City’s GIS Team Receives 2025 Excellence in GIS Award

The City of Bloomington Information & Technology Services (ITS) Department’s  Geographic Information Systems (GIS) team has been awarded the Indiana Geographic Information Council’s (IGIC) 2025 Excellence in GIS – Large Community award for its Vehicle Crashes and Roadway Safety Initiative, or Crash Hub.

The award recognizes organizations for their use of geospatial technology to better serve their communities. This recognition highlights the City’s ongoing commitment to using GIS technology to improve public safety, data transparency, and community planning. The Crash Hub provides a powerful tool for analyzing vehicle crash data and identifying roadway safety trends across the City. 

“We are honored to be recognized by IGIC for our efforts in developing the CrashHub,” said GIS Manager Meghan Blair. “This project demonstrates how GIS technology can translate complex data into actionable insights to improve public safety.”

GIS is a technology that allows the capture, storage, manipulation, analysis, and presentation of spatial or geographical data. The City of Bloomington has utilized GIS tools since the early 1990s, and over the last few years, it has updated its GIS platform to allow for the development of user-centered interactive applications and the creation of the CrashHub.

The City’s  GIS team is responsible for developing and maintaining the City’s central enterprise geodatabase, creating and updating datasets, producing cartographic maps, providing data analysis, and developing web mapping services and applications. The GeoHub showcases city data and applications on a fresh and easy-to-navigate website. 

“CrashHub is a perfect example of how we can use technology not just to collect data, but to empower people,” said Mayor Kerry Thomson. “This project reflects our commitment to transparency, safety, and meaningful public engagement. I’m incredibly proud of our ITS team for their innovation and grateful to our Planning & Transportation partners for their collaborative vision. Tools like CrashHub help us build a safer, smarter Bloomington 

The success of this initiative was made possible by thoughtful collaboration between the ITS staff, who provided the technical expertise necessary to develop the site, and Planning & Transportation staff, whose dedication and vision shaped the project.

For more information about the City’s GIS activities and initiatives, please visit bloomington.in.gov/gis. To access the Crash Hub, visit crashhub.bloomington.in.gov.

About the Indiana Geographic Information Council:

The Indiana Geographic Information Council (IGIC) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to lead the effective application of geographic information in Indiana. Its members include individuals from all levels of government, private industry, educational institutions and other nonprofit groups. Through its membership and elected board of directors, the Council strives to make a real difference in Indiana GIS, both for those who use it and those who benefit from it. IGIC aims to provide modern, accurate, documented, and accessible geospatial information infrastructure for all of Indiana.