Smooth sharing with clients & teammates

Being able to view and manipulate data is crucial in infrastructure planning. However, viewing data, especially spatial data can be a challenge. In fact, “very few of our clients have the ability to open shapefiles, geoJSON, or other types of spatial data files,” says Philip. Felt solves that problem by both making it easy to upload files of all formats, and to share the results with a single link visible through the browser. "Felt's platform allows our clients to view and work with data, without needing expensive desktop software."

Ease of sharing combined with the accessibility of the platform allows Philip to work more easily with a broad range of clients who may or may not need a full-blow GIS system on a day to day basis. For example, Philip’s team wanted to give a small bikeshare non-profit a suitability index for new bikeshare stations, but there wasn't a way to share a large citywide map that non-technical people could work with easily. In this case, sharing the dataset via Felt helped since the nonprofit team didn’t need a subscription to any professional GIS tools to access it.

On the same page, at every scale

Another common challenge facing Philip’s workflow is how to present maps in a way that captures the scope of the project but also allows for more detailed views. Traditionally, large maps are presented as flat file PDFs, whose size is limited by the paper it is presented on. To have a more dynamic conversation about a project covering the Island of Oahu, Philip's team decided to utilize Felt’s infinite map canvas. They symbolized the data to tell their story, and shared the project map with their client via a single link. Then, they were able conduct a lively and dynamic discussion while answering questions and capturing placed-based comments on the fly. “PDF maps just don't cut it. Being able to scroll around and zoom in on a dataset is extremely helpful,” shared Philip.

Faster decision-making

When it comes to planning cycling infrastructure, all decisions come down to space. Felt's combination of easy to use drawing and measurement tools allows Philip’s team to determine the feasibility of ideas on the spot. “While working on a project for the City of Lake Oswego, we could generate estimates for how much width we have for a bike lane,” Philip shared.

Philip found himself leveraging Felt again to quickly determine the feasibility of a corridor redesign project . He uploaded traffic flows data and sketched out different turning movements using Felt’s drawing tools. Without switching to another program, the team could assess which of the different options could fit within the available space and determine the likely pinch points.

Accelerating research & insights

Working on projects for both Lake Oswego and Tigard, Philip used Felt not just as a tool for workshopping ideas with stakeholders, but as a place to document his own research insights. Up until delivering the report for redesigning traffic corridors in both cities, Felt was a living document where Philip kept his notes, ideas, and sketches. It has been helpful to be able to paste images of plans from previous reports right onto the map to follow planning recommendations that have already been made. Philip then exported key elements created in Felt as geoJSON so they can be opened in ArcGIS Pro and used for creating PDF or web maps that go into the final version of the report.

An indispensable tool

Overall, Felt is an indispensable tool for infrastructure planning. Felt handles all data formats a planner works with, intuitively presenting the data as you need it, with no extra input or confusing questions. Its ease-of-use makes it the perfect tool for collaborating with project teams and clients of all backgrounds. The ability to share projects in the browser without any other desktop software is a game changer for how teams can incorporate maps into their workflows. By solving these long standing pain points, Felt is changing the way we use maps to be more effective and efficient (and more fun). Try it today or reach out to our team for a demo.