Several years back Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, started discussing the installation of a light rail transit system. Snapsort, a tech company based on that community, supported that proposal and came up with this infographic to help educate people about light rail transit. It's a good example of how agencies can use infographics to educate the public about proposed projects….
Category: Public Works
Balancing – the key to a successful bike sharing program
Most major cities have implemented some level of bike sharing programs in their community. And based on usage reports, these programs have shown to be well received by people in these communities. The idea behind the setup is fairly simple: install bike docking stations at key locations through a city and allow people to rent the…
Educating the Public about Bed Bugs
As if we don't have enough problems in the world to worry about, now we are facing a resurgence of bed bugs in our communities. And while people may not agree on the cause of their rise from obscurity, they do seem to agree we need to find ways to control their spread. Part of this…
Solar Roadways, Bike Paths, and Parking Lots
For the past few years, Solar Roadways has been working on developing solar panels as surface materials for roadways. Today the company posted the video below on their Facebook page. In it Scott Brusaw summarizes their work to date and looks ahead to the future. In the past, the company seemed to primarily focus on roads, but based on the video,…
Infographic of the Month – June 2013
This month's infographic, Improving Healthcare Buildings with BIM, is brought to you by one of my very favorite companies, Autodesk. Just like infographics, BIM makes use of visualization techniques to convey a message in a more interesing way that makes ideas easier to understand. If you have an interesting infographic related to public works or any other topic…
Encouraging Dog Owners to Pick up Pet Waste
The video below was created by McCann Madrid for the Brunete Council in Spain to showcase their program for encouraging dog owners to clean up after their pets. It sounds like the town was having quite a problem with dog owners leaving their pet's waste lying everywhere. So they hired McCann to develop a program where…
Quick Stormwater Regulation Update in Illinois
Just wanted to post a few quick thoughts/information about the status of the recent efforts to impose additional stormwater regulations throughout Illinois. Currently the task force we wrote about last year (Illinois Considers New Stormwater Regulations) is still meeting to discuss the comments they received. They have been working on addressing and looking into the issues…
Using Social Media to Promote Safety Around Trains
Melbourne Metro, a transit service based in Australia, has been successfully using social media to educate the public about safety around trains. Last year they produced this video called Dumb Ways to Die starring a cast of cute little characters and a catchy tune. And now Melbourne Metro has released a game related to the video's theme. You…
Using Social Media to Curate Information for Feasibility Studies
While I still enjoy books and love going to the library, I have come to favor using the Internet when researching a specific subject. Not only is it easy to find and collect and organize information, but the social media side of it allows me to also get the pulse of the public on that topic….
Edmonton Presents Complete Streets Guidelines
Edmonton will be presenting their Complete Streets Design Guidelines to their council on May 13, 2013. In addition to the Complete Streets document, Edmonton is also introducing the final draft of their Designing New Neighborhoods Guidelines. Both policies complement and support each other. Major cities like Edmonton have developed guidelines like these to help develop…