Issue link: https://resources.esri.ca/i/746844
Challenge With a population of approximately 135,000, the Greater Peterborough Area is known for its exceptional quality of life, and its beautiful setting along the Otonabee River in the Kawarthas tourism region. Living in Peterborough offers many advantages including diverse industrial, commercial and agricultural markets, quality health care, affordable real estate and close proximity to other major centres. With an increasing expectation of citizen engagement and diminishing budgets, the City set out to develop an interactive Web app that would allow members of the public to locate information online rather than having to phone the City directly. To develop the app, GIS staff would require a basemap that was up-to-date and accurate while offering extensive coverage beyond city limits. The City also looked to leverage a technology that would streamline workflows through self-serve mapping. Traditionally, to prepare for city meetings, decision-makers would request information from the GIS department and wait up to three weeks, until the next city meeting, to resolve the issue at hand. As well, inefficiencies existed with asset management as it could often take two to three summers to update the City's traffic sign inventories. Esri's cloud technology enables self-serve mapping and better communication with the public With a shift towards open data and a need to operate more efficiently, local municipalities across the country are turning towards affordable, cloud-based tools to achieve their goals. To streamline workflows and operate more transparently, the City of Peterborough joined Esri Canada's Community Maps Program and began using tools and templates from ArcGIS Online. Leveraging the cloud-based platform allowed the municipality to enhance internal operations, offer robust online services to residents, save money, and improve the overall quality and reliability of their data. 1 Esri Canada | City of Peterborough develops powerful online apps to improve efficiency and transparency " We originally joined the Community Maps Program because we liked the idea of staying in control of our data. When a change occurs, such as the addition of a new street, we can send a shapefile to Esri Canada and the update is reflected in less than a week." Nicole Schleifer Acting Land Information Services Manager City of Peterborough