Improved DOT Rolls Out Improved Web Site

Yesterday afternoon the Dept. of Transportation launched a new and improved web site loaded with features designed to make information more available to the public. Now you can use the DOT’s site not only to watch traffic cams and sign up for e-news updates, but also to request different types of permits, report potholes, file complaints about newsracks, report damaged bicycle racks (and our favorite, request bicycle racks).

Dani Simons, formerly Transportation Alternatives’ Director of Communication, was hired to direct the Department’s e-media initiatives. She points out that the Current Projects page is a really useful tool for New Yorkers who want to know which of their city streets are being transformed. While this part of the site is still a work in progress, soon it will have search functionality and could possibly be used to collect community input on certain projects.

You may notice that several rotating banners hang above the web site. Depending on when you load the page you may see an obvious sign that the times are changing at the DOT: a procession of bicycles without a car in sight.

  • Steve

    The key improvement in my view is that the site is much faster-loading and responsive. And you’ve gotta love the bicyclists in the banner! It does rotate, however.

  • mike

    I’m glad the Java menu is gone.

  • Eddie N.

    Perhaps JSK is a very excellent commissioner, but almost no one in DOT knows this because there is zero communication between her & her new staff and the rest of the agency. Case in point? The new DOT website. Was there a notice on the agency intranet site about the launch? No. Was there an agency-wide email announcing it? Was there a notice posted anywhere? No. Were people involved in the programs the website is supposed to promoting consulted? Not much.

    Ya know, if you’re going to run an organization, at some point you’re gonna have to like, maybe say hello or something to the people that work there.

    Just a thought

  • fdr

    Attaboy, Eddie.

  • momos

    Eddie, you’re complaining that DOT bureaucrats weren’t notified about a website revamp? Should JSK circulate memos announcing each occasion senior personnel pass gas? I dunno, my friend. I think the Commissioner has limited hours and must prioritize things like, oh say, a major state commission studying the most radical transportation policy proposal in modern New York history…

  • Did anyone else notice the link to the DUMBO plaza Streetfilm on the site?

    Perhaps the first link from DOT to an NYCSR site!

  • snooper

    Staff should be told, as they are integral to the project. They provide the information for the site and actually deal with the public on their respective issues. Why have an intranet and all staff email list if it isn’t used?
    retirement parties sure get disseminated that way.
    Former Dot’er

  • Eddie N.

    No, I’m complaining that people who want to do a good job, are interested in the agency’s new direction, and know something about how city government actually functions are being (literally) completely ignored. Meanwhile a bunch of newbies pat themselves on the back for a bunch of fluff, and the clock is ticking on real, actual work that they have no idea how to do.

  • Stirring the pot

    Well it seemed that in the Reign of Iris the agency was under the firm thumb of these tribal warlords, the deputy commissioners. Maybe it’s better that JSK distance herself to show who’s in charge…

  • Steve

    I certainly welcome any comments that DoT staff care to make here. I wouldn’t second-guess JSK’s management style but I am sure she would agree that she and her agency will be more effective if the workforce is informed and supportive of her policies.

  • Angus Grieve-Smith

    It definitely seems like an improvement; in fact, I think I’ve avoided the site in the past because it wasn’t very informative or user-friendly.

    One thing that bothers me (and don’t take this the wrong way; I’m sure there’s a lot that needs to be done) is the fact that the Congested Corridors study (which includes a corridor near my home that is very pedestrian-unfriendly) is under the “Motorists” section and says “Motorists” in big letters at the top of the page. This even though two of the goals of the study are “Reduce vehicular congestion and improve air quality and safety for all users (vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle)” and “Improve pedestrian access.”

    If it’s considered a “Motorists” project, it makes me wonder how much attention is really going to be paid to pedestrian and cyclist access and safety. Buses aren’t specifically mentioned at all, just lumped in with all the other vehicles.

    Again, this is not meant as criticism of Simons, who’s clearly done quite a lot in just two months on the job. It’s just a suggestion for her to-do list, and for whoever is in charge of making sure that pedestrian voices get heard in studies like this.

  • sam

    ok, man, what’s the deal with that huge DOT logo? Could it be any more bigger??? It’s fighting with the image, which I think should take the spotlight.

  • Al Smith

    Angus, there’s also a link to it from “Current Projects.” According to the press release when the DOT Planning & Sustainability Bureau was created, they will be dealing with the congested corridors so i think it should be in good hands.

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