Click Here for More Livable Streets
A few exciting technology-related items have come over the transom in the past couple of days.
First, courtesy of Streetsblog Network member Living Car-Free in Big D, news of Walkshed, a prototype web application to measure walkability. Building on the concept embodied by the popular Walk Score app -- which allows users to see what amenities are close to any given address -- Walkshed goes to the next level. Rather than measuring "as the crow flies" distances, it factors in the presence of sidewalks, highways and other variables when calculating the pedestrian accessibility of things like grocery stores, movie theaters and other services.
It also allows users to customize their preferred amenities. For some people, being close to a day care facility is a priority. For others, it's nightclubs. Walkshed lets you tailor the program's preferences.
The creation of Aaron Ogle (@atogle), Walkshed is so far only available only in a beta version for the city of Philadelphia, but the possibilities are exciting.
In another welcome web-based development, Google announced yesterday on its Lat Long Blog that the availability of new data means that bike directions are forthcoming (date unspecified) from Google Maps (h/t to TOPP's own @philipashlock).
And finally, SeeClickFix -- which enables citizens to report everything from potholes to unheated apartments to their local governments -- has just launched the capability for 25,000 more towns around the country to use the service. You can find out more about how SeeClickFix works here.
Keep clicking.
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog New York City
Why Sustainable Transportation Advocates Need to Talk About Long COVID
Covid-19 transformed many U.S. cities' approach to sustainable transportation forever. But how did it transform the lives of sustainable transportation advocates who developed lasting symptoms from the disease?
Analysis: ‘Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program’ is a Failure By All Measures
The Department of Transportation wants the Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program to simply expire in part because it did not dramatically improve safety among these worst-of-the-worst drivers and led to a tiny number of vehicle seizures.
School Bus Driver Kills Cyclist in Boro Park, 24th Bike Death of 2023
Luis Perez-Ramirez, 44, was biking south on Fort Hamilton Parkway just before 3:15 p.m. when he was struck a by school bus driver making a right turn.
‘Betrayal’: Adams Caves to Opposition, Abandons Bus Improvement Plan on Fordham Road
The capitulation on Fordham Road is the latest episode in which the mayor has delayed or watered down a transportation project in deference to powerful interests.
Friday’s Headlines: Yes He Said Yes He Will Yes Edition
That headline above is a reference to the last line of James Joyce's Ulysses, which we won't pretend to have read. But we have that ... and other news.
