Canal & River Trust (CRT) commissioned Compass Informatics to develop a routable network for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
About The Canal & River Trust
Founded in 2012, Canal & River Trust is the UK’s largest waterways charity, caring for a 2,000-mile network of stunning canals and navigable rivers.
The 250-year-old waterways in their care include; the canals, embankments, culverts and reservoirs as well as the bridges, locks and towpaths.
Their vital ecosystems are also threatened by the growing impact of climate change and more extreme weather and need more care now than ever.
Project Requirement
Hosting the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will have a huge positive impact on the West Midlands.
As the region welcomes people from all over the world, additional transport capacity is required for spectators as they make their way between events.
This could lead to congestion on footpaths near venues as spectators look for the best way to the next event.
CRT identified that the towpath network is underused, and could be used to redirect visitors away from main roads and peak times between events.
Understanding how visitors could use the CRT network could ease congestion and help plan the location of facilities such as toilets, refreshments and signage.
Compass’ Solution – Routable Network
Our team’s objective was to compile the necessary data, apply a routing algorithm and evaluate the results with the Trust.
Through combining and enhancing data from Ordnance Survey map, NaPTAN transport stops, and the CRT’s towpath dataset, the team created a routable network between sporting venues and public transport nodes.
Multiple routes were generated between venues using the road network, canal towpaths and thousands more when combined with public transport nodes within a 5km radius of each venue.
Compass Informatics used its proprietary routing software to generate the network. Tools used included Python, QGIS and ArcGIS with the final package delivered to the client as an ESRI geodatabase.
This data will be included ion the CRT’s planning in the run-up to the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Solution Snapshot
About Compass
Compass Informatics is an Irish company providing location technologies and data analytics solutions which enable government and commercial organisations to deliver more efficient operations, protect their assets and meet regulatory requirements.
Compass Informatics’ services include GIS & Data Analytics, IT Systems Development and Location Technologies and the company has won awards for their innovative solutions and focus on sustainability.
Compass leverages the latest technologies to achieve full-service project delivery including; Big Data Analytics, AI, Cloud, Mobile, GIS and Satellite-based Earth Observation amongst others.
Compass Informatics are part of Tracsis Plc.
To learn more about this project, and how the solution provided may benefit your organisation, please contact our government solutions team at info@compassinformatics.com.