Hermiston residents have more information about their city at their fingertips than ever before, thanks to Geographic Information Systems technology.

GIS mapping is a computer system that ties sets of data to geographic locations, generating interactive maps. If users click on various parts of the map they might bring up information about who owns a tax lot or how many crashes have happened on a certain road, for example.

The city of Hermiston recently made eight different GIS maps available online at www.hermiston.or.us/planning/maps.

One map, labeled Transportation System Plan, allows users to click on an intersection to find out the average daily trips made through it or click on a road to see its classification under the city’s transportation plan.

Other interactive maps show data on city council wards, tax lots, zoning, buildable acres inside the urban growth boundary, census data, floodplains, urban renewal projects and GIS maps from other counties in Oregon.

Clint Spencer, city planning director, told the city council during a workshop Monday that adopting the GIS technology makes planning information much more accessible to citizens, who can now pull up ownership, zoning and appraisal information on any tax lot from the comfort of their home.

“I wouldn’t say it was impossible before, but it was time-consuming,” he said. “Before, all we had was the big map books, and they didn’t fit in a copier.”

Spencer said the city also has a big printer now that can print off large versions of the maps generated. He said the planning department has printed off large city maps for other departments like Parks and Recreation, and for businesses like pizza chains that want to use them to plan their deliveries.

The city has also generated maps for internal use, such as mapping the municipal water system and age of pipes.

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Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4536.