Making a Map Book/Road Atlas

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WuLabsWuTecH

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Hi Everyone,

So I've decided to take up my project again of making a mapbook for our run district. I have all of the GIS data now, but I was wondering if anyone would have recommendation for some free map making software? I'm having trouble using a lot of the processional stuff (available through my school) and I don't really want to take a course on GIS just to make a lousy mapbook. I'd appreciate any thoughts you have. I personally am getting tired of trying to decipher hand drawn maps where all the roads are straight!

-Wu
 
Old school

AAA maps, razor blades, tape, steel rulers and T squares, and Kinko's.
 
WuLabsWuTecH,

I tried doing something similar for a client and found that I didn't have the resources (expensive software and knowledge of how to use it). Please let me know how you make out.

Good luck!
 
This is pretty oldschool and requires quite a bit of writing, but I've actually found it useful. We have a book for the whole town with directions to each street written from the POV of leaving the station. Each page is laminated in plastic and arranged alphabetically by street. It's basically writing down what voice navigation would tell you:

Elm Street
Left out of station
Left onto Gardners Neck Road
Proceed accross Rte 6
Right onto main st
Right onto Elm st.

Most of our staff is from out of town and don't know a lot of the obscure streets. Sometimes, including last week, our GPS doesn't work. Most (but not all) of our staff have smartphones with Nav though so I'm not sure I'd put this much effort into the book again.
 
Simusid said:
This is pretty oldschool and requires quite a bit of writing, but I've actually found it useful. We have a book for the whole town with directions to each street written from the POV of leaving the station. Each page is laminated in plastic and arranged alphabetically by street. It's basically writing down what voice navigation would tell you:

Elm Street
Left out of station
Left onto Gardners Neck Road
Proceed accross Rte 6
Right onto main st
Right onto Elm st.
Click to expand...

This sounds great , but when you have a Crew who is from out of town, without GPS and are relying on your map book, what Happens when they clear the hospital are on the way back to the station on XYZ street and get a call on Maple Street, does the Crew have to sit there and think of the town as if they left the station? Or do you have another method also...

Seems like this method would get confusing...

A good map book design is fairly simple to make.

Get Pages of all the streets in your town ( multiple streets on one page obviously, depending on how big of a scale you want the map to be on the paper ), with major roadways and landmarks marked out. Then in the beginning on the book make a Street Glossary every street in alphabetical order followed by the page number it is on. You can also make a glossary for apartment complexes, developments or even common business followed by the page they are on.

Example :

Ace Street...........Pg. 10
Alabama Road......Pg. 5
Apple Boulevard...Pg. 7
 
StickySideDown said:
This sounds great , but when you have a Crew who is from out of town, without GPS and are relying on your map book, what Happens when they clear the hospital are on the way back to the station on XYZ street and get a call on Maple Street, does the Crew have to sit there and think of the town as if they left the station? Or do you have another method also...

Seems like this method would get confusing...
Click to expand...

Absolutely correct. I did not mean that this should be the primary method. Just a backup.
 
Simusid said:
This is pretty oldschool and requires quite a bit of writing, but I've actually found it useful. We have a book for the whole town with directions to each street written from the POV of leaving the station. Each page is laminated in plastic and arranged alphabetically by street. It's basically writing down what voice navigation would tell you:

Elm Street
Left out of station
Left onto Gardners Neck Road
Proceed accross Rte 6
Right onto main st
Right onto Elm st.

Most of our staff is from out of town and don't know a lot of the obscure streets. Sometimes, including last week, our GPS doesn't work. Most (but not all) of our staff have smartphones with Nav though so I'm not sure I'd put this much effort into the book again.
Click to expand...

I made one of these as an Eagle Scout project a few years ago, and it took some serious time to get the 145 streets of my small town as well as points of interest down. It's purpose is to be grabbed by mutual aid units providing station coverage, and apparently is used and well received. Obviously there are some limitations but it is the easiest way to figure out how to get around without a GPS provided you start at the station.
 
MAPSCO doesn't make a Columbus book?

Contact your county or city emergency management office, I'm sure they have paper maps made.
 
Get a Thomas guide or something. Chances are a map book already exists for your area. Our book is all of la county and like 25 ish bucks
 
SIMUSID, do you have a page like this?

INDEX TAB: "LOST BEARINGS/UNSURE"
MESSAGE: "Recalculating.....".;)
 
Joe said:
Get a Thomas guide or something. Chances are a map book already exists for your area. Our book is all of la county and like 25 ish bucks
Click to expand...

This.

I recently went back to my EMT teacher for help getting hired, Ive been practicing on familiarizing my self with the thomas guide and tough book.
 
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