Challenge

Active transportation infrastructure data can be difficult to collect, share, and analyze consistently across jurisdictions and platforms. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) is advancing the General Active Transportation Infrastructure Specification (GATIS), a national initiative focused on creating a consistent framework for representing geographic information system (GIS) data related to sidewalks, bicycle facilities, shared use paths, crossings, curb ramps, and other infrastructure used by people walking, bicycling, and using assistive mobility devices. Establishing common data structures will help agencies, researchers, technology providers, and advocacy organizations better understand and manage active transportation networks.

Solution

As part of this effort, Kittelson worked with BTS as the technical lead for the continued evolution and implementation of GATIS. Through practitioner listening sessions, developer engagement, workshops and outreach activities, our team is identifying implementation challenges, prioritizing enhancements, and broadening awareness of the specification across the transportation community.

In addition, Kittelson is supporting the development of implementation resources that make it easier for agencies and organizations to adopt the specification through guidance documents, training materials, data conversion and validation tools, and other resources designed to improve data quality and consistency. Lastly, our team is supporting the technical development of GATIS Version 2.0, which will expand the specification’s capabilities and address emerging use cases.