Information Technology and Public Works: Interactive Leafing Map

NOTE: Starting in 2023, the City of Bloomington discontinued vacuum leaf collection. Do NOT rake your leaves to the property edge for vacuum pickup! Click here for more information: https://bloomington.in.gov/departments/public-works/street/leaf-collection. 

The Challenge

Before Fall 2020, the Public Works Street Department staff used an application built on the City’s legacy Geographic Information System (GIS) software, GenaMap, to manage the status of curbside leaf pick-up across Bloomington neighborhoods.  A basic interactive web map was provided to the public to track daily progress and see when their neighborhood was next. GenaMap did not have its own integrated web mapping capability so this web map was built on Leaflet, a popular lightweight library for building interactive maps. Leaflet requires customization for additional functionality beyond basic map navigation and layer control.  The leafing map lacked built-in search tools that would allow for residents to search by their address or neighborhood name to more easily zoom in and see their street’s curbside pick-up status. Navigating the map could be difficult for people not familiar with web maps or they might not know exactly where to zoom into on the map. After several years of use, the GIS Team had not implemented these custom improvements.
 

The Idea: 

The City of Bloomington’s Information Technology Service (ITS) Department adopted a new GIS platform called ArcGIS in 2018 and has recently started standing up web based applications. The ArcGIS platform would allow ITS to create multiple applications for this project geared toward specific users.  The first was an internal web map for Street Department staff to manage the status of pick-up that was focused on this task only. The second web map was for the public with increased functionality that residents could use to more easily follow the status of leaf pick-up in their neighborhood. 

The new platform was web-based, which would make deployment and training of Street Department staff on the editing map easier for ITS. With a head start from the existing application workflow, creating these two interactive maps in ArcGIS took just six weeks. It will serve as a template for other public outreach on City services going forward.  This project arose naturally out of a three-year ArcGIS implementation work plan to replace legacy GIS tools. It moved forward easily because Richard Creek (GIS Specialist) and Laura Haley (GIS Manager) in ITS initiated the switch-over, working closely with Chris Axsom (Asset Clerk) and Danna Workman (Account Clerk and Grant Coordinator) in Public Works to determine the Street Division’s needs. 

The Cost

Implementation of the new interactive leafing map took a little over a month, which included setting up the data as well as designing both the editing web map, the interactive status map, and training Street Department staff. There were no direct costs because the hardware and software licensing for the ArcGIS web service was already in place. In the future, Public Works will purchase three ArcGIS web user licenses for their dedicated use on this and other projects for $1,500. This will be an annual cost for them.
 

The Benefits

The new interactive leafing map benefits not only residents but the staff who manage and edit it as well. For residents, the added search capabilities make it easier for the public to use and follow the leaf collection status in their area. The office staff at the Street Department reported that the volume of phone calls about leafing pickup status was down this year, thanks in part to ITS and Public Works’ joint innovation efforts!

For those who maintain the map, the primary benefit of the web editing tool is that more than one user can edit the map at any given time, which speeds up edits. 

Metadata

City Department(s): Information Technology, Public Works

City Point of Contact: Laura Haley

Partner(s): N/A

Partner(s) Point(s) of Contact: N/A

Type of Innovation: Technical/Software, Process Improvement 

Date Implemented: October 30, 2020