Richmond, Va. – November 1, 2012 – Five jurisdictions in the Northern Virginia area (NOVA) (Fairfax County (project lead), Arlington County, City of Alexandria, Loudoun County, and Prince William County), the Virginia Information Technology Agency (VITA) and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) engaged in a project to develop a standard regional routable centerline (RRCL) data model and data set to support emergency response computer aided dispatch (CAD) systems throughout the region. The new data model will also be incorporated into the Virginia Geographic Information Network (VGIN) State road centerline file format (RCL) to facilitate routable centerline data sharing throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. The RCL model is intended to be made available to all others who may wish to participate in this data-sharing process.

Supporting the mapping and routing component of Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems at the local government level is a very challenging task. Every CAD system has its own unique and usually very detailed requirements for how data must be entered to support geo-verification of addresses, routing, and map display. Data for surrounding jurisdictions is necessary for supporting mutual aid responsibilities and sometimes to determine proper ownership of incoming calls. This project defined a statewide centerline model to support these needs and addressed the long term data sharing processes necessary to support a seamless centerline across jurisdictional boundaries. “The Northern Virginia Regional Routable Street Centerline project is leveraging the knowledge and investment of five jurisdictions and the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) and will benefit all participants in emergency response planning and CAD/911 execution. Overall it has been a highly successful project.” said Brendan Ford, one of the project co-leaders from Fairfax County.

Timmons Group tasks included developing automated Quality Assurance/Quality Control tools needed to validate the data Extract Transform and Load (ETL) processes and output. A set of common tools were developed and are being used by the five participating NOVA jurisdiction’s to enable bi-directional sharing of GIS RCL data between their local data models, a regional model, and the VITA state model. Esri Data Reviewer software and Python scripting were used to develop the QA/QC tools needed to run and report on an extensive list of ETL validation checks. The QA/QC tools were fully documented and training was provided to the NVRRCL Project participants. “Timmons Group enjoyed working with the NVRRCL project partners and is proud that the project received the Esri Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award in 2011 and was a finalist in the 2012 Governor’s Technology Award (Virginia).” Russell Minich – Principal for Integrated Solutions at Timmons Group.

About Timmons Group
Timmons Group is a leading provider of geospatial information architecture and engineering services focusing on developing intuitive, enterprise geospatial web applications, highly-usable, cross-device mobile applications, and integrated, geospatially-enabled enterprise solutions. Timmons Group develops solutions across multiple platforms, including Adobe Flex/Flash, Microsoft Silverlight, JavaScript, HTML5, and native mobile operating systems. Timmons Group also provides GIS Strategic Planning support leveraging their GIS RoadMap process. Timmons Group maintains a strong business partner relationship with Esri, and has been a recipient of both the Esri Business Partner of the Year award and the Esri Foundation Partner of the Year award. For more information about Timmons Group’s geospatial products and services, contact Lowell Ballard at Email Contact or visit www.timmonsgis.com.