The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is emphasizing low-cost visualization tools to help the public gain an understanding of transportation-related issues, reports Directions Magazine.
The FHWA hosted a Web conference last month titled “Low-cost Internet-based Geospatial Technologies for Transportation.” About 150 people attended. “The general public is becoming more aware of these tools and we think they’re going to expect us to be able to use them as visualization tools,” said conference organizers
The use of Google Earth and Microsoft’s Virtual Earth, as well as ESRI’s ArcGIS Explorer (right), NASA World Wind and Terra Explorer from Skyline Software were shown. They stressed that these tools do not replace GIS tools used for transportation-related analysis tasks, but serve as complements to them.
Craig Casper with the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments (PPACG), which serves 15 local and county government agencies in the greater Colorado Springs, Colorado area, discussed how his agency combined GIS and other data into a format viewable by the public.
Systems integrator CH2M HILL helped the PPACG convert that organization’s transportation-related data to KML (Keyhole Markup Language) files, the format used by Google Earth. The Citizen Advisory Committee provided overwhelmingly positive reaction, he reported.
Gary Macklis of the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) discussed the agency’s use of Google Earth to distribute data about fatal accidents to the public. Last May, for Memorial Day, the map mashup of fatalities was the 15th most visited page on the site.
Trains on Pennsylvania’s new “Train View” program (above), are available on a computer, cell phone and PDA.
Traffic congestion maps produce a graphical, realtime or near-realtime representation of traffic flow. Data is typically collected via loop sensors embedded in the roadways, then processed by computer at a central facility and distributed as a map view to users. Athens, Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles have them as do dozens of other cities. Yahoo! Maps is now offering alternative routes to Bay Area drivers, which are expected to be in effect for several months until repairs are completed.
Traffic maps on cell phones are available through Yahoo! Traffic Maps, Google Mobile Maps and Windows Live. Most Java-enabled cellphones use 3rd party software such as Mobile GMaps (right).
Web sites like FboWeb (above) and FlightAware allow you track a flight.
Zillow maps real estate sales. Housing Maps shows housing posted on Craig’s List. But how about local events?
The OpenStreetMap Project allows you to view, edit and use geographical data in a collaborative way from anywhere on Earth. WikiMapia is aimed at “describing the whole planet earth”, combining Google Maps and a “wiki” system. Placeopedia is an online gazetteer which integrates Google Maps with Wikipedia encyclopedia articles. Platial makes it easy for anyone to make map mashups.
CyberJournalist compiles Cool News Maps like the Cheap Gas Map. Other interesting GIS sites include James Fee’s GIS Blog, The Map Room, Google Earth Blog, Virtual Earth Blog, Google Map Mashups, Visual Complexity and Mapping Webware.
Related DailyWireless mapping articles include; Navizon on Blackberry: GPS Not Required, Virtual Earth Adds Cities, Land Warrior Retires, HumaniNet’s Maps 2.0, 3-D Traffic/Weather Maps, Mapping Goes Live, Nokia & Sony: Free WiFi for Webtablets, News Maps and Google Apps on LG Phones.
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