GIS for Transportation: Current Practices, Problems and Prospects

摘要

The full potentials of GIS-T technology may not be realized for many years. As Vonderohe and his colleagues have observed, "GIS-T is here to stay.... It is not a matter of whether DOTs will adopt GIS-T—it is a matter of how and when they will do it." It is important to realize, however, the continuing role of the transportation profession in GIS usage and the direction it takes. The role of the transportation planner/engineer in this regard is central. Clapp cites three reasons for this: 1) the transportation system is a series of overlapping networks whose composite density is a direct reflection of the required spatial accuracy of the system, 2) the transportation professional is involved at many levels within state and local governments, and 3) by the very nature of the work performed, the transportation system must interface directly with land units at all levels. It is therefore important for transportation professionals to investigate and examine how GIS-T can be implemented and used to meet the profession's current and future needs.