Using GIS to Define and Develop TAZ Data

Chesbro, Gil; Parish, Cheryl; ,

Using GIS to Define and Develop TAZ Data

by Gil Chesbro, Michigan Dep of Transportation, Lansing, United States,
Cheryl Parish, Michigan Dep of Transportation, Lansing, United States,

Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Microcomputers in Transportation

Abstract:

GIS permits users to geographically display database information. It also can provide a common link between two or more previously unrelated databases. Increasingly, these capabilities are being adopted and applied to the transportation planning process. This paper explores the concerns and desires of the Demand Estimation and Travel Impact Analysis Section (DETIA) of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) in selecting a GIS package to use with the 1990 Census. It also reviews the benefits and problems we anticipated in using GIS software, and compares our experiences with our expectations. The paper is divided into two sections: the first describes the hardware/software/personnel considerations DETIA used to select a GIS package; reviews other options considered by DETIA; and recounts the rationale which guided the eventual selection of one GIS package. The second section of this paper discusses how GIS software was used to prepare census block-to-TAZ equivalency lists for the 1990 Census Transportation Planning Package. We note some of the problems we encountered as well as the techniques used to resolve these problems. We close with comments on future uses of GIS in MDOT's transportation planning process.

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