Newsletter
February 2007
Upcoming Events
GeoDATA Training Seminars
DNF will be attending the GeoDATA seminars again this year. The immensely popular FREE one-day educational seminar once again returns to four cities around the UK focusing on geographic data, its collection, application and management. The dates and locations are as follows:
15th May, Birmingham
17th May, Edinburgh
22nd May, London
24th May, Leeds
More details will be available shortly from the event website.
DNF Thematic Workshops
DNF are planning a series of Workshops this year which delve deeper into how DNF can be applied in various thematic sectors. The first of these deals with the environment sector, co-hosted by the AGI Environment SIG. Others will be notified on the DNF website as dates become known.
27th March, London - DNF and the environment sector.
Contact Clare Hadley if interested.
25th April, Cardiff - DNF and Atlantis.
Contact Clare Hadley if interested.
Technical Update
The Technical Group has continued to actively develop the DNF technical architecture and the documentation that describes it since the last Newsletter. The Group which has eleven members has met twice since the last Newsletter. Two sub-groups also exist to look at particular technical aspects. Several additions to the DNF technical documentation have been published and a workshop held on an XML schema.
The Association Model is now available. This presents a logical view of the way in which data within applications can be associated with a DNF reference base. A formal model in UML (Unified Modelling Language) is given as well descriptions and illustrations.
A technical guide on coordinate referencing systems and transformations is now also available. This document outlines the different spatial coordinate systems that are in common use in the United Kingdom, transformations between these systems and how they support DNF. It is not intended as a reference source itself but provides links to authoritative sources of information.
The DNF terminology has been put on-line and can be viewed and searched.
The Feature Cataloguing sub-group which was established last June has the goals of developing
(i) a feature catalogue of OS Mastermap Topography objects that are eligible for inclusion in the DNF Reference Base and
(ii) guidance on the use of the ISO 19110 feature cataloguing standard in the context of DNF. Good progress has been made on the first goal, the sub-group will be meeting shortly to review the results of this work.
Work has started on the development of an XML schema. For DNF to function effectively data needs to be exchanged across organisational boundaries.The schema will not define elements specific to particular datasets but will provide common elements which can be incorporated into schemas specific to those datasets. A workshop of interested members of the Expert Group was convened in January to agree requirements for such a schema. The current scope for the XML schema is to provide encodings to allow the exchange of DNF associations. The conceptual model underlying the XML schema will therefore be taken from the DNF Association Model. However, only simple associations will be modelled in the first iteration of the schema, more complex associations which need to be qualified by the addition of ancillary geometry will be included at a later stage. The schema will use GML (Geography Mark-up Language) where it is appropriate to do so but the work will avoid the complexity inhe
rent in GML where there is no benefit. The plan is to design and develop a pilot schema by the end of March, it will then be available for trial by members of the Expert Group before publication. The intention is to make the schema available free-of-charge on the DNF website.
How is DNF resourced? - Supporters and Sponsors
DNF and the DNF Expert Group is driven by voluntary contributions from within the GI industry. In response to this, the DNF programme will be formally recognising the role of DNF sponsors and supporters. DNF sponsors are organisations, both commercial and government, that are providing financial backing for DNF to help support the marketing & communications activities and the tecnical development programme.
DNF supporters are individuals that are providing their time, at no cost, to participate in the DNF Expert Group and its two working groups thereby driving forward DNF as an industry initiative.
Without the support of both sponsors and supporters we would not be able to continue to develop and promote DNF
DNF supporters will increasingly be visible throughout out promotional activities. If anyone is interested to learn more about becoming a DNF supporter or sponsor then please contact Andy Bray, Chair, DNF Communications Group.
Extension of DNF to wider communities
The work of the Communications Group to extend the DNF 'message' to the non-GI communities is progressing. We now have 'Advocates' in place for the land and property and natural enviroment sectors and they are drawing up plans for the coming year. Meanwhile, we are hoping to tackle cross-sector groups through their professional or trade organisations. IT Managers is one such group, and have held a useful meeting with SOCITM (the Society of IT Management) recently to explore the options.
Recent Expert Group meeting
A meeting of the Expert Group was held at the UK Hydrographic Office in Taunton in November. It was attended by 22 people, of whom 5 were new to the Group. The meeting was preceded by a technical forum which dealt with the overview reference model, the association model and progress on feature cataloguing. The business of the meeting itself dealt with updates on INSPIRE and the GI strategy, plans for communications in the coming year, funding options and a review of the main DNF objectives and strategy. The minutes of the meeting are available on the website.
The Traffic Management Act and DNF
Marc Hobell
The Traffic Management Act is intended to provide better conditions for all road users
through proactive management of the national and local road network.
The Traffic Management Act received Royal Assent on Thursday 22 July 2004. It is intended to
provide the basis for better conditions for all road users through the proactive management
of the national and local road network.
The Act is available here.
The Explanatory Notes are available here.
Aims of the Traffic Management Act
The Traffic Management Act contains a wide range of measures. However, these have one key
aim in common: to tackle congestion and reduce disruption on the road network.
It does this by dealing with the different causes of that disruption.
More effective co-ordination by highway authorities of the various works carried out in the
street, whether these be authority road works, utility street works or miscellaneous
activities such as the placing of skips.
Introducing a range of new powers to allow utility works to be better controlled.
Allowing certain contraventions of the law, such as parking offences, to be dealt with by
civil means rather than through the criminal process.
Developing a more strategic approach in London.
Many of the provisions of the TMA amend previous Acts: mainly the New Roads and Street Works
Act 1991, the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, the Road Traffic Act 1991 and the Highways
Act 1980.
The TMA contains seven parts:
Part 1 which came into force in October, covers the setting up of the new Highways Agency
Traffic Officers service which will patrol motorways and manage the traffic consequences of
random highways events such as accidents, obstructions and breakdowns and help keep traffic
moving.
Part 2 contains the new Network Management Duty for local authorities.
Part 3 covers Permit Schemes.
Part 4 contains a wide range of new powers and also amendments to NRSWA.
New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 and Traffic Management Act 2004 Code of Practice for
the Co-ordination of Street Works and Works for Road Purposes and Related Matters (Volume
1:Notice Procedures and Guidance)
Section 5.6 Registers states "To provide interoperability with other applications and
to promote consistency, all streets within Local Street Gazetteers should reference the road
centreline geometries in the common map base (using royalty-free unique identifiers), which
should in turn reference polygons representing the road surface. Such a structure maximises
the possibility for interoperability between applications, both in the highways arena and in
a wider context.
In essence, local authorities should provide the USRN definitions and attribution as defined
in BS7666: 2006 Part 1, while the geometries should be recorded by referencing the road
centreline objects in the digital map base, thus promoting reuse and consistency between
datasets. All data should follow the principles of the Digital National Framework.
Part 5 includes special measures to improve traffic management in London, in particular the
setting up of a strategic road network in the capital. It also contains a series of measures
to control other works in the street. In particular, it allows the existing powers to impose
a daily charge on utilities when their works overrun, or to charge them "lane "rental", to
be extended to allow such charges to cover the placing of skips and scaffolding and the
storage of materials in the highway.
Part 6 provides a single regulation-making framework for the civil enforcement of certain
traffic contraventions - including those relating to parking, bus lanes and a selection of
moving traffic contraventions, such as stopping in yellow box junctions.
Finally, Part 7 covers two areas. Firstly, it provides new powers allowing the police,
traffic wardens and local authority enforcement officers to require those displaying blue
badges in their vehicles to provide evidence that they actually do hold a badge. Secondly,
part 7 extends the purposes for which local authorities' surplus income from on-street
parking penalties and charges can be used, once the costs of operating the schemes has been
covered.
A level playing field
A key point to make here is that the new Act aims to create a level playing field. Whilst
part 4 of the TMA contains a range of new controls over utility works, the Act also targets
works carried out by local authorities. For example:
Permit schemes will apply to both utility and highway authority works;
Codes of practice, such as the safety and records codes, can now be made statutory for both
utility and authority works;
Part 2 of the Act imposes a network management duty on authorities with a power for
ministers to intervene where authorities are failing in their duty.
More information about the role of the Traffic Officers can be found at the Highways Agency website.
