Where to Draw the Line: Using GIS to Incorporate Environmental Data in Highway Placement Decisions

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Creator
  • Burdick, Sarah
    • Other Affiliation: Transportation Planner, Town of Carrboro, NC
Abstract
  • One of the most difficult responsibilities of local elected officials is the approval of a thoroughfare plan for an urban area. A thoroughfare plan is a comprehensive, long-range (ten- to twenty-year) plan for highway improvements, and thus has enduring and far-reaching policy implications. When considering a thoroughfare plan, elected officials are often concerned because they cannot look at a proposed thoroughfare, represented by a line on a map, and assess the magnitude of environmental and social consequences of the route. As a result, some crucial facilities might be left off the thoroughfare plan completely, rather than risk these unknown consequences. The decision of whether to include a proposed road on a thoroughfare plan will always be difficult. However, technology is available that can help decision makers determine that a line on a map is indeed the most appropriate location for a thoroughfare. In recent years, transportation professionals and elected officials have begun to use geographic information systems (GIS) to visualize the environmental and social impacts of a corridor and to enhance their ability to choose the best route.
Date of publication
DOI
Resource type
  • Article
Rights statement
  • In Copyright
Journal title
  • Carolina Planning Journal
Journal volume
  • 17
Journal issue
  • 1
Page start
  • 71
Page end
  • 74
Language
  • English
Digital collection
  • Carolina Planning Journal

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