Arc Collector Part II: Building a Database, Domain, and Attributes

Introduction
The purpose of this lab was to propose a geospatial question and then use Arc Collector to build a database, domain, and attributes to solve the problem. The question addressed in this project was, "Where are the most hazardous areas to rollerblade on common pathways in Eau Claire?" Three different pathways were analyzed. Hazards included twigs, rocks, dirt and sand cover, cracks, and bumps. Twigs and rocks were combined into one attribute and cracks and bumps were joined as well. Proper project design is important because there must be a problem to be solved, objectives that will help appropriately solve that problem, and attributes/data collection methods that pertain to the problem. Poor design can result in inaccurate data and unclear results.

Study Area
The study area chosen for this project was all on the lower campus residency area of Eau Claire, WI. Two of the three pathways were along the river, and the third was on a pathway near Half Moon Lake and down Water Street. These pathways were chosen because they are well-known and common pathways for rollerbladers and bikers.

Methods
Common hazards for rollerbladers include anything obstructing the pathway. Twigs, rocks, sand/dirt, bumps, and cracks were there attributes collected. Twigs and rocks were counted and collected as integer fields, as well as bumps and cracks. Sand and dirt cover was collected as a percentage to be translated into light (0-5%), moderate (6-15%), and severe cover (>15%). A point feature layer was created in ArcMap desktop and brought into ArcGIS online so that data could be collected via Arc Collector, just as was done in the previous lab. (See Fig. 1 & 2 below)

Figure 1. Appearance of attribute collection in Arc Collector

Figure 2. The map after data collection was complete.

Results and Discussion
The resulting web map from ArcGIS online can be found here.

Figure 3. Map displaying recorded amounts of cracks and bumps obstructing rollerblading paths in Eau Claire, WI. Three sizes of symbols represent different ranges of cracks and bumps, with the largest symbol representing the most obstruction. Each pathway is labeled with a number (1-3) for referencing purposes.

Pathway number 2 had three areas with much obstruction from cracks and bumps, however pathways 1 and 2 also had a lot of bumps and cracks but they are more spread out. Overall, pathway number 1 seems to be the safest in terms of crack/bump obstruction (Fig. 3).

Figure 4. Map showing different levels of dirt cover on three different rollerblade pathways in Eau Claire, WI. Each pathway is labeled with a number (1-3) for referencing.

Pathway 3 had multiple severe areas of dirt cover which is very dangerous for rollerbladers because it is very slippery under the wheels. Pathways 1 and 2 had a few areas of moderate sand/dirt cover but nothing really as heavy as pathway 3. Taking dirt cover and bumps/cracks into account, pathway 1 still appears to be the safest (Fig 4).

Figure 5. Map representing the amount of twigs and rocks obstructing the pathways in Eau Claire, WI. Each pathway is labeled with a number (1-3) for referencing.

In Figure 5, each pathway contains a severe patch of twigs and rocks which is at least 10. Pathway 1 had a consistent amount of twigs along the whole trail due to most of it being within the forest. Pathway 3 had the least amount (except for the short bit on Chippewa street) because it was mostly on water street sidewalk where there are not many trees or rocks around. Pathway number 2 had a moderate amount on its northern portion, also due to surrounding density of trees. Taking bumps/cracks, dirt cover, and twigs/rocks all into account, pathway number 1 seems to be the best route for a relatively hazard-free rollerblade ride, mostly because its levels of obstruction are mostly low to moderate, with very few areas of severity.

Conclusions
Proper project design was very important in solving this geographical problem because useful data needs to be collected in order to come to any conclusions. Latent variables may be determined by using other attributes to understand them and their affect on the problem. If this project were to be redone, it would be a good idea to collect a few more attributes, such as road crossings, steep hills, and obstacles such as tables/chairs outside of restaurants and coffee shops (mostly pertaining to Water St.). These are all important hazards that were not realized until data was being collected out in the field. This idea could be expanded upon by including more potential rollerblading pathways around lower campus as well as on upper campus or the downtown area.