BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

since every solution should solve a problem, I'll list the problem first.

Problem: no consistent reporting of bike/car collisions (some call them accidents) in the greater metro area (ie, not just Pgh propa)

Solution: Id like to see a mobile App for reporting bike/car collisions so that anybody (passerby, police or EMT, somebody listening to dispatch radio, etc) could report the event, and Somehow they'd accumulate in a repository so that an Administrator (BikePgh volunteer?) could clean them out and cull duplicates monthly.

EndProductLooksLike: web-based reporting of car-bike collision statistics sliced by location/month/hour etc.

^good idea!

If you have a google account it is easy to sign in to Scott's second link and post your app idea directly (and vote the other ideas up or down).

Thanks for posting this, Scott -- I hope the brains of this message board will take a few moments and add 2c.

https://www.google.com/moderator/#16/e=206bf8

tangential to this topic -

a FPS type game, but where you are a bike messenger in . Trying to get from point A to point B without dying and deliver your package.

= podunk IA for beginners and New Your or MOscow for experts

2012-12-11 03:22:24

I submitted my idea for TagDroid, which I haven't had time to work on. Basically I want to simplify the multiple steps needed to post a new tag. It always takes me a minute or two at least just to upload the photo, then I have to go back and copy the URL and add the text. No way I could ever beat 53 seconds to pick up a tag, even with a tag-buddy.

jonawebb

2012-12-11 14:48:36

I don't know if this is related, but I was thinking about tracking power outages via computers signing out of Google services

For example, if a bunch of computers sign out within a certain time frame, there's a likely hood that power went out

Would be useful for tracking the extent of outages

Even with tablets and laptops, the routers would still shut off and knock people off the networks

sgtjonson

2012-12-11 15:25:56

I have four dozen ideas concerning transit, dating back 10 years. Maybe I should go through them again and update a few with cycling and multi-modal travel in mind.

stuinmccandless

2012-12-11 15:56:32

@Pierce You need cooperation to network service provides in terms of location of each customer (more exactly cusmer's IP address) and this would create a lot of concerns in terms of privacy. Google already has some service when Google cars ride together and pick up WiFi signals and and matching them to geographical locations. This service has been forbidden in Germany and Czech Republic.

A think some customers have their routers on UPSes. I do. And all my friends have routers on UPSes. Especially if they have fiber optic connections.

And a lot of people turn computers off. so if you install application and router is powered all the time you still have problem with counting clients.

Any fault at provider concentrator would be seen as power outage.

2012-12-11 18:04:35

I think Vannevar's idea has merit, but with one or two tweaks.

It seems like sweeping out the monthly report would help keep the database from getting cluttered, so long as there is another 'page' so to speak, with all the cumulative reports since The Dawn Of Time -or more likely, the past few years.

I think an overlay as such could eventually be assigned sectors (of the city/county) and/or maybe more focal points such as intersections, designated by color, for quick reference. Red would be signal an area or point with a high density of incidents, and so forth.

The benefit of course would be that any cyclist would have enhanced situational awareness when planning or executing a route/ride. Event planners might even use such established data to take special precautions, incorporate more safety/volunteers at 'red' areas/points.

I think if done properly an app could also incorporate a user reports section, where actual cyclists can provide specific information that other cyclists need, such as glass all over the road, malfunctioning signal lights, etc. The caveat being that comments would have to be regulated, as to be perfunctorily brief, a la Twitter, so the users don't suffer from TMI.

Of course you must name it, and that's half the fun. How about Biker Buddy, iBike, or Pedalphile?

2012-12-12 03:01:52

Data I'd like to see exposed:

1. daily and archived PGH zone crime blotter in json or something other than a pdf

2. daily and archived arrest data.

3. daily and archived automobile v. automobile crash data.

4. daily and archived incidents involving automobiles hitting pedestrians or cyclists.

All preferably with geo coordinates.

User generated reportage on any group could be merged with official feeds and vetted first by the machine via a geocoding service as long as device geo or form address fields resolve within a few hundred feet. Non-matching user submitted content could then be sent out for verification with an actual human before given the ok to be included in production data.

quizbot

2012-12-12 05:33:36

Also useful:

* When a road segment last got paved (not patched).

* When a sidewalk segment got rebuilt

* Location, type, and measure of hazard of any drain grate a cyclist might traverse

stuinmccandless

2012-12-12 17:21:12

BTW, reviewing the app proposals, including mine, there are a lot of "don't like"'s. We are a pretty crusty bunch. And the one app that everyone seems to like, the pothole reporter, looks like a duplicate of "Pothole Alert 311". Has anyone used that? It lists Pittsburgh as one of the supported cities.

jonawebb

2012-12-12 22:32:33

Let me add three items to quizbot's list, which I do not think is that off-topic:

* Lat/Lon of shootings that occurred outdoors, of/by anyone

* Lat/Lon of physical assaults on cyclists

* Timestamp of the above two

We have discussed, on several occasions on this board over the years, cases of shootings and assaults, and how that does (or does not) affect our paths of travel.

I would hope to answer two questions:

* Does actual crime match the perception of crime?

* How do the chances of getting shot compare to the chances of getting hit by a car, area by area?

stuinmccandless

2012-12-12 22:53:04

"Pothole Alert 311"

@jonawebb - I did not realize that existed: I like that it has some additional categories such as "dead animal" and "abandoned vehicle." I plan to give this a whirl - thanks!

pseudacris

2012-12-12 23:45:50

One of the challenges with 311 with the older iburgh app was that there were no standards for contributing data to the City system for 3rd party developers.

These reports had to be transcribed and manually entered into the city system. It's also unclear if any of the systems from the departments integrate directly with 311.

Here's an example of one open 311 standard: http://open311.org/

2012-12-14 15:45:51