that advance mobility justice and freedom of movement across Washington and beyond.
Quick Info and Registration
Agenda & Schedule
Overview tables list: time, location, title, speakers, brief description. Full details appear below in Full Session Descriptions.
| Time | Location | Title | Speakers | Brief Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00–9:30 | Zillow Commons | Arriving Together: Becoming a User Community (and What We Have) | Anat Caspi; TCAT leadership; TDEI leads | Welcome, logistics, and a baseline overview of OS-CONNECT coverage, tools, and how participants will use the day. |
| 9:30–10:15 | Zillow | Why Access Fails When Data Is Missing | Amos Miller (Glideance) | User-grounded keynote connecting pedestrian data quality to real mobility outcomes for assistive navigation users. |
| 10:15–10:30 | Zillow | Break | — | – |
| 10:30–11:30 | Zillow | How Sidewalks Data is Currently Created and Used | ODOT; National TCRP report & King County Metro; Theresa Conley (ODOT, remote); Andrew Dannenberg (UW); Jacob Armstrong (King County Metro); | How pedestrian data is made, stored and used. Speakers will share statewide collection efforts & use in Washington, Oregon and a national TCRP report. |
| 11:30–12:00 | Zillow | Decision Support In Action | Jeff Maki (Public Works Office); Sam Yasen (Walksheds) | Step-by-step demonstrations: explore, download, and visualize infrastructure gaps, identify projects, and project outcomes. |
| 12:00–1:15 | Zillow Commons | Lunch + Conversations That Matter | All attendees | Informal networking with optional table prompts. |
| Day 1 Afternoon – Parallel Tracks | ||||
| 1:15–2:15 | Zillow | Working the Data: Practical Patterns for Developers | Thomas Craig (WSDOT); Kurt Winner; Anson Stewart (Conveyal) | Hands-on discussion on toolchains, integration patterns, constraints, and end uses for sidewalk/access data. |
| 1:15–2:15 | Bezos Seminar | Making Access Visible: Frontend Tools in Action | Cy Rossignol | Hands-on lab producing maps, walksheds, and short summaries for planning and grants. |
| 2:15–3:15 | Zillow | Traveler-Facing Workflows: AccessMap + End-to-End Use in Practice | Wisam Yasen; Kunal Mehta | Traveler-facing demos showing how issues surface during navigation and how the fix/feedback loop works end-to-end. |
| 2:15–3:15 | Bezos Seminar | When Systems Don’t Talk: Coordination in Practice | Laura Loe (Hopelink) + discussion | Moderated conversation on coordination breakdowns and triggers, grounded in Find A Ride experience. |
| 3:15–3:30 | Zillow | Reset + Cross-Pollinate | — | Short break and cross-role mixing to seed proposal and coordination conversations. |
| 3:30–4:30 | Everyone back in Zillow | Both Tracks: From Learning to Doing- Our Next 12 Months | Table Facilitators- proposal and coordination | Roadmap clinic translating learning into concrete next steps, commitments, and SCLIO interest. |
| 4:30–5:00 | Zillow | Summary, Share-out, Close | Facilitator | Structured share-out: key takeaways, top needs, and next steps; how to stay engaged. |
| Time | Location | Title | Speakers | Brief Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:50–9:05 | Zillow Commons | From Data Use to System Change | Conference chair | Brief recap of Day 1 and framing for Day 2: power, policy translation, and stewardship as system change. |
| 9:05–9:45 | Zillow Commons | Crunching Data, Hiding Power | Benjie De La Peña | Keynote on power, trust, lived experience, and limits of “open” data; what accountability requires. |
| 9:45–10:30 | Zillow Commons | How Access Becomes Policy | Claudia Balducci; Greg Nance; Alexis Mercedes Rinck | Policy discussion translating values, evidence, and lived experience into public decision-making constraints and timing. |
| 10:30–10:45 | Zillow | Break | — | – |
| 10:45–11:30 | Zillow | Spotlight: Scale, Speed, and Sustainability | Paulo Nunes-Ueno; Kirk Hovenkotter | Discussion on sustainability through adoption, coordination, and use: what makes it durable and what breaks. |
| 11:30–12:00 | Zillow | When the Trip Breaks | Anat Caspi; Cy Rossignol; Kunal Mehta | Demo showing how errors surface, how validation happens, and what correction loops look like in practice. |
| 12:00–1:30 | Zillow Commons | LUNCH + Walkabouts and Office Hours | AccessMap + AVIV Scout Route live demos | Guided walkabouts + office hours to connect data to real places and surface concrete error modes and priorities. |
| 1:30–2:30 | Zillow Commons | From Insight to Agency: How Nondrivers Move Policy | Anna Zivarts | Talk + facilitated discussion preparing for affinity groups; makes the “how change happens” pathway explicit. |
| 2:30–4:00 | Multiple rooms | Affinity Groups (parallel) | See Affinity Groups section | Working sessions to define workflows, coordination asks, and next actions. Zoom attendees will be included in the OS-CONNECT sidewalks data discussion happening in Zillow Commons. |
Full Session Descriptions
Day 1 – Thursday, February 26
Arriving Together: Becoming a User Community (and What We Have) (9:00–9:30)
Description
Welcome, logistics, and a baseline overview of OS-CONNECT coverage and what exists today in the surrounding tool ecosystem. The goal is to align the room on what people can do immediately and how the day will work.
Session purpose
Establish a shared identity as users of access data and a common language for Day 1. Set the expectation that use drives value and durability.
Why Access Fails When Data Is Missing (Keynote) (9:30–10:15)
Description
A user-grounded keynote showing how pedestrian data quality directly shapes real mobility outcomes for people who depend on assistive navigation.
Session purpose
Anchor the conference in lived experience and establish why pedestrian data is a prerequisite for freedom of movement. Demonstrate why ongoing use, care, and maintenance of data are ethically and practically necessary.
How People Are Using This Today (User Stories + Demo) (10:30–11:30)
Description
Demonstrations and short stories of real workflows enabled by the data. Each story is structured as: problem → what they did → what changed → what they need next. Includes a remote segment by Theresa Conley via Zoom.
Session purpose
Show that this is already working in practice through concrete, replicable examples. Model what “good use” looks like and what it demands from data quality and maintenance.
Decision Support In Action (Scenario Clinic) (11:30–12:00)
Description
Three hands-on demonstrations. Bring your Laptop! You will explore the data viewer, how to download and how to quickly move from viewing to discovery to action!
Session purpose
Convert “user stories” into repeatable methods that participants can replicate. Make “use” operational by teaching a minimal workflows that reveal gaps and produces decision-ready outputs.
Lunch + Conversations That Matter (12:00–1:15)
Description
Break and informal networking with optional table prompts/breakouts.
Session purpose
Strengthen cross-role relationships that enable coordination and stewardship later.
Day 1 Afternoon – Track A (Technical)
Working the Data: Practical Patterns for Developers (1:15–2:15)
Description
Hands-on discussion of how developers interact with sidewalk data, toolchains, and end uses, including integration patterns and constraints.
Session purpose
Build practical capacity for technical adoption and integration, clarifying what must stay stable for trust and operational use.
Traveler-Facing Workflows: AccessMap + End-to-End Use in Practice (2:15–3:15)
Description
Demonstrations and short stories of traveler-facing workflows enabled by the data, including in AccessMap. Shows how issues surface during navigation and what the fix/feedback loop looks like.
Session purpose
Reinforce that the ecosystem works for navigation and trip-making, not just analysis. Clarify what must stay stable (graph continuity, attributes, update pathways) for trust.
Day 1 Afternoon – Track B (Governance + Frontend Use)
Making Access Visible: Frontend Tools in Action (1:15–2:15)
Description
Hands-on lab producing maps, walksheds, and short summaries for planning and grants.
Session purpose
Lower the barrier to meaningful use by translating data into legible artifacts that support adoption and decision-making.
When Systems Don’t Talk: Coordination in Practice (2:15–3:15)
Description
Moderated conversation on coordination breakdowns and triggers, grounded in Find A Ride experience. Focuses on concrete trigger examples and what data outputs are needed to coordinate.
Session purpose
Make coordination failures concrete and define triggers, escalation paths, and timing needs where shared data reduces friction.
From Learning to Doing: Your Next 12 Months (Roadmap Clinic) (3:30–4:30)
Description
Translate learning into concrete next steps and SCLIO interest. Capture commitments, support needs, and coordination moments.
Session purpose
Close Day 1 with intent: convert use into durable participation through clear next actions and shared operating language.
Summary, Share-out, Close (4:30–5:00)
Description
Structured share-out: key takeaways, top needs, and next steps; reinforce how to stay engaged.
Session purpose
Land the Day 1 narrative: “we are a user community and we know what to do next.”
Day 2 – Friday, February 27
From Data Use to System Change (8:50–9:05)
Description
Brief recap of Day 1 and framing for Day 2 focus on power, policy translation, and stewardship as system change.
Session purpose
Shift the room from individual “use” to system-level governance: what must be protected, funded, and maintained for durable public value.
Crunching Data, Hiding Power (Keynote) (9:05–9:45)
Description
Keynote on power, trust, lived experience, and limits of “open” data; how narratives can obscure control, and what accountability requires.
Session purpose
Establish the moral and political north star for the day and frame stewardship as enabling freedom, not extra work.
How Access Becomes Policy (Policy Plenary) (9:45–10:30)
Description
Policy discussion translating values, evidence, and lived experience into public decision-making constraints, timing, and accountability.
Session purpose
Convert keynote framing into actionable governance realities and clarify what decision-ready evidence and operating models policymakers need.
Spotlight: Scale, Speed, and Sustainability (10:45–11:30)
Description
Discussion on sustainability through adoption, coordination, and use: what makes systems durable and what breaks.
Session purpose
Bridge from policy to “how we keep this alive,” describing an adoption-driven path to durability and shared responsibility.
When the Trip Breaks (11:30–12:00)
Description
Demo of AccessMap, AVIV ScoutRoute, and related workflows showing how errors surface, how validation happens, and what correction loops look like.
Session purpose
Make stewardship tangible: what must be maintained, how feedback becomes improved service, and what “operational” implies.
Walking the Network (Lunch, Walkabouts, and Office Hours) (12:00–1:30)
Description
Guided walkabouts and office hours to connect data to real places and surface concrete error modes and priorities.
Session purpose
Ground stewardship in lived space: make gaps visible and produce a shared sense of what fixes buy you.
From Insight to Agency: How Nondrivers Move Policy (1:30–2:30)
Description
Talk + facilitated discussion preparing participants for affinity groups; makes the “how change happens” pathway explicit.
Session purpose
Convert understanding into agency by identifying coordination moments and the outputs needed to move decisions.
Affinity Groups
Affinity groups are role-based working sessions that focus on concrete outputs: workflow sketches, coordination asks, and next actions. These sessions are listed here exactly as scheduled (times and rooms), with brief purpose statements.
Data-informed strategies with OS-CONNECT (2:30–4:00) — Zillow Commons
Purpose
Map reporting and validation workflows: define intake, escalation, accountability paths, and tooling requirements as a lightweight operating model.
NonDriver Alliance Affinity Group (3:00–4:00) — Gauthier Seminar (Gates 387, cap 26)
Purpose
Role/identity-based working session to define nondriver priorities, coordination needs, and evidence requirements for the next 12 months.
EMPOWER MOVEMENT Affinity Group (3:00–4:00) — Bezos Seminar (Gates G04, cap 46 + instructor), OWL
Purpose
Working session for EMPOWER movement alignment, concrete outputs, and commitments, with a focus on workflows, partner roles, and success measures.
Regional Transit Accessibility Affinity Group (2:30–4:00) — Allen Center 203 Conference Room (cap 21), OWL
Purpose
Transit accessibility priorities, data requirements, and coordination patterns; outputs should include “what to measure” and “how often.”
Find A Ride Technical and Community Advisory Group (2:30–4:00) — Voyager Room (Allen Center 503, cap 15), OWL
Purpose
Coordination breakdowns, triggers, and advisory needs grounded in Find A Ride experience; keep trigger examples specific and tied to outputs.
Funding the Transformation: Coalition Alignment and Sustainability Affinity Group (2:30–4:00) — Madrona Seminar (Gates 371, cap 42 + instructor)
Purpose
Coalition-building session to align on a sustainability story, an operating model, and next steps framed as public value.
Speakers (Headshots & Bios)
Headshots and bios will be added soon. This section is included so it can be linked from navigation.
Venue & Accessibility
Venue:
Bill & Melinda Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering, Zillow Commons (4th floor)
University of Washington, 3800 E Stevens Way NE, Seattle, WA 98195
Getting there:
The venue is served by multiple bus and light rail connections. We encourage attendees to use public and active transportation where possible.
An AccessMap view of the area and detailed last-mile guidance will be provided closer to the event.
Accessibility:
The building is wheelchair accessible, with elevators serving all floors. We aim to provide captioning for all plenaries and hybrid sessions.
Please indicate any specific access needs on the registration form so we can plan appropriately.
Parking:
Accessible and general parking information, including campus permit requirements and PayByPhone options, will be linked from the main conference page once finalized.
Food & Remote Participation
Food & refreshments:
Catering will include vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free options where possible. Menu and food details will be posted here:
Food & catering details for in-person attendees.
Remote participation:
Select plenaries and sessions will be available to remote attendees via Zoom. Access information will be shared with registered participants:
Zoom / virtual participation link.
Values Statement
- Mobility justice: We see freedom of movement as a fundamental right, and we center disabled, low-income, rural, and historically excluded communities in our design and governance decisions.
- Shared stewardship: No single institution owns this work. Jurisdictions, DOTs, transit agencies, contractors, researchers, and community organizations are all stewards of the data and its impacts.
- Transparency and accountability: We commit to clear data practices, accessible explanations, and governance structures that can be understood and shaped by the people they affect.
- Learning by doing: This convening prioritizes live examples, hands-on clinics, and collaborative working sessions so participants leave with skills, relationships, and concrete next steps.
- Care and inclusion: We strive to make OpenThePaths a welcoming space where participants can show up as themselves, ask hard questions, and build trusted relationships across roles and regions.