[Talk-us] Mapping for emergency services

[Mike N]

On 2/5/2020 9:49 AM, Eric Christensen via Talk-us wrote:

> For the record, my team(s) has many cartographic resources at our
> fingertips that we can use for search and rescue including, but not
> limited to: USGS 7.5' maps, National Park Service maps, OSM, Google
> maps, state and local GIS data, and several options for aerial imagery.

   It's great to hear from a data consumer!  It would seem to be useful 
to be able to create some sort of meta-marking about regions of data 
quality in OSM, meaning that "This area has excellent detail", "this 
area has road geometry only", and "this area hasn't been detailed and 
minor roads are known to have poor road geometry", which would somehow 
be indicated in your app.

> If you consider an urban search and rescue team's mission, and a large
> scale event, buildings on a map can be extremely helpful for planning
> and operations where the accountability of many directed searches of
> structures is imperative.

   That's good information - I sometimes wonder if there's a use for 
buildings in OSM other than GIS queries for average household square 
footage.

> I say all this to really say to all those that go the extra mile to map
> a trail (and determine if it's just a walking trail or maybe something
> big enough to get an ATV, vehicle, or horse through), add a stream,
> outline a dangerous cliff, add a building, align a roadway, mark the
> bathrooms at your local park, and so many other tedious, small things
> that seem to be totally innocuous...  thank you!

   I'm really happy that some local outdoor /history enthusiasts have 
been exploring and detail mapping all the dirt roads and trails in the 
nature reserve-rich parts of our county.   If the rest of our group adds 
the rest of the buildings and driveways, it will be a great resource for 
the area.