(GISuser Spotlight) An ongoing trend in GIS development at the local government level is to publish geospatial data on the web so that citizens can perform queries and access zoning maps, construction proposals and other practical information online. The City of Abbotsford, British Columbia, has just set a new standard for such endeavors by integrating its web- based GIS with e-commerce technology that lets users pay for and download geographic information during their online session.

“The response from everyone has been very positive,” said Jay Teichroeb, Economic Development Manager. “Our citizens appreciate having information available 24/7 without visiting City Hall, and Abbotsford employees no longer have to field all those requests for data every day.”

Abbotsford launched the application, called WebMap, in spring 2002 making publicly accessible for the first time nearly all of the data layers that are compiled in the city’s existing GIS. The decision to create WebMap was driven partially by a city initiative to make electronic government a priority, although financial considerations were also a compelling factor.

“We are one of the fastest growing cities in the province, and this growth is occurring faster than our staff and resources can keep up,” said Teichroeb. “WebMap is our solution to providing better customer service with the same resources.”

Developing the application was surprisingly simple. The city Information Services Department contracted with Intergraph Mapping and Geospatial Solutions of Huntsville, Ala., to build the online GIS segment of the project. The Web Development division of Telus, the local B.C. phone company, provided expertise in creating the e-commerce module. Total development time was less than one month.

Mall in Abbotsford city center, with Mt. Baker in the background.

Taking GIS to the Web

Located 40 miles outside of Vancouver with a population of 125,000, Abbotsford first began implementing GIS technology in the early 1990s. Over the next decade, GIS would be used by every major municipal department, which each contributed a variety of geographic data for storage in the centralized database. The system is administered by the Information Services Department, and one of the primary users has been the Engineering Department.

In addition to accessing the system for engineering and maintenance projects, Engineering was tasked with responding to requests from developers, civil engineers and architects who needed data relating to utility infrastructure location, parcel ownership and zoning boundaries. Engineering staff had to search the GIS to find the relevant layers, burn the customized information to a CD and deliver it to the customer. Even if the request could be answered verbally by phone, the process consumed valuable staff time.

This arrangement posed problems for the end users as well. They could only order data files on weekdays during business hours, and a visit to the Engineering Department was usually recommended to view the data before purchase. The other drawback was the cost – customers often had to purchase city-wide data layers when they only needed information covering a small project area.

Another objective in the plan to improve GIS data access was to make the system more readily available to personnel within the city departments. Information Services believed that all departments could benefit from having geospatial data and analysis capabilities at the fingertips of every staff member, as opposed to just one or two appointed GIS experts. Unfortunately, the cost of buying additional seat licenses for every office and agency was prohibitively expensive.

“The WebMap application was the solution to both our internal and external access problems – anyone with a computer and Internet hook-up can use it,” said Teichroeb. “Aside from development, the only software cost was the single site license from Intergraph.”

Linking E-Commerce

Information Services built the WebMap application, with some assistance from the Engineering Department, using Intergraph’s GeoMedia WebMap product, a package that extends both spatial data and functionality to online users. Functions include querying, viewing, and downloading data sets. GeoMedia WebMap was ready to operate right out of the box, requiring customization in ASP and XML programming languages to create a point-and-click interface link with the existing GIS data and later, integration with the e- commerce module that was created in the spring of 2003.

“The interface is so easy to use that customers require no training,” said Bill MacLeod, city GIS Analyst. “And the platform is very reliable; it’s operational all the time.”

Graphic depiction of all the screens a user would see for the purchase of a data download.

Screen capture from the Web map of the initial screen displaying the keymap of Abbotsford.

Screen shot from the Web map of an aerial photo of Mill Lake

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