Applications and Tools
Cartography & Mapping
- QGIS
- QGIS is an open-source geographic information system that enables users to visualize, edit, and analyze spatial data for a wide range of applications. In spatial safety analysis, it allows analysts to integrate multiple datasets—such as crash locations, road networks, and demographic information—to identify risk patterns and prioritize interventions. Its powerful cartographic tools make it easy to produce clear, professional maps that communicate safety risks and trends to decision-makers. QGIS also has a vibrant community and extensive plugin ecosystem, allowing users to extend its functionality and tailor it to their specific needs.
- There are several resources available to help users learn and get familiar with QGIS like QGIS Tutorials & Tips
- Folium
- Folium Folium is a Python library that makes it easy to create interactive HTML-based maps using Leaflet.js, directly from Python. It allows public agencies to visualize geographic data in a web-based format, enabling accessible, shareable, and interactive spatial analysis outputs with just a few lines of code.
Geospatial Analysis
- Python
- Python is a powerful, accessible, and free programming language widely used by transportation agencies for analyzing and visualizing data. It includes a rich ecosystem of open-source libraries like Pandas, GeoPandas, Plotly, and Folium, enabling users to automate complex tasks, generate powerful visualizations, and extract insights from large datasets to support data-driven decision-making.
- Toole Design created a brief training course for the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to help staff learn how to use Python for safety data analysis and visualization. Training materials can be found on GitHub here. The sample dataset used in this training sequence is available here.
- GeoPandas
- GeoPandas is a Python library that makes managing, analyzing, and visualizing geospatial data in formats like shapefiles, Geopackage, or databases easy. It allows users to perform data engineering, spatial analysis, and data visualization efficiently outside of traditional GIS software tools.
- Linref
- Linref is a Python library used for managing, engineering, and analyzing linearly reference data, such as roadway assets and crashes. The library features helpful tools for performing many data manipulations as well as essential safety analyses such as sliding window-based network screening easily and flexibly.
- R
Database Management
- PostGIS
- PostGIS is a spatial database extension for PostgreSQL, a popular and powerful relational database system. It allows users to store, query, and manipulate geospatial data efficiently. While some database knowledge is beneficial, many resources are available to help users get started. Several open-source tools have been built on top of PostGIS including the Safer Streets Priority Finder (SSPF) tool.
Data Collection & File Management
- Google Forms & similar tools
- Commonly used but context‑specific (links vary)
- Git & GitHub
- Git is a distributed version control system that allows teams to collaborate on code development efficiently. It tracks changes in source code during software development, enabling multiple developers to work on a project simultaneously without interfering with each other's changes. GitHub is a web-based platform that hosts Git repositories, providing a user-friendly interface for version control, collaboration, and project management. Both are powerful tools for managing code, documentation, and data files in open-source projects.
- Git and GitHub Learning Resources
- Git Official Website
- GitHub Repository Access and Version Control
Web Hosting
- GitHub Pages (via GitHub)
- GitHub Pages allows users to host websites directly from their GitHub repositories. This simple platform enables users to create and publish websites quickly, making it an excellent choice for project documentation, simple dashboards, and more.
- GitHub Pages Hosting
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