Harnessing the Power of GIS for Safe Routes to School

In April 2013, the Safe Routes to School Safe Routes Partnership (Safe Routes Partnership) brought together 15 Geographic Information System (GIS) experts in Austin, Texas to discuss ways that GIS can assist active transportation efforts. The four topics that were discussed were:

1. The best ways to obtain data necessary for Safe Routes to School and walking and bicycling planning and implementation.
2. Standards for data collection, dissemination and storage.
3. Where to store collected data at the local and national levels so that it is accessible to all people.
4. How to ensure that accessible and standardized data tools will be open source, to allow for future creation of new applications and uses.

After the meeting, a report was created by Safe Routes Partnership staff with theexpectation that this overall effort would foster a new national conversation regardingthe collection, storage and accessibility of non-motorized infrastructure data.

In this webinar, we will discuss each of the above topics and also present the major recommendations that are outlined in the report. This webinar and the report will serve as informative guides for communities that are interested in taking control of their own data, and will give them the power to better understand GIS tools and how GIS maps can identify issues that need to be addressed.

SPEAKERS