TRANSPORTATION
Engineers planning a transit line, roadway, or other linear infrastructure need to research, evaluate, and validate a range of location-based information for land acquisition and appraisal.
Location technology is an essential tool for transportation engineers be- cause it’s a powerful way to gather intelligence from a variety of data, sourced from GIS, aerial maps, property information, and also an orga- nization’s own database. Information is continually updated to ensure the most accurate information is used for asset management and analysis, and can be easily translated into insights that support decision making, starting at the project’s conception phase and continuing well after completion. Simplified planning and pre-construction Location technology is used to analyze sites quickly and efficiently, sup- porting civil engineers with data to conduct research and make decisions relating to planning and pre-construction. Transportation engineers look- ing to route a transit line and plan new infrastructure need to research, evaluate, and validate a range of location-based information for land acquisition and appraisal. Location technology supports the entire spatial analysis workflow in one place, providing the ability to virtually gather specific visual datasets on hundreds of miles of land without having to visit multiple sites that may not meet project requirements. When planning new infrastructure, location data can be used to guide design and implementation. A location technology platform can pro- vide property attributes including size, location, geometry, and other data points necessary to inform how a project will be executed. Access to instant, updated data includes recent sales in a given area, similar properties for price comparison, and the ability to filter for attributes such as land use and zoning. Transportation engineers can collect the information they need to take inventory of land and begin to develop forecasts for proposed projects. This includes population, land use, economic activity, transportation facilities and services, travel patterns and volumes, population growth,
Spatial tools
Location technology simplifies transportation projects from beginning to end and beyond. By Tara Bleakley
Location technology plays an important role in supporting decisions before, during, and after a transportation project. Whether you are new to location technology or are regularly taking advantage of it, here’s how it can help throughout a project’s life cycle. Construction and management of roads, rails, transportation facilities, and transit lines requires the application of accurate location-based data at each project phase. Location technology provides tools to col- lect and analyze geospatial data, allowing transportation engineers to more efficiently locate, design, and build transportation infrastructure. This includes tools to determine route assignment, land use forecast- ing, and to help review whether proposed infrastructure is economical and environmentally compatible. Transportation engineers and their project teams require consistent access to continually updated spatial data to support projects. This in- cludes parcel boundaries, property attributes, ownership information, land value, zoning, environmental data, transaction history and deeds, demographics, school boundaries and districts, hazards, aerial imag- ery, the county assessor’s property value, land use, and many more attributes. Managing all of this data is challenging, particularly if it’s coming from multiple sources, or if data is outdated and unreliable.
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csengineermag.com
july 2018
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