Character Type Address Range Fields

[JoeBorgione]

The agency I work for is embarking on a Computer Assisted Dispatch (the other CAD) migration.  I've noticed that the current CAD software as well as the new CAD software type the address range (Left From, Right From, Left To, Right To) fields for centerline data typed as Text/Character.

I asked the current CAD vendor about this move and the reply was 'Many of our agencies store letters with the house number, so that is why address ranges and house numbers are stored as strings...'  Okay; I can buy an address field in a point feature class being a string to accommodate a suite or apartment designator, but in  a range?  I'm at a loss.

Please let me know if you deploy characters in you address range fields.

[TimWitt2]

We only have numbers in our ranges and so do our surrounding counties. How would that even work geocoding wise? This just sounds too weird.

[JoeBorgione]

How would that even work geocoding wise? This just sounds too weird...

Exactly my thoughts, Tim;  if I have a string in LFrom as 1200 and a LTo as 1298, how can you interpolate against characters?  Beats me...

[ChrisDonohue__GISP]

We only have numbers (Long data type) in our Street Ranges (City of Roseville, California).  Any letters as part of a street address would go in a separate StreetNumberSuffix field or Unit field, but definitely not in a range field (i.e. not in FromLeft, ToLeft, FromRight, ToRight).

It does seem like having letters included in the range would throw the interpolation.  Maybe they have an advanced process included in their software to somehow account for it?  Or a basic process to strip it out before interpolation?

Just a thought - by any chance are you going to New World Systems Aegis CAD?  (that's what we are starting to use here).

Chris Donohue, GISP

[JoeBorgione]

We are upgrading to the latest greatest version of Spillman and in a year, year and a half, maybe two migrate the whole enchilada to Hexagon/Intergraph.  Both type the range items as Character.  I was looking at a NENA document today and they call for DOUBLE which makes no sense to me either.  What's wrong with a good ol' Long Int?

[ChrisDonohue__GISP]

Double?  That also seems weird.  Are we going to decimals in addresses now?  Do we really need that much precision?  I can just envision a conversation like this:

"So, where do you live?"

"I live at 160.25120466 Main Street...."

Chris Donohue, GISP

[JoeBorgione]

Apparently in Wisconsin, they have a need for alpha-numeric ranges:

FromLeft: N87W15850

From Right: N87W15851

ToLeft: N87W15898

To Right: N87W15899

StreetName: Bellview

StreetType: Rd

City: Menomonee Falls

ST: WI

Go Packers!