Mappy New Year 2026 - Event Summary⚓︎

Overview⚓︎

On January 19^th, 2026, the Taskar Center for Accessible Technology (TCAT) hosted Mappy New Year 2026, a virtual mapathon focused on improving pedestrian infrastructure data in Tacoma, WA. The event brought together mappers of all skill levels to contribute to the OpenStreetMap project through the OSM US Tasking Manager.

Participation⚓︎

• 8 external participants joined TCAT staff for the event
• Mappers contributed to Project #1017 - Tacoma, WA, US: Pedestrian Infrastructure
• Event duration: 9:00 AM PT - 1:00 PM PT

By the Numbers⚓︎

During the event, participants successfully mapped pedestrian infrastructure across Tacoma:

• Number of changes: 1,961 map edits across 31 changesets
• Footways mapped: 18 miles total length
• Crossings mapped: 253 crossing edges
• Curbs mapped: 380 curb points

Impact⚓︎

The pedestrian infrastructure data collected during this mapathon directly supports:

• Improved routing for wheelchair users and others with mobility needs through AccessMap
• Enhanced pedestrian navigation across Tacoma
• A more complete and accessible OpenStreetMap dataset for the Pacific Northwest

Resources⚓︎

Participants used the following guides during the event:

• Mapping Guide - Tagging schema and mapping instructions
• Validation Guide - Task validation procedures

Acknowledgments⚓︎

Thank you to all participants who contributed their time and expertise to make pedestrian infrastructure data more accessible and complete. Your contributions have a lasting impact on accessibility for the Tacoma community!