The hub, accessible at data-covfl.opendata.arcgis.com, is still being built out but users can access maps now.
Links can also be found on the city web site, venicegov.com, under "I Want To" at the top of the homepage, as well as under Government/Information Technology.
City of Venice GIS Administrator Don Hubbard said the main purpose of the site is just to give the public "access to and of our featured services, our data and our maps that we produce."
On the home page, it's possible to click on an icon to view: "All Data," as well as icons for maps from Planning and Zoning, Public Works, Utilities, Engineering, Fire, Police and Airport.
More valuable for the typical user are map apps, including ones for flood information, zoning, parks, utilities and the street network.
Hubbard noted there are a variety of uses.
"Say your water meter is buried someplace," he said. "We have it located here on this map."
Or a quick view of the sewer line map can show where the flow direction comes from, as well as the approximate location of where the home is tapped into the gravity main, he added.
The parks map includes park name, address and other notes such as who maintains the park, while a link there can take the viewer to a virtual tour of the park.
Many maps can be downloaded to a user's device and printed as well.
Hubbard cautioned that because the maps are data rich, they make take time to load on personal computers.
©2020 Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Fla. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
