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Geograhical aspects of the Barbados National Transport database

Post - National Transport Plan
Following the completion of the National Transport Plan the GIS was extended to include all the roads for which the Ministry of Public Works was responsible. The additional roads are mainly access roads. These were added to the Road Network. The node-link structure comprising the main road network was not amended - the access/ minor roads were a separate dataset that could be displayed with the main roads.

A Road Safety Study was undertaken in 1997/8. The NTDB GIS was used as a basis for recording all the traffic signs and road markings.

The facility to prepare maps almost instantly helped in the co-ordination of road maintenance, laying of new water pipelines, putting telephone lines underground etc to minmise traffic disruption.

Environmental Assessment Study
In 1997, Government embarked on a major environmental assessment study. It was called the Environmental Management and Land Use Planning Project (EMLUP). It encompassed all the datasets from all the agencies and has now been implemented in the Town and Country Development Planning Office. The Lands & surveys Department is going to have new datasets hopefully by August 2001 to update the existing digital topo maps. Ministry of Agriculture is conducting a study using GIS within the Scotland District to provide hazard mapping and soil susceptibility to erosion. The Coastal Zone Management Unit is running their GIS to aid the Town Planning in planning decisions along the coastline. It also is using GIS for coastal vulnerability studies.

Department of Lands & Surveys
The Department presently has a staff of 40 persons. 11 surveyors, 14 surveyors assistants(chainmen), 11 CAD drafters, Chief Surveyor and other administrative staff

The mapping available for sale comprises :-

• 1:50000 covers the entire island on one sheet (1993)
• 1:25000 covers the entire island on two sheets
• 1:10000 covers the entire island on 12 sheets (1986)
• 1:5000 covers the entire island on 97 sheets (1974) and more recently (1984) covering south east cosastline
• 1:2500 covers the south of the island (vector)
• 1:1250 covers the south west and west coasts

All the above are available in a digital format.

In common with many other countries much of the mapping is quite dated. However, the Cabinet approved, on November 23 2000 , a sum of money to capture new aerial photography and then have planimetric extraction done to provide an up to date digital topographical base map to be used in a National GIS, of which Lands & Surveys will be the coordinator.

Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the encouragement of the Government of Barbados and the assistance of their colleagues


Figure 1 Location Map



Figure 2 - Barbados Main Road Network

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