Walk-time maps – the walking version of drive-time area maps – show where and how far pedestrians can travel in a certain amount of time. Using ArcGIS Online you can create a walk-time map in 3 steps. This article explains how.
Where can we walk in 20 minutes?
My 4-year-old niece, Maria, and I considered this question. Maria had a new scooter and wanted to try it out while I walked with her. My sister thought Maria might last 40 minutes round trip. But unless I wanted to carry Maria home – I did not – we should consider a few shorter walks as well.
How did Maria and I decide where to go? We made a walk-time map, of course!
Walk-time maps – the walking version of drive-time area maps – are based on a predefined walking speed (usually 5 kilometers per hour) and paths and roads that allow pedestrian traffic.
Using ArcGIS Online we made a walk-time map in 3 steps. Here’s how.
Step 1. Find the start location on a map
a. Sign in to ArcGIS Online with your ArcGIS account and click Map.
You’ll need Map Viewer Classic and publisher privileges to create the walk-time areas. If you don’t have publisher privileges, contact your administrator or get a free ArcGIS trial.
b. In the map search box, type your start address and click the Search button (or choose from the suggested addresses).
The map displays a pop-up with your search result.
Step 2. Add the location to a Map Notes layer
a. At the bottom of the search result pop-up, click Add to Map Notes.
Map Notes is added as a new layer in your map.
A layer is a logical collection of geographic data, for example roads, rivers, or boundaries such as ZIP Codes. When you create a map, you can combine many different layers. For this map, your new layer that you created contains one data point, your address.
Map Notes as a name isn’t meaningful, especially to my 4-year-old assistant, so we renamed it.
b. From the Contents pane, rename the layer.
I renamed our layer to “Maria’s house”.
We also renamed the pop-up and chose a different symbol.
c. Click the point symbol on the map and click Edit.
d. Update the pop-up title and change the symbol.
There are lots of symbols to consider. We chose the General Infrastructure house symbol resized to 20 pixels.
Maria agreed that “Maria’s house” with a house symbol was much better.
Step 3. Create walk-time areas
Maria and I decided we should create 3 scooter walking areas: 10-minutes, 15-minutes, and 20-minutes.
a. In the Contents pane, click the Perform Analysis button under your renamed layer.
b. In the Perform Analysis pane, click Use Proximity > Create Drive-Time Areas.
c. For Measure, choose Walking Time and type 10 15 20 (separated with spaces). Verify time is set to minutes.
d. Rename the result layer name and click Run Analysis.
When the analysis is done, your walk areas appear on the map (and you get a new layer).
We wanted to change the default colors.
e. In the Contents pane, point to your new result layer and click the Change Style button.
f. From Types (Unique symbols) click Options and click the Change All Symbols button.
g. Pick a new fill. We had fun looking at various color ramps!
h. Click OK and Done when you’re finished changing the color.
i. Open the map legend so you can see which colors represent which walk-time areas.
In 3 steps, we made a walk-time map. We used it to plan our route.
And where did we go? We aimed for the purple bridge. But got a bit distracted along the way. There was a dog park. And ice cream cones.
More information about travel time maps
- Create Drive-Time Areas
- Travel modes
- Streamline deliveries with drive-time analysis
- Best practices for using layers in maps
This article was originally published on May 4, 2018 and has been updated.
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