Bloomington, Indiana – In a major recognition of innovation and public service, the City of Bloomington’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) team has been awarded the 2025 Excellence in GIS – Large Community award by the Indiana Geographic Information Council (IGIC). This award celebrates the city’s groundbreaking work on its Vehicle Crashes and Roadway Safety Initiative, better known as CrashHub.
The GIS team, a division within the City’s Information & Technology Services (ITS) Department, received the award for its strategic and impactful use of geospatial technology aimed at making Bloomington’s roads safer. The CrashHub is an interactive platform that allows users—from city staff to concerned residents—to explore crash data and spot trends that can inform better roadway design, enforcement, and policy decisions.
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“We are honored to be recognized by IGIC for our efforts in developing the CrashHub,” said the City’s GIS Manager Meghan Blair. “This project demonstrates how GIS technology can translate complex data into actionable insights to improve public safety.”
The award is a reflection of how GIS technology, which deals with the capture, analysis, and presentation of spatial data, can be applied to solve real-world problems. The City of Bloomington has been investing in GIS since the early 1990s, and in recent years, it has made significant upgrades to its systems. These improvements laid the groundwork for user-focused tools like CrashHub, designed not only to store data but to turn it into meaningful knowledge.
At its core, CrashHub empowers users with a simple, visual interface that pulls from a central database and translates raw crash statistics into maps and charts. It helps identify which streets and intersections are seeing the highest number of incidents and can guide long-term planning and community conversations about traffic safety.
“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 collaborative nature of the project was central to its success. The GIS team brought their technical know-how to design and build the platform, while staff from the Planning & Transportation Department provided deep insight into how the tool could serve the city’s safety and planning goals.
The GIS division plays a critical behind-the-scenes role in city operations. From maintaining Bloomington’s enterprise geodatabase and producing maps to developing interactive web tools, their work informs decisions across departments. Their publicly accessible GeoHub platform gives residents and staff easy access to a wide variety of data and services.
The recognition from IGIC places Bloomington among the top communities in Indiana when it comes to integrating technology and public service. The Excellence in GIS award specifically honors initiatives that make a significant, measurable impact at the local level, and the CrashHub clearly fits that mission.
As the City of Bloomington continues to invest in technology, the success of CrashHub serves as a model for future projects. Whether applied to environmental planning, housing, or transportation, GIS tools have the potential to make city government more responsive and effective.
For those interested in exploring the platform, CrashHub can be accessed online at crashhub.bloomington.in.gov. More information about the City’s GIS efforts is available at bloomington.in.gov/gis.
The GIS team’s award-winning work is a clear example of how data and innovation, when used thoughtfully and collaboratively, can lead to smarter decisions and stronger communities.
http://crashhub.bloomington.in.gov/
