Thursday, November 19, 2009

See Click Fix

See Click Fix may be the answer to our dreams. Todd and I were trying to cadge together a reporting system for bike commuters and sidewalk walkers. We used Twitter feeds and an interactive map for users to post their reports.

Chapin Spencer pointed us to SeeClickFix, which does much of this and also allows you to set Watch Areas and direct reports from posts in those areas to the appropriate public official. Here is a first draft:
http://sites.google.com/site/bikereportvt/southburlington/south-burlington-seeclickfix-map

Friday, November 13, 2009

Tweeting the Maps

This blog is about creating tweets that report conditions on bike routes. These link to markers on an interactive map that in turn point to reports on conditions for walking and biking in the Burlington, Vermont, area. Is that clear?

I've been having lots of fun riding around taking pictures of conditions on our bike path system and posting them on an interactive map. Todd Taylor and I established a Twitter account called BikeReportVT. If you post a report on Twitter and use the tag @BikeReportVT, the tweet will show up on the BikeReportVT page . There you can click on a link in the tweet to be taken to an interactive map where you can see the conditions and also add reports of conditions by tweeting from your own Twitter account. Pretty cool.

Here are some recent reports:
davidjacobowitz @BikeReportVT Bikes are not allowed on sidewalks in the Inner Fire District (Great name for a band). http://bit.ly/3frCsD

davidjacobowitz @BikeReportVT Hadley Road one-way is now 2-way for bikes: http://bit.ly/1n4awv

davidjacobowitz @BikeReportVT Now that bollards have been removed from the corner of Swift and Farrell #SBVT, cars have left-turn lane http://bit.ly/44s948

davidjacobowitz @BikeReportVT Recent paving on North Avenue near Burlington High School: http://bit.ly/21hLvI

davidjacobowitz @BikeReportVT Colchester Airport Park bathrooms are closed. Port-a-potty is open: http://bit.ly/2w2rzB

davidjacobowitz @BikeReportVT Bollards on Swift St at Ridgewood Estates removed, bikes riding eastward ride counterflow near traffic: http://bit.ly/2uBIgn

davidjacobowitz @BikeReportVT Bollards removed from the Swift / Spear intersection #SBVT http://bit.ly/LyB4b

View @BikeReportVT in a larger map