Need help on communicating road conditions.

Of course there are many links to general current conditions of roads, but overall there seems to be a desire for communication of specific issues that would not show up in CDOT updates. Some examples could be

1. very local hazards such as ice build up on a shady corner, a new pothole, drifts, flooding, festivals or washed out gravel.
2. general conditions of roads, perhaps a rating such as used in some sports (class 0-IV).

What I am invisioning is a interactive google map for the 285 corridor through the hills in this area. This map would allow the general public, or anyone, to post either of the above for all to see.

This would allow both:

1. cross communication between the public
2. communication to the road departments about particular hazards.

This app could allow the road departments to be special users, both receiving direct emails if there is a public posting of a class III or greater road or hazard. There could also be a clock that ticks when something is posted, giving things a little bit of a keep them honest vibe. The road and bridge department would be expected to respond within a few hours or a few days with anything from a clean up down to a minimum of a post on the map stating why they are not doing anything at this time (budget, poor perception of hazard etc.). This would keep people from feeling like they are calling into the void when the call the dept and leave a message.

Any thoughts....I want to do this, my sense is it could be free. Anyone have some sense of how to set up such a thing, played with google maps to that extent before I jump in blind. Would be a great link on 285bound!

Thanks.

#1-signs must be on private property or OK from State road engineers.

Maybe just one large sign as you enter Bailey would do-Could read:
NO ROADS, GOOO--OOOD LUCK.(under/little letters)-send $$to BOCC
Royal Grand Terrace Resort/Casino, Off Shore Somewhere.

That sample(No Roads ) is from the 1202 page Politicians handbook.,
"How to Treat Taxpayers". You must first skip pages 1-1198 as they
are compressed together do to lack of use(Ethics, laws,no immunities).
Back of book very dirty, creases, folds, tear outs deals with examples
of slicksters tricks that try to overshadow pages 1-1198.

Hi, PosterYoYo! One heckuva good idea! Are you envisioning this as a webpage kind of setup, with photographs e-mailed in by residents affected by icy corners, snowdrifts, small-lakes-where-a-road-used-to-be, etc.? Heck yes! A fair amount of 'citizen-input' would fill a regular 285Bound board, easily. A friend of mine and I were discussing the rain-related problems out along the Elkhorn, just today, and they mentioned the 'water crossings' thereupon. Enough folks with digital cameras and computers could provide graphic, unargueable proof of where the county R & B crews need to be headed next! (Especially like the 'Class Rating'...Class II, or maybe a Climber's Scale: 5.0, 5.5, etc.) Sounds good to me!! :thumbsup: PS: GPS coordinates would be especially useful! :thumbsup:

This would take all of the adventure from living in the wilds of the mountains. We might as well live in the 'burbs or have someone follow us around with pillows or cushions to be sure that "precious" does not come to any harm. That type of life would be dull with no hardships to overcome. Sounds like a sorry idea to me.

Poster, You must not live in Park County I'm thinking. These Bozos can't even fill potholes or clear culverts that are in the same place every year. No need for techno-wizardry and GPS. Common sense works too.

Seriously though, google maps has a cool feature if you turn it on, Pictures! Along a route people post and tag scenic pictures, it is pretty cool.

Great idea PosterYoYo! Maybe 285Bound could have a Commuter Corner for those of us who have to drive the hill daily and all the email emergency updates, road conditions, etc. could be together?

Majorbean, if you wish to use pillows and cushions to repair a washed-out culvert, that's o.k. by me. I'm not real sure everyone shares your brawny, burly hairy-chested sense of 'adventure', though. PS: Does that old Mayflower run?

You can create an api that will overlay your data over Google Maps. I am told that it's simple to build the API. The data can be either built by poster entry or mod entry.

http://googlemapsapi.blogspot.com/

I think this is an outstanding idea. You guys could maybe have a forum much like the scanner forum we have.
BOY! We have a boatload of folks that think outside the box.
Have you guys given any thought to proposing this in Letters to the editor here?

PosterYoYo: Better e-mail the Editor with your suggestion now, before one of the R & B gang reads this and tries to take credit for it.