Network Analysis/Service Coverage Area

Emergency Response

The national standard for emergency response dictates that emergency vehicles need to respond to an emergency within 6 minutes - 90% of the time, as victims in a health emergency can suffer severe oxygen deprivation after 6 minutes.

This project used Network Analysis to determine response times and coverage areas for the Town of Sandwich, Massachusetts and their Fire Department.  The first map on the left illustrates the response time and coverage area for all three existing fire stations.   The map on the right illustrates how that coverage is impacted if one of the fire stations had to close in the event of town budget constraints.  Since the Town of Sandwich is only meeting 34% and 22% coverage areas within 5 minutes, and 68% and 57% within 10 minutes,  it is essential that this town keep all three fire stations running.  Help from neighboring communities can help meet that critical impact time; however a fourth fire station would help achieve the necessary response times that this community needs for meeting emergency response in their coverage area.

GPS!

Trips to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and The Metropolitan Museum in New York City provided an opportunity for mapping my trip using GPS!  An iPhone application called MyTrax dropped points along the course of the route between the two museums on two different days.  The .gpx file was then captured and saved, then uploaded to ArcGIS online using ESRI software. See the mapped Museum trips below:
To visit the ArcGIS online web application go here:

View Larger Map

Network Analysis

ArcGIS Network Analysis tools can find shortest routes, produce the most efficient routes for a deliveries, locate closest facilities, etc.  The map below demonstrates the process for Network Analysis, that allows a user to define service areas around any location on a network, in the map below the service areas surrounding Massachusetts Community Colleges with a 20 mile radius.  Both the Network Analysts tools for ArcGIS using the ArcGIS online Generate Services Areas tool and the ArcGIS desktop Euclidian Distance tool was used as a comparison of each tool to create maps of Massachusetts Community Colleges and their service coverage areas.

Massachusetts Community Colleges

Address data was collected, then using GIS ArcMap software and a geo-coding process, this map was created to show the location of Massachusetts Community Colleges.  It also displays the Community Health Center locations and their proximity to the schools.  The map is symbolized by town population to show areas of dense urban population, where the location of a Community College is important for commuting students. The map also displays a table with the distance in miles for the nearest Health Center for each Community College.

View Shed for Wind Turbine Visibility

Wind Turbines produce a lot of Eco-friendly energy.  However, not all property owners want a turbine within view, and worry it will destroy property values.  Mount Saint Mary's Abbey in Franklin, MA has proposed an upgrade for their small 30 meter to a larger 120 meter/1800kW wind turbine.  A lot of energy can be harvested to power their facility and provide surplus energy to the area.  This project will analyze the view shed in the area and examine if the turbines will indeed have a significant impact on their views.  The citizens are in support of green energy options, and this study will help get the answers they need to support or oppose the proposal.

Fig.1.  View Shed Analysis for Citizens Opposed To (Wind) Turbines On (Mount) St. Mary (But) Otherwise Green  committee of Franklin and Wrentham, MA.