10,539 August Visits to Growing OnMap System Represent New High: Shows Ease, Value of Service

ERIE COUNTY, NY— Erie County’s OnMap Internet mapping system, developed by the staff of the Erie County Department of Environment & Planning and significantly enhanced in 2013 with new photo options, topographical maps, and other upgrades, has surpassed 10,000 users in a month for the first time since the improved system debuted in October 2013. The site, which has seen steady monthly growth in visits, recorded 10,539 visitors in August 2014; 63.4% of those were return visits. 

“The upgrades to Erie County’s OnMap system have combined efficiencies, ease of operation, and the latest mapping technologies into a tool with pinpoint accuracy that more and more users are becoming familiar with,” said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz. “The rising number of visits and especially return visits, coming from around the country and the world, shows that users are seeing the value of the program. I would like to thank Dale Morris, Mike Gangemi and the DEP for their hard work on the OnMap system, which was completed at no cost to taxpayers but which is paying dividends for them.”

Significant enhancements to the OnMap system in 2013 involved the addition of oblique angle aerial photos (licensed from Pictometry, Inc.) to the OnMap interface. Prior to then,  users of the Erie County OnMap system had been able to prepare maps showing various features such as streets, property lines, and environmental features using traditional, “straight down” aerial photographs. With the addition of the Pictometry Online extension, users are now able to view their area of interest in high-resolution, easy-to-navigate oblique angle imagery that allows users to zoom in/out and pan across images. Other 2013 upgrades included an overall new interface based on the latest “Silverlight” technology from Microsoft, a choice of three different base maps to use (including street maps), a topographic map, and links from the OnMap system to other online mapping systems such as Bing Maps and Google Maps.

The Erie County OnMap system also provides an easy-to-use, no-cost tool to meet the increasing demand for locational information, an area which has seen significant growth for both business and governmental agency applications.  “Knowing your location in relation to where customers or services are is a key component of success in today’s world, whether in business or public service,” Poloncarz added. “This upgraded mapping system provides vital information for both business and public-sector entities looking to be closer to where their customers and clients are.”