Roadway Safety Data Program 

OHIO LOCATION BASED RESPONSE SYSTEM

STATE AND LOCAL DATA INTEGRATION

CASE STUDY

FHWA-SA-14-036

Prepared for

Federal Highway Administration

Office of Safety

Roadway Safety Data Program

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/rsdp/

June 6, 2014
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OHIO LOCATION BASED RESPONSE SYSTEM

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Notice

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of 

Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no 

liability for the use of the information contained in this document.

The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or 

manufacturers’ names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the 

objective of the document.

Quality Assurance Statement

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve 

Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. 

Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and 

integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs 

and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.
OHIO LOCATION BASED RESPONSE SYSTEM

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Roadway Safety Data Program team would like to thank the following individuals who 

graciously provided information needed to develop this case study. 

Name Title Department Email/Phone#

Stuart Davis

State CIO

Assistant Director

Ohio OIT

stu.davis@oit.ohio.gov

614.644.3923 

Jeff Smith GIS Administrator Ohio OIT

jeff.smith@das.ohio.gov

614.466.8862 

Dave Blackstone GIS Manager Ohio DOT

dave.blackstone@dot.state.oh.us

614.466.2594 

General Office Number Ohio OIT 614.644.6860 
OHIO LOCATION BASED RESPONSE SYSTEM

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................... 1

BACKGROUND............................................................................................................ 1

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION AND USE........................................................................... 2

DATA INTEGRATION ................................................................................................ 3

DATA MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ........................................................................ 3

RESOURCES.................................................................................................................. 4

KEY OUTCOMES AND LESSONS LEARNED ......................................................... 4

SOURCES ...................................................................................................................... 5
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ACRONYMS

AADT Annual average daily traffic

AASHTO American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials

DOT Department of Transportation

FDE Fundamental Data Elements

FHWA Federal Highway Administration

GIS Geographic information system

GPS Global positioning system

HPMS Highway Performance Monitoring System

HSIP Highway Safety Improvement Program

HSIS Highway Safety Information System

HSM Highway Safety Manual

LBRS Location Based Response System

LIDAR Light detection and ranging

MAP-21 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century

MIRE Model Inventory of Roadway Elements

MIS Management Information System

NCHRP National Cooperative Highway Research Program

NHS National Highway System

ODOT Ohio Department of Transportation

OGRIP Ohio Geographically Referenced Information Program

OIT Office of Information Technology

RSDP Roadway Safety Data Program

TMS Traffic Monitoring System

XML Extensible Markup Language
OHIO LOCATION BASED RESPONSE SYSTEM

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Quality data are the foundation for making important decisions regarding the design, operation, 

and safety of roadways. While crash data have been a consistent element of highway safety 

analysis, in recent years there has been an increased focus on the combination of crash, 

roadway and traffic data to make more precise and prioritized safety decisions. The application 

of advanced highway safety analysis processes and tools requires a comprehensive inventory of 

roadway safety data combined with crash data to better identify and understand problems, 

prioritize locations for treatment, apply appropriate countermeasures, and evaluate the 

effectiveness of the those countermeasures. Comprehensive roadway safety data include

information on roadway and roadside features, traffic operations, traffic volumes, and crashes.
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INTRODUCTION

This case study presents the Ohio Location Based Response System (LBRS) integrating State 

and local roadway data for analysis. LBRS is an initiative under the Ohio Geographically 

Referenced Information Program (OGRIP), a Governor-appointed GIS coordinating body for 

State and local government. The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) provides 

support, technical guidance, and Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) services for LBRS 

and is responsible for integrating the data into the State’s LRS to create the official 

transportation base-map for Ohio. The program provides consistent location referencing for all 

public roadways. ODOT maintains the statewide roadway inventory database and integrates 

data owned and supplied by the local agencies.

BACKGROUND

The majority of the public road mileage in Ohio is owned by local agencies such as counties, 

cities, and villages. Each local agency maintains the mapping data for the local roads in their 

jurisdiction. Prior to LBRS, the local road maps lacked consistency in how they were created 

and stored. Location referencing for local roads held to no single standard. In particular, 

locating crashes on local roads used to be “hit or miss”, with higher accuracy crash data 

provided on the major routes from the Ohio State Highway Patrol but inconsistent location 

information from local law enforcement agencies. A key problem was the fact that for the most 

part, local roads did not have a consistent linear referencing system of mileposts. Many local 

roadway crash reports referenced approximate street addresses, alias street names, or even 

intersections that no longer existed. Many of the features used to reference a crash location 

were not mile-posted. Using street addresses as a location reference was a problem because 

the State road database did not contain any addresses ranges, and the data on local names of 

the streets was often inaccurate. Given that roughly two-thirds of crashes in Ohio occurred on 

non-State roads, this was a significant problem for the State in accurately reporting the status of 

crashes on all public roads. 

Additionally, county engineers, auditors, and city officials were spending money independently 

of each other to develop property and roadway maps of the same areas to their own 

specifications. The duplication of effort was extensive. The repercussions of having inaccurate 

and often conflicting map data of various qualities and ages were even worse. Counties 

developed and augmented their own electronic centerline files, but to various data standards. 

Staff members at the State and local level saw the clear benefit in working together to create a 

uniform standard for referencing all public roads.

In response to these issues, the State of Ohio developed a Location Based Response System 

(LBRS), which establishes partnerships between State and local government agencies for sharing 
OHIO LOCATION BASED RESPONSE SYSTEM

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street centerline data with address ranges. The LBRS gathers accurate locational information 

on all roads and addresses in a county. The information helps to save lives and save taxpayer 

dollars by reducing redundant data collection activities. The information is web-based, and is 

therefore available for all stakeholders as agencies or local governments gather new 

information. The source data of the local routes is made immediately available for download 

from the web page, and user-friendly web maps are made available through the site typically 

within six months of data updates supplied by the local agencies.

The conceptual program development began in 2001. At that time, there were no Federal data 

requirements that needed to be met. Ohio developed the data specifications and standards for 

this program in 2004-2005 with a collaborative effort between State and local agencies. They 

were fortunate that the standards they developed met the eventual MAP-21 requirements for 

route addressing and road segment descriptions (e.g., division type, cardinality, etc.).

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION AND USE

The primary objective of the LBRS effort was to assign route numbers and address ranges to 

local roads and milepost the various features, such as intersections, along those roads. Each 

agency collected the data for their own roads. Although ODOT established the specifications 

and data standards, the local agencies were responsible for assigning route numbers to each 

local road and determining milepost ranges for each route. According to the process 

established by the State, the local agency could number the routes using any numbering scheme 

they chose, as long as it was organized and consistent. The local agency was also responsible for 

ensuring correct centerline data and street names. If a road crossed a jurisdiction boundary, it 

was given a different route number in the other jurisdiction.

A secondary objective, accomplished in some locations, was the collection of basic road 

inventory data, such as speed limits, school crossings, stop signs, signals, and railroad crossings. 

This inventory collection was not a required deliverable as part of the LBRS effort, but one 

particular vendor collected these data for 60 of the 88 counties. These inventory variables are 

available in the source format, but have not yet been fully integrated into the statewide road 

characteristics inventory. Additionally, there is not a widespread initiative to maintain and 

update these local road characteristics annually.

At the State level, the primary use of the improved road centerline and mileposting data is 

crash reporting and safety analysis. Local road crashes are now placed much more accurately, 

allowing for better analysis of road safety issues in the counties. These data are also used to 

certify the official public road mileage. In the past, this certification process was conducted with 

paper maps. The LBRS allows the process to be digitized. This means that the process no 

longer requires visiting each county in person to discuss paper maps, but it can be done 
OHIO LOCATION BASED RESPONSE SYSTEM

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through phone calls and emails. This represents significant time savings and has freed up a 

dozen ODOT maintenance personnel for other tasks.

The consistent mapping and referencing provided by the LBRS is also a benefit to many other 

State agencies, such as Emergency Management, Department of Natural Resources, 

Department of Revenue, and Department of Commerce. The advantage is having an enterprise 

geocoding service which provides all State agencies with a common map and linear referencing 

system. All data are consistent, field-verified, and maintained by the local agencies. For instance, 

the Department of Revenue is able to use these data for more accurate distribution of tax 

revenues.

At the local level, one of the most significant uses of the LBRS data is for better routing for 911 

services. In particular, the field-verified nature of the LBRS address ranges provides better 

accuracy for 911 calls. It also supports next generation 911—an effort by the USDOT Research 

and Innovative Technology Administration, which requires intelligent street centerlines.

DATA INTEGRATION

The data is first verified at the local level for completeness, consistency, and accessibility. The 

local agencies make the data available on their server, and the State downloads the data. Most 

counties provide the data in shapefile (geospatial) format while a few counties use file 

geodatabases (another spatial format). The State runs its own data checks (e.g., checking for 

small gaps or overlaps in mileposts between consecutive segments, intersection nodes 

erroneously indicated at interchange locations, etc.), flags any changes, and discusses them with 

the local staff. Once the data has been finalized, the State incorporates it into the statewide 

dataset that is accessible to multiple State and local agencies. 

DATA MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

The Transportation Research Board’s NCHRP Report 666: Target-Setting Methods and Data 

Management to Support Performance-Based Resource Allocation by Transportation Agencies 

defined the concepts of data management, data governance and data stewardship. Briefly, Data 

Management is the set of practices related to collecting, storing, and preparing data for use 

(e.g., in safety decision making). Data Governance is the set of standards and practices applied 

to any data resource to control the quality of the data. Data Stewardship refers to ownership 

responsibility and control over data including authority for its collection, storage, integration, 

and use. Regarding data management, the data stewards at the local level are typically staff 

members in the GIS office or the county auditor or appraiser. Each local agency in Ohio is the 

owner of its own roadway data. The responsibility of developing and maintaining the route data 

belongs to the local agency. ODOT maintains the statewide road inventory database and 
OHIO LOCATION BASED RESPONSE SYSTEM

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integrates the data supplied by the local agencies. The State also has the responsibility for 

checking the data for consistency and accuracy once it is submitted by the local agency.

RESOURCES

The initial LBRS funding plan was for the State and county to share the cost equally. The State 

identified capital funds to use and gained support for the idea of building capability at the local 

level with systems to support it. This funding arrangement worked well in counties that were 

already planning to do a centerline program and for those that recognized the value of having 

accurate centerlines and addresses. As ODOT began to realize the true value of the system, 

they started identifying safety project funds to help support the development and increased the 

State’s share of the cost burden, particularly for counties who could not share as much of the 

cost. In 2008, the program received federal attention and was approved to use Section 408 

(NHTSA-administered traffic records improvement grant) funds for the development effort. 

Additionally, the county engineers association decided to provide funds for local government 

share. In the end, the development of the LBRS was funded through multiple sources. The 

estimate of the total spent for the development and initial data collection is around $22 million 

(total combined from State, local, and 408 funds).

KEY OUTCOMES AND LESSONS LEARNED

LBRS delivered the following key outcomes and products for local agencies, ODOT, and 

OGRIP: 

• Improved location references for crashes on local roads.

• Consistent mapping and data standards for all counties.

• Easy integration into the State roadway database.

• More efficient process for conducting safety analyses.

• Routine updates of State road mile posting and addressing.

• Improved data access for the State and counties alike.

The lessons learned from developing and implementing LBRS are that there can be successful 

integration of the local road addressing and mile posting into the State system. This integration 

proved beneficial for a number of State agencies, as well as the local agencies themselves. The 

process must be based on good communication and interaction between the State personnel 

who manage the statewide transportation data and the local agencies who collect and maintain 

the data from their local routes.
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SOURCES

This case study was compiled with the use of the following sources:

• Phone and email conversations with the Ohio GIS office and the Fairfield County GIS 

office. 

• Roadway Safety Data Program Peer Exchange, Draft Proceedings, Federal Highway 

Administration, Columbus, Ohio, December 2012, 26 pp.

• OGRIP Homepage. http://ogrip.oit.ohio.gov/Home.aspx

• LBRS OGRIP page. http://ogrip.oit.ohio.gov/ProjectsInitiatives/LBRS.aspx

• Fiedler, R, N. Lefler, Y, Zhou, D. Abbott, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Needs 

and Obstacles in Traffic Safety Programs, Final Literature Review, Federal Highway 

Administration, May 2013, Unpublished.

• http://www.gis.fhwa.dot.gov/documents/Newsletter_Spring2012.htm 

• Davis, Stu, et al. Ohio's Location Based Response System: How one set of highly 

accurate, shared mapping data is saving time, money and lives across the Buckeye State. 

White paper, Ohio Office of Information Technology, Columbus, Ohio, September 15, 

2011. Accessed at http://gis3.oit.ohio.gov/LBRS/_downloads/docs/White%20PaperLBRS_2011.pdf.

• NCHRP Report 666: Target-Setting Methods and Data Management to Support 

Performance-Based Resource Allocation by Transportation Agencies (Section I: Chapter 

4, page I-58), http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_666.pdf. 

This project was performed by Robert Scopatz, Yuying Zhou, and Angela Wojtowicz from 

Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.; and Daniel Carter, Sarah Smith, and Patricia Harrison of the 

University of North Carolina, Highway Safety Research Center.

FHWA, Office of Safety

Stuart Thompson. P.E.

Federal Highway Administration

202-366-8090 

Stuart.Thompson@dot.gov 
FHWA-SA-14-036