$1.3M federal grant awarded to help EPS use mapping tech to make transit safer

Churchill LRT Station in Edmonton. (File/CTV News Edmonton)

Edmonton Police Service (EPS) and Esri Canada, a company that provides geographic information system (GIS) solutions, have teamed up and received a $1.3-million federal grant to make transit safer.

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The federal funds will be used to help the partnership develop the Edmonton Transit Enhanced Community Safety System (ETECS), a “pioneering project” police say will help enhance officer security and community safety with mapping technology.

“Everyone deserves a safe and secure transit journey,” EPS chief innovation and technology officer Ron Anderson said in a statement.

According to the news release on Thursday, the ETECS allows officers to create a “digital twin” to conduct 3D walkthroughs of Churchill LRT station and the connecting, underground pedways. The system will also provide police with the ability to use location tracking and the wayfinding capabilities of Esri’s mapping software and to locate themselves and others inside a building or underground in real time with Esri’s indoor positioning system.

Police can also view various data, including real-time officer locations, and see video feeds with the technology.

“Knowing what’s happening and where officers are located at any given point in time – above ground and underground – in real time makes a huge difference in public safety,” Joann Fox, with Esri Canada, said in a news release. “Today’s GIS technology provides powerful capabilities to visualize and analyze live data feeds from various sensors, devices and systems and share reliable insights to frontline officers.”

“The work we’re doing on the ETECS project will help Edmonton and many other municipalities across the country strengthen transit safety.”

ETECS is supported by the Canadian Safety and Security Program, which is a federal program led by Defence Research and Development Canada’s Centre for Security Science and Public Safety Canada.

A presentation will be held in Toronto next Monday and Tuesday at the Esri Canada User Conference.