To support local authorities in meeting their duty to provide route maps of existing safe footpaths and cycle-ways, Exegesis were contracted to specify the structure of datasets and design a web based data management system. At the same time Sustrans carried out an initial survey of existing paths and infrastructure to populate the system.

Exegesis created a structured national road and public rights of way network ready for the survey, then presented the survey data via a web mapping interface. The Sustrans survey data was added and thematically displayed. The LAs then defined their routes by clicking on the existing paths and roads and entering route details. The routes were inspected to assess the condition, hazards and suitability for an Active Travel route.

The resulting data could be visualised and edited on the web site by all of the Welsh LAs, minimising costs and helping to ensure that a consistent data set was created. The public consultation maps could then be printed directly from the website, providing consistently styled and annotated maps.

The Active Travel data set became the first national system for managing Active Travel paths and cycle-ways in the UK and will be used to improve the network and plan for the future.

Further information from Crispin Flower.