By Ashley McLeod, Staff writer
Nov 7, 2015, 11:35
COLONIAL HEIGHTS — Following a grant from the Virginia E-911 Services Board last year, Colonial Heights has implemented a new system that will make it easier for both city employees and residents to find information relating to the geographical makeup of the city.
The new GIS, or geographical information system, is a collaborative effort of several different city departments.
“GIS is a computer system built to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage and display all types of spatial and geographical data,” said Karen Saunders, information technology administrator for Colonial Heights.
The system takes data from different city departments, such as population, crime statistics, and appraisal information, and combines it all into one place in the form of a map.
The GIS will allow citizens and city employees to be able to look up information instead of having to go back and forth to city offices looking for information.
“You’re going to see it’s going to open up a whole new level of transparency and interaction with the general public. There’s a whole lot more data in this system to show people and allow them to do their own research,” said City Manager Thomas Mattis.
The idea for the GIS came about last year, and the city was given a $150,000 grant in July of 2014 from the Virginia E-911 Services Board. The grant provided hardware, three years of software licensing, database development, and training for the program.
Project implementation began with the formation of a committee, which represented each city department participating in the program. The city then acquired servers and workstations needed for the program. The engineering department then took all existing data and plugged the information into the program. New information can be added at any time if any changes occur, and the maps are instantly updated for everyone using the system.
“Say we added water lines on the Boulevard; once they’re complete we’ll be able to take the new information and integrate that in with the old. And they will have that available immediately. This way you don’t have to send out an email about anything new,” said Will Elliott, senior engineering technician for the Public Works office.
With the program, the city can create digital maps with information placed into different layers of the map. The data is drawn in from different city departments and each map can contain several layers of data, depending on what the user sets.
“These can be images, elevations, and maps of transportation, addresses, water lines, and sewer lines. Any type of data that we collect would be considered a layer within the system, said Saunders.
The program is also an asset to emergency services, such as the fire department, which is one of the main reasons the program was implemented.
Each fire truck currently holds binders that include information on the city, including where fire hydrants are located, so that the firefighters can look up information on the way to the scene. With this system, the firefighters can look up the information on the house they are in route to, in order to better plan their strategy once there.
“It’s going to change the way we operate,” said Deputy Fire Chief David Salot.
“If we need to make some decisions on which hydrants we use when we get to the scene, the officer will be able to make some measurements and make the decisions needed on the way to the scene.“
With the system, the responders will be able to see where fire hydrants are located and will be able to use the system to measure the distance to determine which hydrant is the best option. The system will also show water lines and electrical connections, which will make it easier and quicker for them to do their job.
The system also contains a feature that will allow the user to look up different types of crimes and where they occur. Using a heat map, you will be able to see the areas in the city that have a peak in certain types of crimes. This allows law enforcement to determine if a certain area has a problem.
“It can help us in finding where are issues are at so we can plan for the future. It can help us with the planning of where we may need to do some fire safety education,” said Salot.
Certain aspects of the system are only available to city employees, such as appraisal and infrastructure information. But the public can still benefit greatly from the GIS.
While some maps are internal, others will be openly available. Recently, the GIS was used for community engagement during Celebrate Safe Communities. A map was available online which showed locations for each event in the city, and the user could click on each one to get more information on the event.
Another map was made for recreation and parks.
“If you’re new to the city, or if you just want to find out where all the parks are located, you click on each point and it will give you a brief description, and also has a more info link which will take you to the website associated with that park,” said Saunders.
Also in the works is a map that will contain businesses in the city, such as hotels and restaurants. The GIS also includes all city offices, so that if a citizen isn’t aware where to go for something, all they need to do is type it into the system, which will find it for them. The GIS will allow citizens to be able to navigate the city using their cell phones or tablets and will allow for easier access for everyone. Instead of having to go from city office, to city office, all the information needed will be right at your fingertips.
