[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 77 (Friday, April 20, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20322-20323]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-9769]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

U.S. Geological Survey


Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC); Public Review of the 
NSDI Framework Transportation Identification Standard

ACTION:  Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FGDC is conducting a public review of the draft NSDI 
Framework Transportation Identification Standard. An interagency team 
under the FGDC Ground Transportation Subcommittee developed this draft 
standard over several years and the FGDC Coordination Group comprised 
of representatives from Federal agencies approved releasing this 
standard for

[[Page 20323]]

public review. The FGDC invites software vendors and data users and 
producers in public and private sectors to comment on this standard to 
ensure that the standard meets their needs.
    Comments that address specific issues/changes/additions may result 
in revisions to the draft NSDI Framework Transportation Identification 
Standard. After comments have been evaluated, participants will receive 
notification of how their comments were addressed. After formal 
endorsement of the standard by the FGDC, the standard and a summary 
analysis of the changes will be made available to the public.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 20, 2001.

ADDRESSES: The draft standard may be downloaded via Internet address 
http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/status/sub5_7.html
    Request for printed copies of the standard should be addressed to 
``NSDI Framework Transportation Identification Standard,'' FGDC 
Secretariat (attn: Julie Binder Maitra), U.S. Geological Survey, 590 
National Center, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, Virginia 20192 or 
facsimile 703-648-5755 or Internet at [email protected].
    Reviewer's comments may be sent to FGDC via Internet mail to [email protected]. Reviewer's comments may also be sent to 
the FGDC Secretariat at the above address. Please send one hardcopy 
version of the comments and a softcopy version on 3.5-inch diskette in 
Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format. All reviewers are strongly urged to 
use the template for sending comments that may be downloaded from 
Internet address http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/directives/dir2d.html

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Following is information about the draft 
NSDI Framework Transportation Identification Standard, submitted by the 
FGDC Ground Transportation Subcommittee:
    The proposed standard specifies methods for identifying linear 
geospatial features that can be implemented within existing data 
structures. The standard defines a transportation segment independent 
of cartographic representation, scale, network topology, and attributes 
that can change over time. The standard relates multiple cartographic 
and topological network database representations to uniquely identified 
transportation segments in the real world, and provides the domain for 
transferring application attributes across linear referencing and 
cartographic systems.
    The model consists of a set of one-dimensional Framework 
Transportation Segments (FTSeg) that have zero-dimensional Framework 
Transportation Reference Points (FTRP) at their termini. FTRP and FTSeg 
are highly stable, unambiguously identified, and recoverable in the 
field. The standard specifies a mandatory set of attributes for each 
FTSeg and mandatory attributes for each FTRP.
    The standard specifies a format for a unique identification code to 
be assigned to each FTSeg and each FTRP. It also specifies a process 
for assigning, modifying and recording FTRP and FTSeg identification 
codes, and proposes a national registry for their identification. 
Establishment of stable transportation segment identifies will 
facilitate the exchange of information, e.g., improved geospatial 
coordinates, feature attributes like road names, controls to various 
linear referencing methods mile points, or low and high address values, 
between databases.
    This proposed standard has widespread applicability for public 
sector and commercial database developers and data users. It will 
facilitate data exchange among different users by providing well-
defined common reference segments tied to the physical transportation 
feature, rather than to any cartographic or network abstraction of that 
feature. It will allow users to create customized topological networks 
from the reference segments without modifying the properties of the 
reference segments themselves, and to make transactional updates to 
framework transportation databases.
    There has been no standard approach for documenting the 
relationship between a digitized transportation segment and the 
physical transportation feature that it represents. There has been no 
national standard for identifying, segmenting, or representing 
transportation segments in digital geospatial databases. Consequently, 
the exchange of attribute information between two different 
transportation databases representing the same geographic area is 
difficult, time consuming, and error prone.

    Dated: April 11, 2001.
Karen Siderelis,
Geographic Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 01-9769 Filed 4-19-01; 8:45 am]
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