Hands On CHOOSING A SCENIC BYWAY USING SPATIAL CRITERIA An exercise in planning with GIS By Joseph Kerski, Esri Education Manager Editor’s note: This exercise assumes a working knowledge of ArcGIS Desktop and is intended for intermediate GIS users, university or community college students, and experienced secondary students. It uses ArcGIS Desktop to examine current byways and select a new byway based on specific spatial criteria and ArcGIS Explorer to visualize existing and planned byways. What You Will Need • ArcGIS Desktop 9.3 • ArcGIS Explorer • Sample dataset downloaded from ArcUser Online One of the author’s favorite byways. This road hugs the south side of Haleakala Volcano on the island of Maui. All of us have probably enjoyed traveling on a scenic byway at one time in our lives. What makes this route especially memorable? Have you ever thought about the qualities that are used in determining the criteria to designate a state or national scenic byway? Because these criteria are inherently geographic in nature, planning a scenic byway is routinely done with the help of GIS. These plans represent an interesting mix of objective and subjective considerations. Consequently, choosing scenic byways can make an excellent instructional activity using GIS because it combines inquiry, technology, and multiple disciplines in a decision-making environment. A new lesson in the ArcLessons library, Planning a Scenic Byway in Colorado, places you in the role of the State Scenic Byways program coordinator (an actual job position). As the coordinator, you will consider the criteria used by the National Scenic Byways www.esri.com Nominations Guide. “Scenic” is only one of six criteria used by the guide; others consider natural, historic, cultural, archaeological, and recreational qualities. You must choose between four roadways. To do this, you will use a variety of data, including traffic patterns, terrain, rivers, and population centers along with a weighting system, to choose the roadway that best meets all the criteria. You will consider federal land and terrain; using ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Explorer to view the area in 2D and 3D will help you make your decision. GIS skills developed in this lesson include spatial and attribute querying, weighting, symbolizing, layouts, and the use of GIS to make an informed decision. In late 2009, the State of Colorado posted a job opening for a State Scenic Byways program coordinator at the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) headquarters in Denver. Here is the position description: This position serves as the statewide Staff Authority on the scenic and historic byways program. It directs the program by formulating policy for approval by the Governor’s Scenic and Historic Byways Commission; serves as a resource to local agencies, communities, and byway organizations statewide; develops and implements planning and marketing strategies for the byway program; writes grant proposals for public and private funds; administers and supervises federal grant contracts; and interprets federal and state requirements. This position exists to work with CDOT staff; FHWA; and resource agencies such as the Colorado Department of Tourism, Bureau of Land Management, Colorado Historical Society, and others, to implement strategies for directing federal funding to Colorado. Continued on page 42 ArcUser Spring 2010 41