Current events, goings-on in Delaware and anything else of interest here.
 #1000  by dave_in_delaware
 
I thought it could be beneficial to all the members here if I started a little (OK, big) GIS project pertaining to many gun-related things in Delaware. This initially stemmed from the discussion about the 1000' School Zone and getting a map of where the schools are located and what the 1000' zone would look like. I can easily see this basemap and data extending into other areas, like crime, OC-friendly businesses, etc. I think the amount of data that we could put onto this geographically accurate map is practically endless (well, short of it crashing my computer).

So, to start things off, I have finally gotten around to creating the basemap in AutoCAD, and it's complete with the following GIS layers so far:

State Outline
County Boundaries
Roads
New Castle County Parcels
DOE School District Boundaries
DOE Private Schools
DOE Public Schools

These layers are all to-scale and geospatially accurate. So far, this is a 100MB file in AutoCAD (mostly thanks to the NCC parcel layer). I believe that in order to keep the file sizes to workable sizes, the State-wide basemap will have to be split into Counties. But this shouldn't be a big deal.

This initial project dataset is geared towards the New Castle County School Zone areas first. My main question is where is this 1,000 foot "magic limit" measured from? I would assume it was from the edge of the property line and extending all around the property (not just into the streets), but I'd like some confirmation to that effect.

Also, just for everyone's information, this basemap and database can be added to, and can also include rivers/streams, Kent and Sussex County parcels, park boundaries, aerial photographs (w/ access to the entire State), etc... And we can also add our own information as we see fit (crimes, OC-friendly businesses, gun stores, etc).

Depending on what we want to show (i.e. what we want a map to say), I can set that print job up and print just a certain area, or the whole County. And we can print detailed maps w/ aerials, too. Again, there are lots of options and almost no limits....

So, if someone can chime in w/ the school zone distance answer, I'll get started.

And, if anyone has any questions or has a suggestion for additional data, let me know.

FYI: I'm doing this outside of my regular 40-hour/week job, so your patience is appreciated.
 #1008  by dave_in_delaware
 
OK then. Thanks for the clarification. That's what I assumed, but wanted to be sure.

Updated to add: :shock: Wow. These school zones are devouring a much larger area than I anticipated. Complete subdivisions easily fall within their boundaries. :(
 #1048  by dave_in_delaware
 
OK, I have a rough draft of Brandywine School District done (no reason why I chose that one first - I just did). It's a rough estimate of the 1000' safe zone. All I did was offset the parcel boundary 1000' and hatch that area. Obviously, depending on the shape of the boundary, the 1000' offset creates some weird extended corners that are beyond the 1000' but this gives an overall initial look at what we're looking at w/ the school zones visually in place on a road-type map.

It's an interesting graphic to say the least. Just remember that it's just an initial draft. There are no road names, but you can probably figure out where you live. And yes, the boundary for the school districts extend into the Delaware River to the coastline of NJ (which is the actual boundary of DE/NJ within the 12-mile circle)....

Here's the link (hosted on my website):
http://home.comcast.net/~dave_in_delawa ... %20(1).pdf
 #1049  by stephpd
 
dave_in_delaware wrote:OK then. Thanks for the clarification. That's what I assumed, but wanted to be sure.

Updated to add: :shock: Wow. These school zones are devouring a much larger area than I anticipated. Complete subdivisions easily fall within their boundaries. :(
I told you!
And that's just one school!
Work from that school to every one next to it.
I'd love to see updates if you can post it.