Here is an interactive map of the City of Vaughan. You can use this map to find out what recreational facilities are located near your home, when garbage pickups occur and much more.
Vaughan
August 16, 2008 10:40 PM
David Fleischer
You may be partial to the torn, folded paper map in your glove compartment or perhaps a beloved 2005 Perly’s, but maps have come a long way.
If you visit your municipality’s website, you can take advantage of new mapping systems that allow you to find just about any information you can think of about your neighbourhood.
It’s not just a map, either.
Rather, it is a Geographical Information System (GIS), which is basically a fancy way of saying it is a database conveying geographical information.
Similar to the Internet, it began as an internal system whose public applications gradually became obvious.
“The real vision here is to enable access to information where and when people want it,” said York Region’s director of Geomatics, Nancy Prout.
Later this month, the region’s site gets a formal relaunch, emphasizing its increasing user-friendliness: fewer clicks for you, more graphics and improved speed.
At its most basic, you can use the map to find addresses, something significant in a fast-growing area where new streets are being added almost every week.
You access the same data EMS, police and internal departments, such as planning, have at their fingertips.
“What you see on the web is downloading in realtime from our warehouse, so it is the most current data,” Ms Proust said.
Beyond that, there are ward maps, garbage pickup guides and more.
You may use the interactive maps to see what vacant employment land remains in the region.
A simple click reveals how far along in the zoning process a particular parcel is.
Another regional map shows the precise boundaries of the Oak Ridges Moraine while a relief map allows you to see how all the land in York Region gradually drops off from its heights.
Layers — such as roads, municipal boundaries and rivers — can be toggled on and off, so you can see only what you want.
As you zoom in, the view shifts to detailed satellite photos.
If you want to open shop in Markham, hoping to find a piece of land zoned for commercial use bigger than, say, five hectares, just punch in the information and see what comes up (there are 13 parcels meeting those particular criteria).
If you want to go for a run, a measuring tool allows you to trace out a route of just the length you would like, right down to the metre.
If you have ever wondered what the area is of your lot, that is also easily determined.
All of York Region’s municipalities share the data, though how they choose to use it and how it is displayed on their websites varies.
Beware, most of these maps work best on Internet Explorer and can be a clunky or even inoperable on a Macintosh.
You should also be aware that once you get started they can be addictive. You might want to bring a watch with an alarm just you don’t get lost.
By the numbers:
• 1994: Year York Region’s GIS came online;
• 14: Interactive maps at York Region’s site;
• 150,000: Site visits of 15 minutes or longer last year;
• 41: Number of thematic databases launched this year alone;
• 3,000: Monthly downloads of “Take A Hike,” the site’s most popular feature; and,
• 2.5: Terabytes(1,000 gigabytes each) of data on the site
Here are some websites you can use to map out your town or any other in York Region:
• York Explorer:
maps.york.ca• Navigate Newmarket:
tinyurl.com/5pmvgj• Vaughan Explorer:
www.vaughanmaps.ca• Navigate Markham:
tinyurl.com/6r8dze• RHExplorer:
tinyurl.com/6ljy25