How to create a drive time zone using polygons of interest

Question

I have a selection of polygons that  I need to create drive and walk times from.

All of the tools I have found only work using points rather than polygons.

This tool talks about 'facilities' which made me think it works with polygons ... but it doesn't:  https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/tool-reference/ready-to-use/itemdesc-generate-service-areas.htm

Surely in the world of GIS this functionality has been created as a simple tool set?

Does anyone know of the tool that I need?

NaomiBegg · Answer

I did consider converting the areas to points, however one of my areas of interest is 616 km² which definitely wouldn't work as a centroid or a one off point and it would be a massive work load to figure out how many points are required and where to distribute them along the edge.

LongDinh · Answer

Hi @NaomiBegg

This tool talks about 'facilities' which made me think it works with polygons

Facility is only a term used to reference a point location which can be reached via a network.

So, you should consider converting your polygons of interest to points of interest. There are a number of methods to convert a polygon to point, e.g:

* Using its centroid,
* A vertice along a polygon edge,
* The centre vertice along its edge (Polygon -> Polyline -> mid-point of polyline)... etc.

The point location would be represent the location where your facility can provide the service (e.g. the entrance to a store, a train station, emergency service exit, etc...)

If a method above is not accurate enough, then you should consider adjusting the point of interest before generating the service area.