The Village of Oak Brook contains a number paths and trails including multi-use paths in Fullersburg Woods. The paths run through Central Park and many of the residential subdivisions. They provide residents and visitors the opportunity to stay fit and explore the village. In order to assist residents and visitors the Village hired an outside vendor to create a bike path map showing the location of the various paths throughout the village as well as important places of interest such as the Drake Hotel and Historic Graue Mill.
While this map was useful for a general overview of the bike paths across the village did not include detailed information such as ownership and bridge locations. In order to create a more detailed and accurate map, the GIS department was contacted to revise and update the bike path map.
The new bike path map included additional bike paths that had been added since the publication of the old map. Since the old map had not been updated since 2005, some bike paths were missing and some places of interest were added and removed. Bridge locations were also added to inform the public of crossings.
In order to improve the maintenance of the bike paths, the paths were broken into categories based on ownership/maintenance. All village owned paths on the street were color coded as blue, park district paths were color coded as purple, all other village owned properties were color coded as red and all other paths including forest preserve paths were color coded as orange. These categories allow village staff to quickly identify who was responsible for each path in order to quickly make repairs should they arise. The on road and off road classifications also proved to be a useful resource for the public as they could easily identify the surface type of the paths.
Garbage collection is an essential service provided by municipal government that, in many communities, has become ingrained in the weekly routine of community residents. While collecting garbage seems like a straight forward process, often there are weeks or months of planning that are necessary to determine pickup locations for a given route that are efficient in both time and resources. Recently, the Village of Winnetka Public Works department decided to reallocate their garbage collection pickup locations to help maximize the efficiency of each truck driver’s route. To assist with this, the Village GIS department provided support during both the planning and implementation stages of the project.
The first step in developing new garbage collection zones was to determine how the current pickup locations related to each other spatially within the Village. Prior to integrating GIS into this project, the Village used a series of address lists to determine the truck driver’s routes. These lists often had overlapping address ranges, which could lead to confusion for new or replacement drivers. This also did not provide an option for the drivers to see how the addresses were distributed in relation to each other, which could often lead to them taking an inefficient route to pickup each address. Using these address lists, the GIS department mapped out each collection area and provided a map to the Public Works department for review. The map showed the department how the driver’s routes were distributed across the Village, which allowed them to notice several inefficiencies that were not obvious using the address lists alone. Utilizing the maps, the department was able to successfully reallocate the pickup locations within the collection areas to improve both driver time and resource efficiency.
To help implement the new routes, the GIS department developed a series of smaller maps that are used in the garbage trucks to assist the driver’s in learning the new pickup locations. The maps not only help the drivers to see where new pickup locations are in each collection area, but they also allow for the drivers to see the street layout within the collection area to help determine the best possible pickup route. By combining the reallocated collection locations determined by the department office staff with the ability to see the Village streets in the surrounding area, the maps provide a powerful tool for drivers to use in determining the best collection route.
By using GIS as a tool for visualizing its garbage pickup locations, the Village has been able to improve the efficiency of the driver’s routes while not reducing the level of service provided to its residents. While the address lists used previously can still be referenced for individual pickup locations, the maps act as a supplemental, quick reference tool to see how these locations are distributed spatially across the Village.
The Village of Wheeling is responsible for the landscaping and upkeep for various public areas throughout the village limits. There are roughly 160 different areas ranging from village owned property such as village hall, to areas along streets such as right-of-ways and cul-de-sacs. Each year the village bids out the job and provides a large map for reference. This map contains numbers that represent locations detailed in an accompanying document. The document provides basic location information, a description, and the type of services needed in that area i.e. mowing or landscaping. The village asked the GIS department to simplify the process and provide an updated product to be given to any company bidding on the project.
For this particular project, a map book was created to provide the best combination of location and attribute information. Each map page corresponds to a section of the village that needs to be maintained referenced in the document that is given out. Every page contains an aerial image with the specific area outlined as well as a smaller map to show where the specific area is in relation to the rest of the village. The pages also contain the attribute information for each location such as the class, location ID, address or relative location, and a brief description. The pages are provided in standard PDF format for ease of use.
By converting the project from a large map and an accompanying document to a map book, the entire process has been simplified. The workers in the field no longer have to cross-reference a document to a large map to determine what needs to be done in a specific location, all the information is provided directly on the map book page. Because the maps are standard letter size, they can be easily transported in a binder or reprinted if there is a change or a page is lost. By using GIS, the village is able to provide more accurate and legible information to any company that provides landscaping and mowing services for all village owned properties.
Emergencies happen when we least expect them which is why it is so important to be prepared. Situations arise in communities that, with the right preparations, can be easily contained and remedied. The Village of Skokie has a Geographic Information System (GIS) that incorporates mapping and analysis to better understand and prepare for emergencies.
Working with the Village’s Fire Chief, who heads the emergency management team, the GIS Specialist was able to create zones for damage assessments to be used in the field after a disaster takes place. This product was initially used during a training exercise in which a simulated tornado made its way through the village. Search grids help the field crew by limiting and defining their area to search. A map of the specific grid is given to the field worker who then searches and documents locations of damage and other obstructions. The final damage assessment is sent back to the emergency operations center to be reviewed.
GIS has given the emergency management team another angle in preparing for emergencies. Mapping software has been installed on laptops for mobile use and large poster size maps were printed for visual aides. Preparation is crucial to sustaining and overcoming any emergency and GIS provides an extra tool to help that process.
The Village of Riverside Finance Department recently took advantage of GIS (Geographic Information System) in an effort to assess were village stickers had not been purchased nor renewed. Village stickers are required for all vehicles that are registered to a Riverside address and a new sticker is required every year. Sticker fees range from $65 to $95 depending on the type of vehicle.
Initially a review of purchases in the previous year was performed in the Finance office to identify businesses that did not renew their stickers. Next GIS was utilized to compare all residential addresses against those that did purchase a 2009 sticker. This allowed for creation of a map of addresses where stickers were not purchased as well as a spreadsheet of those locations from which a mailing could be sent to remind those individuals and potentially to focus ticketing efforts at those locations. Significant penalties are enforced upon individuals who do not purchase a sticker after which they may purchase a current year sticker. The village web page concerning village stickers is available here or under the ‘For Residents’ tab on the www.riverside.il.us home page.
Considering penalty fees and potential new applicants a modest estimate of generated revenue to the village resulting from these efforts would be thousands of dollars. This use of GIS is a prime example of the decision support capabilities of the technology as it directs the efforts and attention of this village program.
Public Safety plays a crucial role in the day to day activities of Village of Lincolnshire. The Village of Lincolnshire Police Department believes that their daily activities help support a safe and vibrant community. A crucial operational aspect of the Police Department is conducted 24 hours, 7 days a week, all year long is Dispatch. The Dispatch Department and the highly trained officers are responsible for receiving and dispatching appropriate resources for all emergency and non emergency activities in the Village. The major focus of their operation is to respond to all calls placed to 911, dispatch resources, and relay information to officers in the field. Mapping is a major factor in this operation from locating the call in dispatch and to reporting location information to the officers in the field. Without highly accurate, detailed, and up to date mapping data would create a major challenge in the emergency response cycle.
The Dispatch Department uses a very advanced Computer Aided Dispatch System or (CAD). This system handles all aspects of emergency dispatch from the initial call to proper resource dispatch. The system also performs very important incident reporting activities which the Police Department uses to review and analyze their activities. The common component in all of these functions is location and mapping.
The Village of Lincolnshire GIS department works both with the Police Department and their CAD vendor to load and update all mapping the data needed to support the system. This includes providing highly accurate mapping data developed by the Village of Lincolnshire to the CAD vendor for loading into their system. The provided mapping data includes extremely accurate street centerline files, address point locations, all district and beat layers, common places layer, and highly detailed aerial imagery. This mapping data is also maintained by the Village of Lincolnshire and is updated by the GIS Department reducing the overall cost of not relying on a third party vendor and lesser quality of data. This also ensures the mapping layers are as current as possible and makes it possible to update and refresh changes when needed with minimal effort.
In summary, every phone call to dispatch uses some form of the provided data to record and assist Dispatch and Officers with the most up to date and current information. The data is also indirectly consumed by the public in large including Village residents because they benefit in a highly efficient and accurate system when consuming E911 services.
Understanding the trends of what is happening in the housing market is difficult to do especially if you are not in the realty business. Houses may be sold, rented or even more dramatic, torn down in order to build a new one. In this article we will focus on two parts of the housing market that at times can have a significant impact on a local community, housing demolitions and property foreclosures.
Unless you are out driving the streets everyday it may be tough to locate all of the homes in a community that have been torn down or are vacant due to foreclosures. At the Village of Morton Grove, like many other community governments, they have had a permitting application in place for many years in order to help them keep track of important construction operations that require permits. On top of this software, the village has also invested in a service to retrieve property foreclosure information from the internet. But how do you analyze all of these records spatially in order to know if there are any trends in housing within your community borders? For this difficulty alone, it makes analysis a tough thing to do unless you have a visual component such as an accurate map.
This is where the Geographic Information System (GIS) Department was able to lend a helping hand. The ability to retrieve records from the permitting application in the form of an address and knowing what type of permit was issued (i.e. single family demolition) was a strong step in the right direction. By having a simple common denominator in the form of an address allowed the two departments to work with each other and better yet, allowed these addresses to be displayed spatially on a map. By using a tool called geocoding, the GIS was able to search a address data file and locate where an address falls on a particular parcel. Moreover, this same geocoding process was followed for property foreclosure information. Once these addresses were converted into a true geographical location, they could then be represented on a map allowing building officials to begin analyzing the trends that are happening on the streets within their community.
Without being able to locate these demolitions and property foreclosures geographically, it is very difficult to analyze what trends may be forming on a daily basis. Moreover, instead of leaving these records hidden in a database it is much easier to give this data a geographical location in the form of a map which in turn can to tell the village board what is really happening to the homes within their community.
Overall, it is very important for a community to see the big picture in order to identify where problems have occurred and where new ones may arise in the future. Moreover, it is also worthy to note how multiple departments can work together at identifying these problems in the first place so that they may plan more affectively for what be coming on the road ahead.
Emergencies happen when we least expect them which is why it is so important to be prepared. Situations arise in communities that, with the right preparations, can be easily contained and remedied. The Village of Lincolnwood has a Geographic Information System (GIS) that incorporates mapping and analysis to better understand and prepare for emergencies.
Working with the Village’s Fire Chief, who heads the emergency management team, the GIS Specialist was able begin the process of incorporating the GIS for use in emergency situations. This process began with the installation of software and continues with training the individuals on the Emergency Management Team in the technology. Not only does the Village have to train employees in the use of GIS software, but also has to prepare paper maps incase power and printing are disabled during the emergency.
GIS has given the emergency management team another angle in preparing for emergencies. Mapping software has been installed on multiple workstations and large poster size maps were printed for visual aides. Preparation is crucial to sustaining and overcoming any emergency and GIS provides an extra tool to help that process.
Police, Fire, and EMS dispatch plays a very important and crucial role for any State, County, City, or Village; and any Dispatcher, Police officer, Firemen, or EMT will tell you that timing and accurate information is everything. The Village of Glenview utilizes Geography Information Systems (GIS) by integrating GIS data into their New World Systems (software mapping applications) for accurate computer aided dispatch. GIS and NWS give dispatchers the ability to supply all Police, Fire, and EMS with the most up to date address locations.
Before GIS; Police, Fire, EMS, and Dispatch had to rely heavily on paper maps (or no maps at all) which were not 100% accurate and in some cases hand drawn. Now, by using the power of Geography Information Systems and New World Systems Police Officers, Firemen, EMT, and Dispatchers are able to respond to calls much faster and more effectively, which in return saves time (it would take to loop up the address) and money (gas and loss productivity.)
In conclusion, as States, Counties, Cities\Villages grow so does the demand for Police, Fire, and EMS along with the demand for accurate data and mapping. Not only does GIS allow for this to happen, it can also assist with decision making on critical cost saving issues.
Public Safety plays a crucial role in the day to day activities of Village of Glencoe. The Village of Glencoe Public Safety Department believes that their daily activities help support a safe and vibrant community. A crucial operational aspect of the Public Safety Department is conducted 24 hours, 7 days a week, all year long is Dispatch. The Dispatch Department and the highly trained officers are responsible for receiving and dispatching appropriate resources for all emergency and non emergency activities in the Village. The major focus of their operation is to respond to all calls placed to 911, dispatch resources, and relay information to officers in the field. Mapping is a major factor in this operation from locating the call in dispatch and to reporting location information to the officers in the field. Without highly accurate, detailed, and up to date mapping data would create a major challenge in the emergency response cycle.
The Dispatch Department uses a very advanced Computer Aided Dispatch System or (CAD). This system handles all aspects of emergency dispatch from the initial call to proper resource dispatch. The system also performs very important incident reporting activities which the Police Department uses to review and analyze their activities. The common component in all of these functions is location and mapping.
The Village of Glencoe GIS department works both with the Public Safety Department and their CAD vendor to load and update all mapping the data needed to support the system. This includes providing highly accurate mapping data developed by the Village of Glencoe to the CAD vendor for loading into their system. The provided mapping data includes extremely accurate street centerline files, address point locations, all district and beat layers, common places layer, and highly detailed aerial imagery. This mapping data is also maintained by the Village of Glencoe and is updated by the GIS Department reducing the overall cost of not relying on a third party vendor and lesser quality of data. This also ensures the mapping layers are as current as possible and makes it possible to update and refresh changes when needed with minimal effort.
In summary, every phone call to dispatch uses some form of the provided data to record and assist Dispatch and Officers with the most up to date and current information. The data is also indirectly consumed by the public in large including Village residents because they benefit in a highly efficient and accurate system when consuming E911 services.
Public Safety plays a crucial role in the day to day activities of Village of Deerfield. The Village of Deerfield Police Department believes that their daily activities help support a safe and vibrant community. A crucial operational aspect of the Police Department is conducted 24 hours, 7 days a week, all year long is Dispatch. The Dispatch Department and the highly trained officers are responsible for receiving and dispatching appropriate resources for all emergency and non emergency activities in the Village. The major focus of their operation is to respond to all calls placed to 911, dispatch resources, and relay information to officers in the field. Mapping is a major factor in this operation from locating the call in dispatch and to reporting location information to the officers in the field. Without highly accurate, detailed, and up to date mapping data would create a major challenge in the emergency response cycle.
The Dispatch Department uses a very advanced Computer Aided Dispatch System or (CAD). This system handles all aspects of emergency dispatch from the initial call to proper resource dispatch. The system also performs very important incident reporting activities which the Police Department uses to review and analyze their activities. The common component in all of these functions is location and mapping.
The Village of Deerfield GIS department works both with the Police Department and their CAD vendor to load and update all mapping the data needed to support the system. This includes providing highly accurate mapping data developed by the Village of Deerfield to the CAD vendor for loading into their system. The provided mapping data includes extremely accurate street centerline files, address point locations, all district and beat layers, common places layer, and highly detailed aerial imagery. This mapping data is also maintained by the Village of Deerfield and is updated by the GIS Department reducing the overall cost of not relying on a third party vendor and lesser quality of data. This also ensures the mapping layers are as current as possible and makes it possible to update and refresh changes when needed with minimal effort.
In summary, every phone call to dispatch uses some form of the provided data to record and assist Dispatch and Officers with the most up to date and current information. The data is also indirectly consumed by the public in large including Village residents because they benefit in a highly efficient and accurate system when consuming E911 services.
The Elk Grove Village Finance Department recently took advantage of GIS (Geographic Information System) in an effort to assess were village stickers had not been purchased nor renewed. Village stickers are required for all registered or housed vehicles in the village and a new sticker is required every year. Sticker fees range from $20 to $145 depending on the type of vehicle and reduced rates are provided for certain demographics.
Initially a review of purchases in the previous year was performed in the GIS to identify businesses that did not renew their stickers. Next all residential addresses were compared against those that did purchase a 2009 sticker. This allowed for creation of a map of addresses where stickers were not purchased as well as a spreadsheet of those locations from which a mailing could be sent to remind those individuals and potentially to focus ticketing efforts at those locations. Citation enforcement begins June 1st and would result in not only the tickets, but an increase in cost for the sticker for late purchase. The village web page concerning village stickers is available here or under the Finance Department tab accessed through the ‘Village Government Information’ link on the www.elkgrove.org home page.
Considering both citation and late purchase fees a modest estimate of generated revenue to the village resulting from these efforts would be thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars. This use of GIS is a prime example of the decision support capabilities of the technology as it directs the efforts and attention of this village program.
Within the sector of local government there are many important services that a community provides for their residents. Among the long list, one service that often gets a lot of discussion is the condition of the streets, or better yet, the street resurfacing program. Whether residents file a complaint about the vast number of potholes on a street or someone passing through town inquires about a refund for a road induced flat tire, the general condition of a street attracts a fair amount of attention. With these ideas in mind the City of Park Ridge decided to take a different approach at surveying the condition of their streets in an effort to better understand the current state of their road infrastructure.
The city decided that to maximize the use of their time and money they would create a street resurfacing inventory with the help of the Geographic Information System (GIS). The GIS would allow the city to analyze the conditions of all streets from one central location as well as provide them with the ability to query for what streets rated poorly in what particular year. In turn, this would help the Engineering Department by keeping some of the work in-house and also allow for an archive of the street conditions per a given year at the click of a mouse.
Back in 2007 the Engineering Department decided to migrate their paper documents for this program into a GIS database. The database was very simple as it only included the name of the street, the “To” and “From” street names for a specific street segment and the rating each segment was given. Each year since it’s inception the database is given a new field for archiving purposes. This field will retain the same street ratings as the previous year until the Engineering Technician is able to update them via field checks. Not only does this archiving method allow for the analysis of street degradation over the years it also helps the Engineering Department answer simple questions from the residents like “When was my street was last paved?” or “Why wasn’t my street paved this year?”
What used to take hours of research by way of reviewing paper documents now only takes a few seconds with a simple check in the database. The Engineering Department does understand that the archived data only goes back a few years but are confident that having their data in a centralized database will pay off big moving forward into the future. Furthermore, although the legwork for migrating the paper documents into a GIS database was a bit long, the benefit for having this data in a digital format has made the investment in GIS worthwhile.
In conclusion, community projects that require definitive answers usually require a systematic approach. In the example listed above it easy to see that using GIS allowed the Engineering Department of Park Ridge to answer some serious questions in regards to an important community service, street resurfacing.
The City of Highland Parks contains a vibrant downtown full of many service-orientated businesses that wish to provide outdoor seating for their customers. The City of Highland Park requires these businesses to apply for a permit, which allows outdoor seating. One of the main purposes of the permit is ensuring that the outdoor seating locations do not cause a public safety hazard by obstructing the pedestrian traffic or by being too close to the street
Part of the permit application process requires the requester to submit a hand drawn map showings were the tables and or chairs are located. They must also diagram a five-foot clear walkway around or through the outdoor seating area. These hand drawn maps create many issues including, legibility, not drawn to scale, and inaccurate measurements. Previously these drawings required field verification by a city employee. These field verification often held up the permit process as the person processing the permit had to wait for verification from the person who checked the site in the field.
In 2006, the City of Highland Park asked the GIS Department to create digital maps for these permits. The GIS approach held many advantages. The five-foot clear walkways were accurately applied to each map. Map symbols representing correct table and chair alignments provide an accurate display of the site setup. Furthermore, the digital maps contain other obstructions, such as planters, lights and trees. By creating the maps in standard scales, users can accurately measure distances on them. Field checks are not longer required to verify the site as most issues are reviewed on the paper copies of the maps
The maps are digital products that are easily updated as businesses makes changes to their outdoor seating areas. Many of the same businesses apply for these permits every Spring. Because the permits contain existing maps from previous years, it removes the cost of creating new maps every year. GIS was effectively used to make previously manually intensive process into a quicker automated and more accurate process.