NASCIO 2013 Open Government Initiatives

Transcription

1 NASCIO 2013 Open Government Initiatives 1. Title: Utah s Open Transportation Data in the Cloud with ugate and UPlan 2. Category: Open Government Initiatives 3. Project Initiation and completion date The first phase of UPlan was completed in June 2010, but the project has had multiple revisions and upgrades since that time. UPlan s cloud service was completed in Project Website(s): ugate (UDOT s Data Portal: UPLAN: 4. Organization and primary point of contact Organization: Utah Department of Transportation and partners Contact: Frank Pisani Other contacts: David Fletcher, CTO, dfletcher@utah.gov and Bert Granberg, Manager of Utah Automated Geographic Reference Center, bgranberg@utah.gov

2 Executive Summary Utilizing data to make great transportation decisions and operations has driven the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) to become one of the most creative, well planned transportation organizations in the world. Armed with data, UDOT is able to accurately project the condition of its managed roadways years into the future. The data enables UDOT to manage its huge inventory of roads, signs, bridges, culverts, fences, guardrails, etc. in a way that optimizes performance for safety, capacity, and efficiency. Instead of becoming a barrier to economic growth, UDOT s data is shared with local, regional, and national partners to facilitate planning that drives economic growth along with supporting the other highest priority goals of state and local officials. At the core of this strategic operation are two data systems, UPlan and ugate which comprise UDOT s open data portal services. UPlan is a cloud based GIS resource that helps planners to look at all important variables up front in a way that ensures that transportation decisions are driven by science. ugate provides access to the data behind the dynamic maps and analytical tools found in UPlan, making it available to business, UDOT partners, and the public at large. UDOT s open data and APIs have also been used by private businesses to develop mobile applications, to analyze plans for economic development initiatives, to understand environmental issues, and to respond more effectively to UDOT s procurement and construction initiatives. UDOT s data is used by local government to reduce planning costs and to improve state local cooperation. ugate provides data in KML and other open formats that make it easy to overlay the data on open public services such as Google Maps or Bing Maps. UPlan data is available on the ArcGIS cloud platform, making it easy to use by mobile smartphone and tablet users. Prior to the implementation of UPlan, all of this data was in a menagerie of spreadsheets, custom applications, siloed databases and documents. Each year, UDOT would spend countless hours to compile this information into a lengthy document that was seldom read. Today, the data is available to thousands of users, including the public at large in a way that is dynamic and responsive through a cloud based GIS interface. It has changed the nature of transportation planning forever, which is probably why it has been adapted by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials as one of three focus areas in As of May 2013, UPlan is being implemented in 13 states.

3 Business Problem and Solution Description UPlan was initiated out of frustration in trying to get access to what should be easily available data. With very fragmented data sources and somewhat random information management tools in UDOT, the consolidation and framework for data management is what UPlan is designed to accomplish. In addition, UDOT was determined to implement a more collaborative planning process, while also sharing data in a way that empowered others who were involved in related or similar state and local planning processes. Many other agencies were similarly fragmented and had data that was critical in the transportation planning process, but was not easily accessible. Business solution description UPlan is an interactive planning and analysis tool developed by the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) that provides access to data that supports informed discussions and decisions. UPlan facilitates synchronizing plans and projects with other state agencies, local governments, federal agencies, utility companies, and within UDOT s many divisions. For this reason, UPlan includes environmental data, natural resource data, and other data layers that are relevant to planners at any level. UPlan is an interactive web application that allows stakeholders to self direct their consumption of data whenever and wherever they want to access it. UDOT s original goal was to build or find a data sharing tool that could display information spatially. The project was started over five years ago after UDOT conducted an extensive review of available methods and tools. UPlan developers eventually combined two tools, the ArcGIS server and the Adobe Flex viewer. The move to the ArcGIS cloud platform was completed in The project really began to be successful over the last two years as more data has been added and the application has been improved with customized widgets. The latest version includes live data from epm, UDOT s statewide online project tracking application. External agencies like planning organizations and utility companies have also contributed data. Now, data owners will be able to upload data from a PC desktop., combining their own data to create customized maps which they can share with others. Users receive 2GB

4 of free storage for their own maps. Data in UPlan is compiled from a variety of sources and displayed spatially on an interactive map allowing users to view projects or studies and their adjacent resources. Perhaps the largest collection of data resulted from UDOT s statewide LiDAR survey in UDOT conducted a statewide survey with state of the art sensing vehicles that included a Velodyne LiDAR sensor, a laser road imaging system, a laser rut measurement system, a road surface profiler, and a position orientation system. The resulting datasets provide UDOT and others with a trove of planning data. Additional information (i.e. reports, websites, public comments, etc.) can be linked spatially so all data associated with a project or study can be viewed on a single platform. All UPLAN data can also be downloaded through the ugate open data portal and used in other applications. UPlan has powerful analytical capabilities that measure environmental and other impacts in an automated way. By accessing data stored at Utah s Automated Geographic Reference Center (AGRC), peer to peer access and ownership of the data is established. The creation of groups in UPlan supports collaborative planning and utilization of open data. Utah businesses, local government, and the public are all able to access and share data and participate in the planning process. UPlan groups encourage responsive, cooperative government processes by making it open, easy to understand, and accessible. Anyone can subscribe to and participate in the online groups. Twenty one groups have been created in the first year around topics such as air quality, traffic and safety, and pavement management. Integration with social media, including Twitter and Facebook, also promote openness and transparency, by making it easy to share information about the data. UPlan is hosted in the cloud on the ArcGIS server which also makes it easy for users to access Uplan and ugate services from their mobile device using the ArcGIS mobile application. Significance Like everything else that UDOT does, UPlan and ugate are driven by four strategic goals, 1. Preserve Infrastructure, 2. Optimize Mobility, 3. Zero Fatalities, and 4. Strengthen the Economy. By focusing on these goals, UDOT has created a tool that incorporates many new technologies in a way that is meaningful to all of its stakeholders. UDOT has used mobile technology to capture detailed data about road conditions, bridges, guardrails, culverts, and everything else it is responsible. This inventory includes over 30 million high definition images from the 17,000 miles of roadway that UDOT maintains. Mobile LIDAR has captured all of the vertical components: signs, stop lights, trees, etc.

5 In addition to providing an unprecedented degree of transparency into UDOT s planning and management processes, UPlan supports many of the other priorities outlined by NASCIO in For example, 1. The UPlan service is hosted in the cloud (ArcGIS), reducing cost to the state. The platform is scalable and individual users outside the state (the public) can be provisioned with up to 2GB of storage at no cost. 2. All supporting services and data that feed UPlan were moved to the state of Utah s private cloud in a consolidated data center. 3. Shared governance brings many stakeholders to the table. Online groups provide for public and business participation. Users are able to self provision UPlan and ugate services. 4. UPlan supports broadband and wireless initiatives. For example, the service includes an interactive map of all UDOT fiber resources throughout the state. 5. ArcGIS services provide APIs that support the creation of mobile apps and services. The platform includes a mobile app available for ios and Android. 6. Although most of the data in UPlan is intended to be public, the state of Utah works with ESRI and its users to ensure that any private data, including passwords is secure. In 2012, UPlan was selected as one of the focus technologies for AASHTO, a national organization of highway transportation departments in the fifty states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. It is already in use in Idaho and over 30 additional states have already expressed interest in its use. As of May 2013, 13 states have adopted UPlan technology. UPlan can display critical environmental attributes such as streams, wetlands, rare plant habitat, and other attributes on top of planned roadway capacity needs for any location in Utah. Benefit of the Project Benefit to government By compiling data spatially, UDOT along with other state and local agencies are establishing more positive and productive working relationships by communicating needs, understanding issues, and reducing duplication of work. This leads to reductions in costs and time requirements, helping to create better projects. UPlan has become a multi agency shared platform for planning and development. By eliminating the redundant development of planning tools and resources and deploying UPlan to a hosted cloud

6 environment that can be shared by all agencies, their constituents, and the private sector, the state has saved millions of dollars. In addition, UDOT has improved the quality of transportation planning throughout the state by adding layers of data to the planning process such as environmental and private development information. Local governments have vastly improved access to state planning information which can also help them make better decisions. Much of the data that is used in planning roads and transportation is also relevant and useful to private business and to the public. A new component of UPLlan the Planning and Environmental Linkage resource enables UDOT, as well as environmental planners and the public to evaluate transportation projects in conjunction with related environmental data. Linking this data in a user friendly interface assures that potential environmental issues are addressed early in the transportation planning process. UPlan is built for the future. By providing this vast repository of data on an open platform, UPlan has also provided access to common APIs and a publicly available SDK that lets any users develop their own web and mobile applications based on that data. Forty two applications and 339 maps are already available. For example, one application provides a series of informational maps for bicyclists throughout the state. Another maps the avalanche paths in Utah s canyons. An extensive independent study estimates that UDOT s long range planning efforts will result in a net benefit to the state of Utah of $1.8 billion. UPlan has become the most extensive, cross cutting component of that long range planning effort, integrating across UDOT as well as state and local governments. All of UDOT s planned projects are accessible as an open data file in ugate and are mapped in UPlan for easy viewing and analysis. Specific benefits include Improved data quality Elimination of duplication and inconsistency Better access to data for ALL users Greater transparency for department leadership, elected leaders, and the public Improved planning processes with greater integration of data in the process Better integration of environmental and economic issues in the planning process Greater feedback from potentially impacted parties Greater public and business participation in the transportation planning process UDOT is in the process of creating an ROI model with specific data from UPlan. Although

7 these exact numbers have not yet been produced, an estimated net benefit can be calculated from previous cost studies, risk analysis, and other transportation research. Cost benefit estimates UDOT reports $300,000 savings in FY2012 through improved workflow and data visualization in the planning process The UPLAN Planning and Environmental Linkage Tool provide an additional $100,000 savings in the first year alone by streamlining NEPA data collection and CATEX documentation Reduction of risk and associated project cost through better incorporation of environmental and other factors earlier and more efficiently in the planning process: Improved asset inventory using LiDAR Point Cloud: $250,000 / year Elimination of need for (state) redundant or similar systems and data through effective sharing: $5 million one time and $1600,000 ongoing Reduction of costs / increased benefits to partners in local government and private sector: > $2 million / year Projected cost savings from extending UPlan to other states: not estimated at this time, but very significant Best practices employed Collaborative Management Hosted in the cloud Open Data Integration with social media Every state has similar transportation planning processes and requirements. The creation of cloud based, shared planning resources using the GIS centric model implemented by UDOT will benefit not only other state governments, but also local governments and private business. After sharing the application with AASHTO in 2012, thirteen states have already begun to implement open data transportation planning projects based on the UPLAN system developed in Utah. According to AASHTO, the transparency information and analysis is the hallmark of UPlan. Video: UPlan Helps States Go Digital,