CU Jul-Aug 2020

CASEstudy
Chasing pavements
A map of pavement widths helps local authorities with social distancing plans
Spatial analysis by Esri UK
has found that 70% of
pavements around the
country are less than 3 metres
wide, making it difficult for
pedestrians to remain 2 metres
apart and follow government
guidelines for social distancing.
Using measurements from
Ordnance Survey, Esri UK has
created a map of all pavement
widths, discovering that only 30%
of Great Britain's pavements are at
least 3 metres wide, 36% are
between 2-3 metres and 34% are less than
2 metres wide.
Esri UK, the mapping and spatial
analytics company, has released the new
map data for free to help the public sector
and other organisations respond to
government guidelines for social
distancing, as councils adapt their
infrastructure to make walking safer for the
public. Over 60 local authorities are using
the new pavement map data including
Glasgow City Council, Stirling Council and
Dover District Council. Measures being
introduced around the country include
widening pavements, removing street
furniture or reallocating road space for
pedestrians.
Oliver Penman, Senior Information Officer,
GCC Corporate GIS, Glasgow City Council,
said "This map is a vital tool to help us find
the right solutions to support social
distancing. Where it may not be feasible or
cost-effective to look at extending
pavement space, we can review other
options such as clamping down on
pavement parking and reducing speed
limits, to cut danger on residential streets."
The map is part of Esri UK's Covid-19
Disaster Response Programme, created to
provide any organisation with new
mapping and analytical capabilities for free,
to help manage their response to the
pandemic. Local authorities, for example,
are using Esri's mapping and analysis tools
to help adjust their service provision, map
vulnerable communities, deploy volunteers
and communicate with citizens.
"The pavement map is designed to help
local authorities and related organisations
prioritise their efforts, to ensure the safety of
the public, as lockdown restrictions are
being gradually eased," said Paul Clarke,
head of Esri UK's Government practice. "By
giving them an instant view of the situation
they're faced with, the map reduces the
time needed to manually measure
pavements and not rely on records which
may be out of date. Easy access to current
pavement width data will help all councils
make faster decisions with greater certainty
and ensure walking is as safe as possible."
Esri UK has made its ArcGIS software free
to use along with a huge free data
repository, the Covid-19 Data Hub, with
over 80 different types of carefully selected,
authoritative location data, including
Coronavirus cases, health, infrastructure
and population data. New data is
continually being added to equip
organisations with valuable insights as the
situation evolves over time. As social
distancing requirements change, for
example, the pavement dataset will be
evolved to meet these changes. Most
importantly, all of the data has been
carefully curated to make sure that it is the
best available from reputable sources.
Esri UK created the Covid-19 Data Hub to
bring a wide range of incredibly
useful datasets together in one
place. The data can be integrated
into existing ArcGIS systems or
used to create a host of brand new
rapid response GIS dashboards
and mobile solutions, specifically
designed for Covid-19 initiatives.
Organisations of all kinds are
turning to geographic information
systems (GIS) to help them make
rapid decisions in this everchanging
and unpredictable world.
Esri's ArcGIS platform provides
them with the dashboards, apps and tools
they need to analyse, forecast and
understand the situation. Yet technology
alone is not enough. Authoritative data is
vital, otherwise the decisions they make
could be flawed.
The map is free to use from Esri UK as
part of its Disaster Response Programme.
Esri UK are able to provide the OS
MasterMap free to Local Authorities as the
data is covered by the PSGA agreement
(Public Sector Geospatial Agreement). The
data can also be made available free to the
private sector, via the Ordnance Survey
Mapping for Emergencies programme.
Esri UK created the new interactive map
using its ArcGIS mapping software, using
the latest MasterMap Topography Layer
from Ordnance Survey (OS). OS
MasterMap Topography Layer is the most
detailed and accurate view of Great
Britain's landscape - from roads to fields,
buildings, trees, fences, paths and more.
Using its GIS software, ArcGIS Pro, Esri UK
extracted all the pavements and applied
different colours to identify different widths.
In the image above represents pavements
of 3+ metres; orange shows widths
between 2-3 metres and red denotes
pavements of less than 2 metres wide.
Local authorities and organisations can
access the pavement map at:
https://bit.ly/2PapBq4
www.arcgis.com
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July/August 2020