SharedStreets
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Current Status | Announced by NACTO and the Open Transport Partnership in January 2018 |
| Key Contacts | http://sharedstreets.io/contact/ |
| Implementing Agencies | unknown |
| Documentation | SharedStreets Reference System |
| Founding/Sponsoring Organizations | Funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Partners include the World Bank, WRI, Open Transport Partnership, the OECD International Transport Forum, and a list of private-sector innovators. |
Background
SharedStreets is a combination of open data standards, data processing tools, data analysis tools, and infrastructure for sharing data. It aims to become a data clearinghouse for information about street transportation infrastructure and its use as well as a way for public agencies and private organizations to collaborate to plan better use of the street.
The SharedStreets data standard is known as the SharedStreets Reference System. It is a second iteration of what was the OpenStreetMap Linear Referencing system (OSMLR) developed for the OpenTraffic project. It combines OSMLR with concepts from the earlier OpenLR project. The standard is designed to support complex street segment information in a contemporary, interconnected transportation system. The standard also enables porting of data between platforms and services like OpenStreetMap, city-managed GIS systems, and commercial basemaps. The standard incorporates a stable shorthand segment ID, protocol buffer encoding, an ability to maintain base maps in existing systems, OSM metadata support, and a Builder tool for generating the data.
Analysis
Cities rely on geospatial software and systems to collect, store, and share street information. It's common for cities to define their own standards for streets data, but communication between cities or countries has historically been complex. OpenStreetMap has provided a global data set, but it doesn't interoperate with local datasets, and has not provided a source of stable segment IDs. The ability to share data about street infrastructure has become more critical in recent years as street usage has rapidly changed with the advent of car and bike sharing networks, Network Transportation Companies (NTCs) like Uber and Lyft, and Vision Zero activities aimed at reducing traffic injuries and deaths.
The SharedStreets standard aims to facilitate communication of street information globally, while maintaining clear and precise information about street details.