Right of Way/Parcel Mapping in OpenRoads

Anyone in the Surveying & Mapping/Geospatial Community/ Community that would like to share their experiences, particularly Right of Way and Parcel mapping in Bentley Systems ORD vs. ss10/GeoPAK?

User since Ustation95/1996.

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  • We have several RW mapping projects under our belt using ORD. A comparison between GeoPak and ORD is almost useless, other than to say they are completely different. 

    Some thoughts in the aftermath include:

    • If survey staff is apprehensive about the transition to ORD, have them calc in a GPK. The data can be imported to ORD easier than learning ORD cogo.
    • I prefer not to use the Survey Field Books as a container for cogo or mapping data when building a RW project.
    • Import the cogo points via horizontal geometry tab => import/Export
    • Use the ORD Drawing Production annotation tools as little as possible. Annotation in ORD is the largest issue in the process.
    • Since there is no external cogo database keep survey and cogo points in an excel spreadsheet. We use multiple tabs and keep it up to date. I bring the GeoPak points into the excel file, edit codes etc, then import them to ORD as txt or csv files. The excel file is just a conduit and storage tool.  
    • There seems to be 3 main tools involved in the RW workflow. 
      • Geometry => Point tool
      • Geometry => Modify => Geometry Builder Edit
      • Geometry => Complex Geometry => Geometry Builder
    • Sheet models and named boundaries, this is where things seem overly complicated to me. The clients we service prefer stand alone (no refs) dgn files. This is almost impossible using ORD civil geometry. The alignments, land lines, property lines and subdivisions must stay intact. That means you'll need reference files with clips and masks. Sheet models become mandatory to the workflow.
    • Feature definitions control how things look. If your workspace isn't built to include RW features your going to have trouble with annotation and downstream processes like reporting. 

    There is a process but it's not built into the software. Bentley has made an effort to introduce too much automation into the mapping and survey workflows. My observation is this automation makes the workflow clumsy and dense feeling. Post back to the forums as you learn more. Good luck.

    Take care,

    Cliff

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