{"id":328261,"date":"2020-04-07T19:59:30","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T02:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcnews&p=328261"},"modified":"2020-04-07T18:20:56","modified_gmt":"2020-04-08T01:20:56","slug":"trailblazers","status":"publish","type":"arcnews","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/trailblazers","title":{"rendered":"Trailblazers"},"author":5752,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10392,386952,91],"tags":[294422,300062,134592,434431,108482],"arcnews_issues":[430091],"class_list":["post-328261","arcnews","type-arcnews","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arcgis-online","category-arcgis-quickcapture","category-mapping","tag-bike-map","tag-data-quality","tag-field-data-collection","tag-gnss","tag-trail-mapping","arcnews_issues-spring-2020","arcnews_sections-your-work"],"acf":{"short_description":"A cycling organization accurately maps mountain biking trails in Qu\u00e9bec, Canada, using ArcGIS QuickCapture and high-accuracy GNSS receivers.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Cycling Organization Accurately Maps Mountain Bike Trails in Qu\u00e9bec, Canada<\/h2>\r\nCycling is a popular sport and pastime in the Canadian province of Qu\u00e9bec, and for good reason.\r\n\r\nAs Canada\u2019s largest province by area, Qu\u00e9bec offers a massive trail network with world-class biking trails. Bike-friendly routes go past scenic lakes, rivers, and farms; through forests and quaint towns; up and down hills and mountains; and into the heart of vibrant communities such as Montreal and Qu\u00e9bec City. The province\u2019s most famous bike network is Route Verte, or Green Route, which comprises more than 5,300 kilometers (about 3,300 miles) of trails."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":328271,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"For cyclists to take full advantage of Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s trails, they must be mapped and maintained. As a nonprofit organization that promotes bicycling for recreation, health, tourism, and environmental reasons, V\u00e9lo Qu\u00e9bec took charge of mapping trail networks\u2014including Route Verte\u2014for the province. The mapping initiative, supported in part by Esri technology, aims to help develop mountain biking trails specifically and promote their use.\r\n\r\n\u201cThis project is very dear to me,\u201d said Francis T\u00e9trault, mountain biking project manager for V\u00e9lo Qu\u00e9bec and an avid mountain biker for 20 years. \u201cWe currently have over 500 kilometers mapped this season in the first installment of our project.\u201d\r\n\r\nT\u00e9trault has made it his mission to help perpetuate trail networks, as he has seen too many disappear due to poor planning and maintenance and loss of landowner permissions. Ideally, T\u00e9trault and the team at V\u00e9lo Qu\u00e9bec will map every kilometer of mountain bike trail in the province and add each official new trail to the organization\u2019s database."},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

More Detailed Trail Data<\/h2>\r\nRecently, T\u00e9trault and his team collected accurate data on mountain bike trails by using ArcGIS QuickCapture along with high-accuracy Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers from Esri partner Eos Positioning Systems. The data included points and polylines that show the trail locations from start to finish; the length, directionality, difficulty level, and surface type of each trail; signage; and any obstacles cyclists might face.\r\n\r\nArcGIS QuickCapture, a mobile app designed for rapid field data collection, lets users record data by tapping a large button. The app then transmits the information back to a database in real time.\r\n\r\nTo improve on the spatial accuracy of this data, V\u00e9lo Qu\u00e9bec paired QuickCapture with Arrow 100 receivers from Eos. This gave the team submeter location accuracy when collecting data in the field."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":328281,"image_position":"right","orientation":"vertical","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Part of V\u00e9lo Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s biking advocacy work includes offering trainings to cyclists and hosting cycling events and trips. To support these efforts\u2014which involve administering risk management, maintaining trails, and amending right-of-way agreements with landowners\u2014the organization needs precise data. The data it collects in the field will also support other goals in the future, such as updating trail maps. (See the organization\u2019s interactive online trail map<\/a>, hosted in ArcGIS Online. While mountain bike trail data collected for T\u00e9trault\u2019s project isn\u2019t on the bilingual interactive map, people can view the network of paved trails along Route Verte and use tools to look up routes, create itineraries, and find places to stay such as campgrounds and hotels.)\r\n\r\nIn many instances, trails in Qu\u00e9bec are built on private land. Cycling clubs, which develop the trails, must acquire permission from landowners to build trails on their land. Accurate trail mapping is helpful for obtaining this permission. The maps can show, for example, what portions of a proposed trail might be on a homeowner\u2019s land."},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

The Right Equipment<\/h2>\r\nA network of V\u00e9lo Qu\u00e9bec staff or volunteers\u2014some of whom are not versed in GIS\u2014create and maintain up-to-date trail data. Because the data-capture process happens out in the field, the technology used must be easy to understand and operate, and any associated training needs to be minimal.\r\n\r\nWorking remotely in areas without cell coverage and using technology under varying light and temperature conditions can add another layer of challenges. What\u2019s more, staff and volunteers capture data while they\u2019re riding a bicycle, so having lightweight, compact, durable equipment is critical.\r\n\r\nAnd, of course, this data collection must produce accurate data. Before this initiative, land managers had data that was largely gathered by smartphones (precise to about 14\u201316 meters) or handheld GPS systems (precise to around 4 meters). The low level of precision impacted data and analysis, so the V\u00e9lo Qu\u00e9bec team needed a tool to improve accuracy.\r\n\r\n\u201cBecause of that low level of precision, you could see lines crossing and being superimposed [when collecting trail data], especially where tight hairpin turns were concerned, which is a regular occurrence in modern bike trails,\u201d T\u00e9trault explained. \u201cThere [are] a lot of variables that make the [tracks] less precise.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

A Big-Button Experience<\/h2>\r\nV\u00e9lo Qu\u00e9bec wanted an easy-to-use, highly accurate, and compact field data collection solution, which is why the team selected ArcGIS QuickCapture for this project."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":328291,"image_position":"left","orientation":"vertical","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"The mobile app\u2019s simple, big-button user experience requires little training and runs on consumer iOS and Android devices, so anyone with either platform can load it on their phone. QuickCapture records and transmits data from the field, while the Arrow 100 receivers improve the spatial accuracy of the captured data.\r\n\r\nDue to severe snow conditions in Qu\u00e9bec, it wasn\u2019t possible for the team to do its first field tests on bicycles. Instead, T\u00e9trault put the mobile solution and receivers to the test while he went ice-skating on a lake near the V\u00e9lo Qu\u00e9bec office. T\u00e9trault said the results were remarkable: QuickCapture was easy to use, the receivers were easy to carry, and the data was very accurate. The receivers and QuickCapture app on mobile devices, used simultaneously, were able to precisely map and attribute the tracks on ice.\r\n\r\nThe next step was to prepare each of the complementary devices for use on mountain bikes in the spring. The team attached a smartphone with the mobile app to a bicycle\u2019s handlebar and mounted the GPS receiver\u2019s antenna on a rider\u2019s helmet. The receiver itself was in a hydration pack worn by the technician. It was configured to stream locations to the app at 2 Hz (two positions sent per second) to improve the granularity of the tracks captured. The receiver was also configured so it could document different kinds of field observations: photos of the trail, obstacles, bridges, and intersections; the difficulty and category of trails mapped; and polygons captured for trailhead parking lots and buildings.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe development of this methodology is breaking news for our field and has been very well received,\u201d T\u00e9trault said. \u201cWe now have a quality solution for gathering data that wasn\u2019t possible before.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Simpler Data Collection<\/h2>\r\nQuickCapture has allowed V\u00e9lo Qu\u00e9bec to simplify how it collects data and improve data processing. The whole operation is now digitized and more streamlined.\r\n\r\nThe old method of collecting data on the trails involved using a handheld GPS device to generate waypoints or polylines. Then, data was transcribed in a notebook and later entered into a spreadsheet to populate the attributes related to each point, such as the width or difficulty level of the trail. This old method was cumbersome and opened the door to data entry mistakes that would be hard to track afterward."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":328301,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Now, the app provides individual buttons for all the types of features recorded on the trails.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe pick the right trail attributes [and] punch the appropriate button in the app, and the track gets recorded as we follow the trail. And it\u2019s the same thing for observations along the trail,\u201d T\u00e9trault said. \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly simple. I see this procedure as less of a chore for volunteers than the traditional method of GPS and paper, and the training is much more intuitive.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe mobile app is also speeding up the capture of data in the field.\r\n\r\n\u201cIn the short time we\u2019ve been running the app on the ground, we have covered more kilometers in less time than [we would have] with our old method,\u201d T\u00e9trault said. \u201cIn one 20-week season, we should be able to cover around 600 kilometers, with an average of 20 kilometers per day. That\u2019s 375 miles for one person, which is a substantial amount.\u201d\r\n\r\nData is now accessible in real time as well, enabling prompt quality assurance and constant monitoring of progress. Technicians in the field can see if a trail has been entered correctly or call in to have office staff check it immediately.\r\n\r\nThere\u2019s also been considerable improvement in data quality. T\u00e9trault describes the mobile data collection app as a user-friendly solution that is helping V\u00e9lo Qu\u00e9bec better map and manage trails so that people will have them for generations to come.\r\n\r\n\u201cFor us, this tool guarantees a uniform quality of the data in the project, which was a big challenge before,\u201d said T\u00e9trault. \u201cI had an idea of the possibilities of GIS before, but this project has opened up a can of \u2018wow\u2019 in terms of putting technology in service for a cause.\u201d"}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"\nTrailblazers | ArcNews | Spring 2020<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A cycling organization accurately maps mountain biking trails in Qu\u00e9bec, Canada, using ArcGIS QuickCapture and high-accuracy GNSS receivers.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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