Short Hills Provinical 2013

Short Hills Park Remapping: 2012 - 2013

Brief Summary

As well as obtaining a Geospatial Management Graduate Certificate from Niagara College Canada in Niagara-on-the-Lake Ontario, I have recently completed a one-year project (with a colleague, Jeff) for the Friends of Short Hills Park and the Ontario Parks Authority in conjunction with the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The primary objectives of this thesis project are to redesign and display new trail data to park users. Major park trails have been rerouted, and the maps provided at park kiosks lack the visual clarity that should be present. Our clients would like a fully updated, renovated and refreshed design and data to provide to the public and to park users. Our clients also want to keep park users in the technological loop. This involves updating web content, integration with Google Earth, QR Code placement on park signs to link to park information, and immersible mobile content.

Another key objective that the clients have requested is that the trails be given a scientifically analyzed difficulty rating. This assessment will provide a rating system based on real data analysis of the park's terrain involving: creating Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), digitizing trail data, and finally running several analysis tools in ArcDesktop to provide the client a rating of difficulty for each trail.

The projects involves the use of current hardware and software to provide the client with an updated set of data useful to both park users, and to the public. In the hardware aspect, the use of powerful desktop computing and intuitive GPS receivers allows our project to handle multiple problems and solutions with minimal time spent using costly resources. Time spent in the field is made efficient by setting up automation with GPS tracking; breadcrumb trails can be collected while we enjoy walking/biking/hiking in the park.

Another aspect of this thesis is the use of professional proposals and the incorporation of Earned Value Assessments to give the client real-time feedback as to the costs, schedule and time frame of the project.

Mapping the Trails

Since two of the trails in Short Hills provincial park needed to be remapped, it was our job to take Trimble GPS units into the park and hike these trails. We picked a starting location for the trail, walked along it, and stopped our data collection at its endpoint. As we walked the trail, the Trimble left a cookie trail of our location at one-second intervals along the trail. What we ended up with was a series of point data along the trails. (Please click the image for a larger version.)

Figure 1 - GPS Cookie Trail

Once this GPS Mapping was completed, it was joined to the existing portions of the trail, and set up to the specifications of the Friends of Short Hills Park. This output can be seen in the figure below. The upper cookie trail you see is the area just above the "Swayze Falls: Trail #1" Trail marker. (Please click the image for a larger version.)

Figure 2 - Updated Map of Short Hills Provincial Park

Obtaining a Trail Rating: Methods and Findings

To begin to analyze trail data, several things are needed. First and foremost, a Triangulated Integrated Network (TIN) of the park must first be created. This TIN is basically a 3-Dimensional representation of elevation points collected in the park area. An example of the TIN is shown in Figure 1 below. (Please click the image for a larger version.)

Figure 3 - Triangulated Integrated Network with Park Borders

To create this TIN, two types of data were used. The first data were contour, streams and hard lines. These data were used in the TIN formation as breaklines; lines that delineate a surface edge, stream edge, building edge or any sort of hard break in an elevation profile. The next data used were an array of elevation points, set at 10 meter intervals. These elevation points are used to create the "triangles" that form the TIN. Each point is a set elevation, so drawing lines between points creates a 3D surface. The three elements of a TIN are shown below in Figure 2. (Please click the image for a larger version.)

Figure 4 - Exploded TIN Diagram. Top Layer: Contour and Breaklines. Middle Layer: Masspoints. Bottom Layer: Combined Breaklines and Masspoints to generate TIN.

Once the TIN is complete, a DEM or "Digital Elevation Model" can be created. A DEM is essentially a 2D version of a TIN, with each pixel related to an elevation value. An example can be seen below in Figure 3. (Please click the image below for a larger version)

Figure 5 - Short Hills Park DEM and Stream Networks

At this point, the necessary data is in place to be analyzed. Since trail data had already been acquired by utilizing a Trimble GeoXT Series and ArcPad, the trails could begin to be analyzed. Figure 4 below shows each trail in the park, and the Terrain Roughness Value it crosses. (Please click the image below for a larger version)

Figure 6 - Terrain Roughness Index and Short Hills Park Trails

Trail ratings can now be scientifically obtained from the data. In order to do this, each trail was given a 2 meter buffer around it. What this does is produce a polygon around the trails that is easy to work with, and can be used as a sort of cookie cutter for pixel data that resides underneath it. A tool was created using ArcGIS ModelBuilder to run on the trail and TRI data, to essentially find the average TRI along each trail. This tool can be transferred to any park with trail data and a DEM, and may be used as a standard for assessing terrain at any scale.

This average is extremely useful to gauge how "easy" or "hard" a trail can be. For example, a "hard" trail will have to traverse a constantly changing environment; this can be steep slopes, or angled paths along a side of a hill. This sort of terrain is better suited to a horseback rider, mountain biker and experienced hiker. Trails that do not cross such terrain and stick to a flatter route are essentially "easy"; they cross little elevation changes and are easily traversed by hikers who want a more relaxed scenic route.

Creating Individual Trail Maps

Since the client needs to include the updated maps on their website and in a physical trail guide, each trail must be made into its own separate map. Each trail is made focused, and from there a map can be made. (Please click the image below for a larger version)

Figure 7 - Trail Map Sample

Using Google Earth's API to Analyze Trails

Since there are a wealth of free services online to use with our data, we chose to use Google Earth to help with the visual analysis of the Short Hills Park Trails. ArcGIS (Our main geospatial editing program) has a function to export shapefiles to a KML format. These KML files can then be imported into Google Earth and from there be used to create profile graphs. Below is an example of a video that will be embedded into the Friends of ShortHills Park website, to allow users to "preview" a trail before deciding to hike, bike, or trot.

Embedding QR-Codes onto Trail Maps

To link to all of this digital data out on the trails, Short Hills Park would like to utilize QR Codes that can be scanned by park users. These QR Codes would then link to pages of the Friends of Short Hills Park website, to display appropriate trail and park data. The Figure below shows the Black Walnut Trail Map with embedded QR Code. (Code can be scanned by any QR Code Scan app).

Figure 8 - Black Walnut Trail and Functional QR Code

Creating and Showing Trail Elevations and Landmarks

At our client's request we were able to make them a 2-D side profile elevation graph of their trail, with landmark features. This idea came from the notion that a park user wouldn't be able to tell how much elevation change a trail encountered, and how far they were along a trail without GPS. The final result can be seen below.

Figure 9 - Trail Elevation Side Profile with Accurate Landmark Positions

Organizing the Data

The data for this project was held inside a file geodatabase created through ESRI's ArcCatalog, which allowed us to work simultaneously and occasionally over a network to be able to complete tasks on time and on budget. This geodatabase was maintained for integrity with MySQL, and cleaned regularly as well as backed up to several physical drives to ensure data integrity. The main goal of this was to be able to provide the client with an easily navigable database that they could use  well into the future, saving them time and money as well as giving them the opportunity to expand their data and create great maps for park users.