A tech company created an interactive map showing the environmental impact of the ongoing trucker convoy protest in Ottawa.
The project is about giving people and stakeholders in Ottawa the ability visualize the effects of the protest, Spatial Media creative Director Aaron Bernard explained to CTVNews.ca. The idea is to take a complex idea, such as sound, or air quality, and visualize it.
Launched Feb. 16, The new tool overlays colour-coded informationYou can view the 3D map of Ottawa and see protest effects such as noise levels, air quality reduction, and traffic closures.
For example, data from the second week of protests shows that Wellington St., which fronted Parliament Hill, recorded noise levels equivalent to a sustained emergency vehicle siren. Residents across the Rideau Canal, however, heard noises similar to an alarm clock in decibels.
Traffic was slowed by dozens of trucks that were idling, which caused congestion in Ottawa’s downtown area. It also led to air quality projections more than 30% worse than the World Health Organization guidelines. This potentially put Ottawa on par to Mexico City.
The data was culled from multiple public sources, such as news reports and user input. It will be updated frequently.
Bernard said that we were environmental scientists. We have taken our knowledge about sound and applied it to protests and placed it inside this interactive engagement portal, so anyone can see the impacts that the trucks are having.
Parts of Ottawa have been shut down by protestors who oppose Canada’s COVID-19 mandates, since Jan. 29. Canada’s Emergencies Act was invoked by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on February 14 to give the federal government broad new powers to deal with the ongoing protests that have spread to cities and border crossings across Canada.
Spatial Media, a tech company, creates digital three-dimensional visualizations. Spatial Media was founded in Australia by Canadians in 2014. They recently created an interactive map. Metrolinxs Ontario Line subway extensionToronto project
Bernard explained that Spatial Media is a visual communication company. We were passionate about technology and the tools it offered, and wanted to make it more useful.