{"id":672832,"date":"2024-07-09T06:10:23","date_gmt":"2024-07-09T13:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=672832"},"modified":"2024-07-09T14:00:50","modified_gmt":"2024-07-09T21:00:50","slug":"des-moines-maps-trail-maintenance","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/des-moines-maps-trail-maintenance","title":{"rendered":"Revitalizing Des Moines\u2019s Trail System with GIS Technology"},"author":671,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","transcript_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":[10862],"tags":[1661,161482,321,209122,46992],"industry":[],"esri-blog-category":[483332,478302],"esri_blog_department":[478222,478202],"class_list":["post-672832","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-esri","tag-asset-management","tag-maintenance","tag-parks","tag-recreation","tag-trails","esri-blog-category-parks-and-recreation","esri-blog-category-transportation","esri_blog_department-conservation-and-environment","esri_blog_department-infrastructure"],"acf":{"video_source":"","video_start":"","video_stop":"","short_description":"A smart map of Des Moines trails helps park planners address a backlog of deferred maintenance projects and prioritize repairs.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"Park planners in Des Moines developed a new audit and analysis strategy that uses GIS to address the maintenance challenges of the city's multiuse trails.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nKey Takeaways\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Des Moines's multiuse trails faced significant maintenance challenges due to limited resources and a backlog of deferred projects.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The use of GIS technology and data analysis helped park planners prioritize trail repairs and secure additional funding for maintenance.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Community feedback and the high priority placed on trails by residents have played a crucial role in driving efforts to address trail liabilities and enables safety for users.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"The trails crisscrossing Des Moines, Iowa, stand out as one of the city\u2019s most popular amenities. More than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dsm.city\/news_detail_T2_R825.php\">2.3 million<\/a> trips were logged on the city's paved trailways by cyclists, runners, and walkers in 2023.\r\n\r\nHowever, limited resources have made maintaining the trail network difficult. When park planner and landscape architect Colby Fangman joined the City of Des Moines Parks and Recreation Department in 2017, he faced a daunting backlog of deferred maintenance needing to be documented and corrected.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe only have one full-time employee and one seasonal employee taking care of 70 miles of trails,\u201d Fangman said. \u201cOur trail system got way over its skis in terms of maintenance, staffing, and financial allocation.\u201d\r\n\r\nRoutine upkeep (such as mowing, tree-trimming, and trash removal) consumed most of the days for the two trail operators. They didn't have time to fix problems, such as potholes or erosion, so most issues compounded and worsened.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe had so many issues,\u201d Fangman said. \u201cWe had no money. And our city manager is a finance person, so we were clearly instructed to: Prove you have issues. Prove what it\u2019s going to cost. Prove you have a plan to address it.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe backlog of park projects ranged from minor noncompliance issues to major safety hazards. Fangman and his colleague Derek Hansen, a fellow park planner, needed to show where each problem existed and prioritize areas of concern. They used geographic information system (GIS) software to guide their approach.\r\n<h3><strong>Bringing Visibility to Trail Issues <\/strong><\/h3>\r\nFixing Des Moines\u2019s damaged trails started with making a map. In 2019, Fangman and Hansen developed a new point location audit and analysis strategy to capture maintenance concerns and display them geographically.\r\n\r\nAs part of their new strategy, they conduct an audit every fall to gain a baseline understanding of trail conditions. The park planners scour each mile of concrete and asphalt, noting liabilities such as cracks, unstable embankments, and rotting trees.\r\n\r\nFangman and Hansen use a GIS data collection app to record the precise location and details of each issue. Then, the results are presented on a shared trails audit web map, which categorizes issue points by level of liability and repair status."},{"acf_fc_layout":"gallery","gallery_images":[672942,672882,672892]},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"After each yearly audit, they analyze the data to determine where repairs are most critical. This enables limited resources to be wisely spent.\r\n\r\nIn 2023, supported by their analysis and dynamic web map, park planners presented city leadership with a proposal for additional trail maintenance funding. The proposal outlined a $3.9 million increase over 10 years to support trail operations and capital repairs.\r\n\r\nWhen Fangman and Hansen presented the proposal to the city manager, a bill had just been passed to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.desmoinesregister.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2023\/04\/19\/iowa-house-and-senate-pass-different-bills-to-cut-property-taxes\/70130551007\/\">reduce spending by cities and counties<\/a> across Iowa. Despite the new financial constraints, city leaders approved the Parks and Recreation Department\u2019s proposed budget increase for trails. \u201cWe were able to prove the value of applying more funding to address all these liabilities,\u201d Fangman said."},{"acf_fc_layout":"gallery","gallery_images":[672902,672912,672932]},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Clear data and visuals, supported by community feedback, helped persuade city leadership.\r\n\r\nDes Moines residents consider the city\u2019s 22 trails a beloved and vital commodity\u2014one that provides community wellness and connectivity. In addition to gauging trail usage, the City of Des Moines conducts resident satisfaction surveys every two to three years. Consistently, residents rank trails as a top priority.\r\n<h3><strong>Making the Right Repairs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nThe new trail maintenance budget not only meets community needs, it also mitigates risks.\r\n\r\nTrails pose an inherent liability to cities. People have 24-hour access to trailways, and maintenance concerns raise the potential for harm. Improperly placed pylons may restrict access for users with disabilities. Uneven surfaces may cause a cyclist to wreck. Flooding can knock over fencing and undermine trail stability.\r\n\r\nAs Fangman and Hansen audit Des Moines trails, they assign priority levels to each issue. These levels factor in liability. \u201cDerek and I triage our issues based on health, safety, and welfare,\u201d Fangman said. \u201cWhat is the greatest risk to the user? This is also inherently the greatest risk to the city in terms of litigation.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe highest-priority problems demand immediate mitigative action. Failure to do so could put trail users and staff at risk. These issues include cracks or gaps in pavement large enough to catch bike tires, dead trees that pose a hazard of falling, and unstable soil that could cause the trail to collapse.\r\n\r\nTypically, repairs of this magnitude require assistance from the city\u2019s engineering department, the public works department, or contractors. Since the trail audit web map is shared across city departments, engineers or other city employees can quickly reference the data park planners collected.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt allows others to see what we\u2019ve seen, so we can work together towards addressing it,\u201d Fangman said."},{"acf_fc_layout":"gallery","gallery_images":[672862,672872]},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Nature finds new ways to challenge the park planners with each turn of seasons. After three years of drought, Fangman and Hansen saw a huge spike in issues due to soil weakening.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe jumped from 400 to 900 active trail issues between our 2022 and 2023 audits,\u201d said Hansen. This equates to about $5 million in new damages in a single year.\r\n\r\nLuckily, the point audit and analysis approach treats the trail maintenance program as a living system. The trail audit web map updates in real time, and priorities can be adjusted based on resident feedback or other contextual factors.\r\n\r\nThe park planners were rewarded with another financial windfall last year, following their increased budget proposal to city leaders.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe also got a one time, one million-dollar allocation from the city\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/american-rescue-plan\/\">American Rescue Plan<\/a> funds,\u201d said Fangman. \u201cThe city manager told our department, \u2018Take a million and pick off two of your worst corridors.\u2019\u201d\r\n\r\nThanks to careful data collection and GIS, Fangman and Hansen knew exactly which trails to target. Construction began in the Spring of 2024.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLearn how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/environment-natural-resources\/focus-areas\/outdoor-recreation\">cities take a geospatial approach to outdoor recreation with GIS<\/a>."}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Revitalizing Des Moines\u2019s Trail System with GIS Technology<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A smart map of Des Moines trails helps park planners address a backlog of deferred maintenance projects and prioritize repairs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/des-moines-maps-trail-maintenance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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