An update today from Design New Haven, the excellent Streetsblog Network member that has been promoting the use of SeeClickFix. This rapidly growing service
gives citizens a way to document problems in the public space, and back
in March the issue getting the most attention in New Haven was the
dangerous situation that exists for cyclists on US Route 1 at the
Tomlinson Bridge, where a railroad grade crossing has caused multiple
bike crashes.
Back in March, Design New Haven had this to say about SeeClickFix:
Dangerous conditions for cyclists on the Tomlinson Bridge in New Haven.
DNH
believes that SeeClickFix will be rapidly adopted by individuals
concerned with transportation safety and downtown retail districts,
particularly as walking, bicycling and transit use all continue to skyrocket to record levels and beyond.
Creating a transportation system that serves these millions of new
users requires a much greater attention to detail -- for the simple
reason that a small transportation system "gap" such as a crack,
missing crosswalk, pothole or gravel in the road
is far less likely to damage a truck axle than it is to critically
injure a pedestrian, cyclist or bus rider crossing the street.
Yesterday the blog's author, Mark Abraham,
posted an update on the Tomlinson Bridge issue. Unfortunately, while
advocates succeeded in bringing the dangerous conditions to the
Connecticut DOT's attention, the solutions proposed fall short:
The [New Haven] Register has another piece on the Tomlinson Bridge,indicating that more serious "fixes" to the problem are not currentlybeing considered by the DOT, despite the large number of ongoingcyclist crashes at the site. A couple of small metal warning signs willbe installed by August, however, which is a good start -- but stillgrossly inadequate at addressing the situation by any federal or statedesign standard.
We have a feeling that
Connecticut transportation officials haven't heard the last of this.
It's a great example of how bloggers like those in the Streetsblog
Network (now more than 300 strong) are effecting change in their local
communities, and how the Internet is changing the way people interact
with government.
Speaking of which, thanks to network member Sprawled Out for alerting us to a piece in the Boston Globe
about a new iPhone app being launched in that city. Called Citizen
Connect, it will allow iPhone users to instantly register their
complaints about everything from potholes to overflowing garbage
directly with the city:
The application,which will be free to download from Apple, will allow residents to usethe global positioning system function on their iPhones to pinpoint theprecise location of the problem for City Hall.After submitting a complaint, users will get a tracking number, so theycan pester city officials if the problem persists.
More from around the network: Human Transit analyzes the virtues and drawbacks of streetcars, Complete Streets Blog suggests the next steps for getting complete streets provisions in the house transportation bill, and The City Fix reports on a new meeting between carpooling and Facebook.
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