1. The Path Forward:
North Carolina’s GIS for bicycling
and walking facilities
INSTITUTE FOR TRANSPORTATION
RESEARCH AND EDUCATION
KRISTY JACKSON
Research Associate
Bicycle and Pedestrian Program
NCAMPO Conference May 14, 2014

2. Examples of Feature Data:
SIDEWALKS PAVED SHOULDERS
SHARED USE PATHS CROSSWALKS
BICYCLE ROUTES PEDESTRIAN SIGNALS
BICYCLE LANES BIKE/PED SIGNAGE
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The Pedestrian and Bicycle Infrastructure
Network (PBIN) is a statewide Geographic
Information System (GIS) inventory of existing
and planned bicycling and walking facilities in
North Carolina

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Background
NC PLANNING GRANT INITIATIVE
 Annual matching grant program initiated in 2004 administered
through NCDOT Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian
Transportation
 $3.8 million allocated to 143 municipalities to develop
comprehensive bicycle or pedestrian plans since program’s
inception
 GIS inventory component for existing and planned facilities is
basis for spatial data assets in the PBIN

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Background
OTHER INITIATIVES
 Bicycling and walking facility data is collected by agencies
outside of the PGI planning process for various purposes.
 Municipalities, Metropolitan/Rural Planning Organizations,
counties and a variety of other stakeholders have inventoried
or maintain facility/route data
 Identify key agencies and collect GIS shapefiles related to
bicycling and walking

5. BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN GEOSPATIAL DATA
 Many communities use GIS
mapping in assessments of the
built environment
 Data is generally created for
making planning-level maps
 Typically no centralized place to
store the data and information
remains at the local level
 Information is typically not readily
accessible, and not usable without
special software
 Minimal sharing of data
 Lack of continuity in data
collection, attributes related to
map legends
 No standard terminology!!!
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State of the Practice in NC

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 Statewide approach
 Multi-jurisdictional stakeholders
 100 counties,
 37 regional planning agencies
 Municipalities over 5,000K in population
 Planning Grant data
 Other unique stakeholders
Development of the PBIN

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 Pilot - Region 1: Uwharrie
 Large scale solicitation and collection of spatial data from nine county
region in central North Carolina
 Develop data catalog
 Create data definitions
 Design geodatabase
 Establish process for outreach to agencies
 Develop process for cleaning and inputting of agency data
Development of the PBIN

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BicycleFacilityData Linear
Facility Type – bike lane, paved shoulder, shared lanes, cycle tracks, and contra-flow
bike lane
Signing and Marking – bike route, shared lane markings, bicycle boulevard, wayfinding
Implementation – restripe, repave, reallocate, marking, widening
Other details – facility width, rumble strips, surface condition, facility name,
associated roadway
Point
Facility Type – bike corral, maintenance station, bike lockers, bike parking, bike share,
bike detection, bike signal, bike box
Signage – bike lane, bicycle may use full lane, right turn yield to bikes, bicycle actuate
signal, etc.
Other details – hazardous grates
Develop Data Catalog

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PedestrianFacilityData Linear
Facility Type – sidewalk, footpath
Material – asphalt, concrete, gravel, brick/pavers, dirt/natural, boardwalk
Buffer – green zone, parking/transit stop zone, bicycle zone
Implementation – resurface, widening, restripe, reallocate, new construction
Other details – facility width, buffer width, surface condition, slope, lighting,
associated roadway
Point
Facility Type – marked crosswalk, mid-block crossing, rectangular rapid flashing
beacon, pedestrian hybrid beacon, curb ramp, crossing island, curb extension,
underpass and overpass (pedestrian-specific).
Signage – school crossing assembly, in-street pedestrian crossing, overhead
pedestrian crossing, yield here to pedestrians, etc.
Other details – hazards, ADA compliance
Develop Data Catalog

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SharedUsePathData Linear
Facility Type – shared use path, sidepath, unimproved trail
Material – asphalt, concrete, gravel, brick/pavers, dirt/natural, boardwalk
Other details – surface condition, facility width, buffer width, facility name, slope,
associated geographic reference
Point
Amenities – motor vehicle parking, bench, restroom, lockers, water fountain
Access – trailhead, access point
Crossing Treatment - SUP signal, bollard, underpass, overpass
Signage – trail crossing, railroad crossing, destination and guide signs, etc.
Develop Data Catalog

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Create Data Definitions

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Design Geodatabase
Six Feature
Classes to
store assets
FGDC
Metadata

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 Refinement - Region 2: Blue Ridge
 Continue solicitation and integration of data in Mountain region of
North Carolina using processes developed in Region 1
 Refine data catalog
 Refine geodatabase fields and domains
 Refine data definitions and create metadata
 Standardize workflow for cleaning and inputting of agency data
Development of the PBIN

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Regional Solicitation and Data Integration
May 2014
May 2013
Sept 2013
Pilot Protocol
Refine Processes
Est. Completion Sept / Oct 2014

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Data Integration Status

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 Long Range Transportation Planning – Calculating modal needs and
investment for 30-year plan
 Prioritization Process – Assisting with ID of regionally significant facilities;
selecting planned facilities for inclusion in Spot On!Line Tool.
 Transportation Planning Branch – Data coordination between jurisdictions
 Maintenance and scoping processes
 Benchmarking data - network statistics, ID of data gaps, comparisons
 Answering data requests - providing data to other agencies, elected
officials, and the public.
ONE STOP SHOPPING
Uses of the PBIN

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 Complete first full round of statewide solicitation and integration
 Make Basic GIS Services available from the PBIN
 Make data format available and allow agencies to submit
 Require PGI communities to use data format
 Moving forward:
 How do NC agencies keep the PBIN data current?
 How do we fill in the data gaps? Or enrich existing data?
 How can the PBIN be used to support NCDOT and stakeholder functions, answer
questions, generate baseline statistics, and support research
PBIN Next Steps

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Understanding the agency role in the PBIN
 How can your agency use the PBIN?
 Will your agency assist with the upkeep of PBIN data? How often would you
anticipate providing updates?
 Who would use the data most frequently? What is their role?
 What non-motorized data does your agency need to support internal goals?
 What kind of format should the data be in to be useful to your agency?
(shapefiles, lists, narratives, maps)
 Are there any outcomes that your organization desires from the PBIN?
 What is the best way to fill in data gaps?
 What kind of “need to know” questions can the data answer for your agency?

19. What will you use the data for?
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 Inventory statistics
 Route planning / Connectivity
analysis
 Project planning and
development
 Inter-agency coordination
 Project selection/prioritization
 Determining unmet need
 School siting
 Access to recreation amenities
 Relate spatial datasets (eg.
crashes)
 Development of
goals/benchmarks
 Data gaps/deficiencies
 Compare assets
 Facilities Maintenance
 Research
 Funding
 Promote physical activity

20. Thank You!
KRISTY JACKSON
Research Associate
knjackson@ncsu.edu
BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN PROGRAM
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