GIS for Transportation Planning Training Course

Participants can select coordinate systems and assess spatial data fitness for transport analysis.

• Coordinate reference systems selected for local distance and area calculations
• Geographic versus projected coordinates and their effects on measurements
• Datum transformations documented when combining datasets from different agencies
• Positional accuracy, temporal currency and attribute completeness assessed systematically
• Metadata records capturing source, scale, restrictions and update frequency
• Data quality acceptance criteria matched to the planning decision

Participants can create a structured geodatabase for a transportation planning study.

• Geodatabase schema designed for roads, transit, demand and infrastructure assets
• Feature classes, domains and subtypes used to control transport attributes
• Tabular joins and relational keys linking counts, incidents and assets
• Field standardisation for road names, route identifiers and facility types
• Topology rules applied to find gaps, overlaps and disconnected links
• Versioned naming conventions supporting repeatable study updates

Participants can locate transport events accurately along streets, routes and corridors.

• Address locators configured for trip origins, destinations and reported incidents
• Geocoding match rates reviewed using candidate scores and exception records
• Linear referencing systems locate crashes, pavement defects and traffic counts
• Route measures calibrated against known reference points and mileposts
• Dynamic segmentation joins event tables to route centerlines
• Location uncertainty recorded for incomplete addresses and approximate incident reports

Participants can prepare a connected road network suitable for routing and accessibility analysis.

• Road centerlines cleaned for connectivity, directionality and intersection treatment
• One-way restrictions, turn penalties and prohibited movements encoded correctly
• Travel impedance built from distance, speed, delay and toll attributes
• Network topology checked using disconnected components and dangling links
• Road classifications aligned with functional hierarchy and access restrictions
• Time-dependent travel speeds distinguished from static free-flow assumptions

Participants can model routes and travel costs between specified origins and destinations.

• Shortest-path algorithms compared for distance, time and generalised cost
• Origin-destination cost matrices generated for facilities and demand zones
• Route alternatives evaluated against travel time, tolls and restrictions
• Snapping tolerances checked before solving network analysis problems
• Matrix outputs summarised by zone, facility and population group
• Sensitivity tests examine effects of speeds, closures and turn penalties

Participants can define facility catchments using travel-time and distance thresholds.

• Service areas generated from hospitals, depots, stations and schools
• Isochrone thresholds selected from policy targets and operational standards
• Overlapping catchments dissolved or retained for competitive access analysis
• Population and employment totals calculated within service polygons
• Barrier effects represented through crossings, restricted links and terrain
• Catchment maps tested against observed travel behaviour and local knowledge

Participants can measure access to opportunities and identify spatial inequities.

• Cumulative-opportunity accessibility counts destinations reachable within specified travel times
• Gravity-based accessibility weights opportunities by travel-time impedance functions
• Two-step floating catchment area methods assess service supply and demand
• Population groups disaggregated by income, age, disability and vehicle availability
• Equity indicators compare access outcomes across neighbourhoods and communities
• Accessibility limitations documented for informal travel and incomplete datasets

Participants can analyse transit routes, stops, schedules and passenger access using GTFS data.

• GTFS tables interpreted for routes, trips, stops, calendars and frequencies
• Transit feeds validated for missing stops, duplicate identifiers and invalid times
• Stop catchments created using walk networks rather than straight-line buffers
• Service frequency mapped by period, route segment and stop
• Transfer opportunities assessed through proximity, schedules and minimum connection times
• Transit coverage compared with population, jobs and priority destinations

Participants can compare public transport network alternatives against stated service objectives.

• Route alignments digitised from proposed service plans and engineering drawings
• Stop spacing assessed against walk access, speed and operating constraints
• Network scenarios compared using coverage, transfers and travel-time measures
• Headway assumptions converted into waiting-time estimates for passenger analysis
• Service changes mapped for retained, added and withdrawn access
• Scenario assumptions recorded in a transparent decision log

Participants can map corridor performance using traffic counts, speeds and operational indicators.

• Traffic count stations linked to road segments through spatial joins
• Volume-to-capacity ratios mapped using Highway Capacity Manual performance measures
• Probe-speed data summarised by segment, period and direction
• Travel-time reliability measured through percentile travel-time indicators
• Bottlenecks identified from recurring delay patterns and network context
• Corridor maps distinguish observed conditions from modelled estimates clearly

Participants can identify crash patterns and prioritise locations for safety investigation.

• Crash records cleaned for location, severity, mode and collision type
• Kernel density estimation reveals concentrations of reported crash events
• Network kernel density analysis accounts for crashes occurring along roads
• Empirical Bayes methods distinguish random variation from persistent risk
• High-crash locations screened using exposure, severity and site characteristics
• Collision diagrams and context maps support engineering safety diagnosis

Participants can assess freight and emergency routes under operational restrictions.

• Truck route networks include height, weight, hazardous-material and curfew restrictions
• Freight origin-destination patterns mapped between terminals, ports and distribution centres
• Last-mile delivery zones assessed for kerb access and loading constraints
• Emergency response travel times modelled from stations to incident areas
• Critical network links identified through detour distance and redundancy analysis
• Operational maps distinguish legal restrictions from advisory routing preferences

Participants can use remotely sensed imagery to support transport inventory and corridor studies.

• Satellite and aerial imagery selected by resolution, date and spectral requirements
• Image classification identifies impervious surfaces, vegetation and land-cover change
• Object-based image analysis extracts roads, buildings and transport facilities
• Digital elevation models support slope, drainage and visibility assessment
• Change detection identifies corridor development and construction activity
• Remote-sensing outputs verified against field records and authoritative mapping

Participants can combine land-use and environmental layers with active travel network assessments.

• Parcel and zoning data linked to trip generators and development forecasts
• Walkability indicators combine connectivity, density, land-use mix and destinations
• Cycling networks assessed for continuity, gradient, stress and crossing conditions
• Environmental constraints mapped for wetlands, flood zones, noise and air quality
• Multi-criteria evaluation ranks corridor alternatives using weighted spatial criteria
• Environmental justice screening compares burdens and benefits across population groups

Participants can create spatial demand surfaces and compare transport investment scenarios.

• Traffic analysis zones prepared from census, administrative and planning boundaries
• Dasymetric mapping refines population distribution using land-use and building data
• Desire lines map origin-destination flows without implying actual routes
• Scenario layers represent planned developments, network projects and policy changes
• Before-and-after indicators compare accessibility, travel time and service coverage
• Uncertainty ranges communicated for forecasts, inputs and model assumptions

Participants can produce clear transport maps and decision-ready spatial reporting outputs.

• Map purpose determines projection, scale, classification and visual hierarchy
• Graduated symbols, proportional symbols and choropleths selected for appropriate variables
• Accessibility and safety maps use colour schemes suitable for interpretation
• Layout elements document sources, dates, assumptions and analytical limitations
• Web maps configured with pop-ups, filters and stakeholder-friendly layers
• Technical findings translated into concise planning recommendations and implementation actions

Participants can build, review and present a complete GIS-based transportation planning study with documented recommendations.

• Planning problem defined with decision criteria, stakeholders and study boundaries
• Source datasets prepared, documented and tested against stated quality requirements
• Network and accessibility analyses executed using justified modelling assumptions
• Alternative scenarios compared through mapped indicators and decision matrices
• Peer review tests reproducibility, limitations, interpretation and recommendation logic
• Final briefing presents maps, findings, actions and implementation priorities