Our GIS program among the best in North America

The technology helps map everything from underground infrastructure to bus routes

June 14, 2021

It is technology that is relied on by nearly every one of our departments. The geographic information system (GIS) program creates valuable, real-time maps using data sets.

Through our GIS program, 911 dispatchers can better assist first responders, bus routes can be optimized, and Water and Waste crews know precisely where all the water mains are located. These are just a few examples of how valuable the technology is.

For the second year in a row, the Public Sector Digest has ranked the City’s GIS program among the top 10 in North America. Winnipeg ranked ninth in 2020, improving its score over three percentage points to roughly 89 percent. This list is based on the maturity of an organization’s GIS program with consideration it its readiness, implementation, and impact.

“Through our GIS program, we’re able to take thousands of lines of data, and visualize them in a way that’s easy for the public or internal planners to understand,” said Tyler Gooch, the City’s Director of Innovation and Technology.

One of the highlights of the past year was the introduction of our new linear referencing system — a road mapping system that layers information such as speed limit, road condition, and address ranges along the roadway. By having that information centralized, planners can then immediately see how traffic could impact a construction project, instead of having to source the data from separate maps.

The linear referencing system is now publicly available on our Open Data Portal. The goal is to eventually expand the system to include more City services, offering a complete map of our networks and infrastructure.

In all, 90 public sector organizations took part in Public Sector Digest’s 2020 GIS survey. In addition to naming the top 25, organizations can compare themselves against their peer groups and track their progress over time based on specific core competencies.

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