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 shared afternoon sessions; Day 2 focuses on power, policy translation, sustainability, and role-based collaboration.
In-person attendees are encouraged to stay for a reception following the affinity group discussions on Friday afternoon.
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
[last resort: use UW NetID event0384 86cL_64zR_39tV]
Agenda & Schedule
These overview tables contain time, location, title, speakers, brief description. Full details appear below in Full Session Descriptions.
| Time | Location | Title | Speakers | Brief Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:55–9:30 | Zillow Commons | Arriving Together: A Community Advocating for Reach and Access | Anat Caspi (TCAT) | Welcome, logistics, and framing Day 1 as a user convening. High-level overview of current WA statewide dataset coverage and tool ecosystem. |
| 9:30–10:15 | Zillow Commons | Beyond the Road: Building Spatial Intelligence for Human Spaces | Amos Miller (Glidance) | User-grounded keynote connecting pedestrian data quality to real mobility outcomes for assistive navigation users. |
| 10:15–10:30 | Zillow Foyer | Break | — | Networking and transition. |
| 10:30–11:30 | Zillow Commons | How People Are Using This Today (User Stories + Demo) | Theresa Conley (ODOT, remote); Andrew Dannenberg (UW); Jacob Armstrong (King County Metro) | Short, structured user stories + demo: problem → what they did → what changed → what they need next. Includes remote segment via Zoom. |
| 11:30–12:00 | Zillow Commons | Decision Support In Action | Jeff Maki (Public Works Office); Sam Yasen (TCAT) | Step-by-step demos: explore what exists, download what you need, and turn it into a decision-ready output; plus a scenario view in Walksheds. |
| 12:00–1:15 | Zillow Commons | Lunch + Engagement Activities | All attendees | Informal networking with optional table prompts. |
| 1:15–2:15 | Zillow Commons | Bringing Sidewalk Data into a Washington Statewide Access to Destinations Analysis | Thomas Craig (WSDOT); Kurt Winner (WSDOT); Anson Stewart (Conveyal) | Workflow to bring the statewide sidewalk dataset into a statewide access-to-destinations analysis, including OSMIX integration patterns. |
| 2:15–3:15 | Zillow Commons | Build Antifragile Systems: The joy and pain of wrangling Open Data sources | Laura Loe (Hopelink) + Juniper Campbell (Arcadis) | Moderated conversation on coordination breakdowns and triggers, grounded in Find A Ride experience. |
| 3:15–3:30 | Zillow Foyer | Reset + Cross-Pollinate | — | Short break and cross-role mixing to seed proposal and coordination conversations. |
| 3:30–4:15 | Zillow Commons | Making Access Visible: Frontend Tools in Action | Cy Rossignol (TCAT) + Jeff Maki (TCAT) | Hands-on lab producing maps, walksheds, and short summaries for planning and grants. |
| 4:15–5:00 | Zillow Commons | Traveler-Facing Workflows: AccessMap + End-to-End Use in Practice | Kunal Mehta; Sam Yasen; Anat Caspi (TCAT) | Traveler-facing workflows enabled by the data: how issues surface during navigation and what the fix/feedback loop looks like end-to-end. |
| 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 Foyer | Break | — | Transition and reset. |
| 10:45–11:30 | Zillow Commons | 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 Commons | Take a Trip, Fix the Record | Anat Caspi; Cy Rossignol; Kunal Mehta (TCAT) | Demo showing how errors surface, how validation happens, and what correction loops look like in practice. |
| 12:00–1:30 | Zillow Foyer + Walkabouts (campus) | Walking the Network (Lunch++ Walkabouts + Office Hours) | Walkabout leads; TCAT team; Office hours: Amy | 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. |
| 4:00–5:00 | Zillow Foyer | Reception | Dry reception for in-person attendees | Continue conversations and meet collaborators across roles. |
Full Session Descriptions
Day 1 – Thursday, February 26
Arriving Together: A Community Advocating for Reach and Access (8:55–9:30)
Description
Welcome, logistics, and framing Day 1 as a user convening. High-level overview of current WA statewide dataset coverage, what tools exist now, and how participants might best enjoy the day.
Session purpose
Establish shared identity as users of access data; set the tone and common language for Day 1. Set expectation that use drives value and durability; position “user adoption” as the core storyline of Day 1.
Beyond the Road: Building Spatial Intelligence for Human Spaces (Keynote) (9:30–10:15)
Description
We imagine a future in which all people of all abilities are able to get out of their homes independently, with ease and without hesitation, and believe that advancements in technology with robotics, AI and bioengineering is poised to unlock that future. This talk will explore what that future means through the lens of our work at Glidance to bring about a new era of mobility for people who are blind, and how a reliable, consistent and evergreen data layer is at the heart of that future.
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 stories of real workflows enabled by the data. Each presentation is structured as: problem → what they did → what changed → what they need next. Includes a remote segment by Theresa Conley via Zoom.
Session purpose
Sidewalks data is already working in practice for some. Through concrete, replicable examples. Model what “good use” looks like and what it demands from data quality and maintenance.
Decision Support In Action (11:30–12:00)
Description
Step-by-step demonstrations: explore what exists, download what you need, and turn it into a decision-ready output; plus a scenario view in Walksheds.
Session purpose
Convert morning “user stories” into a repeatable, stepwise method participants can replicate after the conference. Make “use” operational: teach a minimal workflow that generates demand signals, reveals gaps, and produces outputs that justify maintenance and updates.
Lunch + Engagement Activities (12:00–1:15)
Description
Break and engagement activities in the Zillow Foyer.
Session purpose
Strengthen cross-role relationships that enable coordination and stewardship later.
Bringing Sidewalk Data into a Washington Statewide Access to Destinations Analysis (1:15–2:15)
Description
Representatives from WSDOT and Conveyal will share the workflow to bring the statewide sidewalk dataset into a statewide access to destination analysis. We will step through the process of gathering, processing, integrating, and uploading sidewalk data, highlighting open-source tools that we’ve leveraged to work with the dataset. Then, we will highlight the partnership between Conveyal and WSDOT, including the development of OSMIX, an open-source OSM network integration tool used to bring OSW and OSM datasets into one routable network.
Session purpose
Build practical capacity for technical adoption and integration, clarifying constraints, tradeoffs, and what “minimum viable quality” means for operational use.
Build Antifragile Systems: The joy and pain of wrangling Open Data sources (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
Show limits of siloed systems; make coordination failures concrete. Reveal coordination value of shared data; define triggers and what data outputs are needed.
Making Access Visible: Frontend Tools in Action (3:30–4:15)
Description
Hands-on lab producing maps, walksheds, and short summaries for planning and grants.
Session purpose
Lower barrier to participation; translate data into legible artifacts. Enable meaningful use without backend expertise; create outputs that sustain adoption.
Traveler-Facing Workflows: AccessMap + End-to-End Use in Practice (4:15–5:00)
Description
Demonstrations and short stories of real traveler-facing workflows enabled by the data, including in AccessMap, showing 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 traveler trust.
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 into “how we keep this alive,” describing an adoption-driven path to durability and shared responsibility.
Take a Trip, Fix the Record (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 + 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 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) — Bezos Seminar (Ground floor)
Purpose
Roadmap Clinic: How do we engage in accessibility data sustainably? I want to use OS-CONNECT, what’s next? Translate learning into concrete next steps, data-informed active transportation and SCLIO interest; find collaborators, identify commitments, “choose your sidewalks adventure” for durable use.
Funding the NonDriver Transformation: Coalition Alignment and Sustainability Affinity Group (2:30–4:00) — Zillow Commons
Purpose
Coalition-building session to align on a sustainability story, an operating model, and next steps framed as public value.
Speakers
Venue & Accessibility
Venue:
Bill & Melinda Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering, Zillow Commons (4th floor) (link for accessibility information)
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.