Durham ComNet needs cyclists
Posted on July 7, 2008
Filed Under bikes, urban design
We should get some cyclists in on this…
Durham residents interested in serving as extra eyes for City government now have their chance thanks to new technology designed to help the community prioritize its immediate, street-level needs.
The City of Durham is debuting Computerized Neighborhood Environment Tracking – or ComNet – that enables neighborhoods to use easily operated handheld computers with digital cameras so that street level conditions, such as pot holes, illegal dumping, weedy lots, litter and vacant houses, can be quickly captured, recorded, and prioritized for action. ComNET adds a new layer of citizen-government communication, accountability, and citizen oversight.
Neighborhood groups interested in scheduling a ComNet survey in their community should contact Jay Reinstein, manager with the City of Durham’s Office of Strategic Initiatives, at (919) 560-4222, extension 226 or by e-mail at Jay.Reinstein@durhamnc.gov.
Cyclists often complain that our needs are different from drivers’ needs and that our needs are ignored in favor of the (perceived to be) larger or more affluent driving community.
Participation in a program like ComNet would be a good way for local cyclists to document and bring attention to the bike community’s needs. Since the City of Durham is initiating the program, they’re more likely to be receptive to what we have to say.
ComNet strikes me as similar to the Durham Pace Car program in that both invite the public, qua average citizens, to join with local government in taking responsibility for the community. Citizen-activist programs like ComNet have the potential to bring fresh attention to issues and neighborhoods chronically overlooked by empowering voiceless members of Durham’s community. The effectiveness of ComNet, which is essentially an exercise in distributed information gathering, will rest primarily on what the City does with the information it gathers.
The City won’t be able to do much if it doesn’t collect good info, and that’s where the cyclists come in. Cyclists are sensitive to changes in the environment (think pot holes and debris-strewn bike lanes), because we’re closer to the environment and just plain more likely to see what needs fixin’. It seems to me that cyclists are ideal candidates for an on-the-ground program like this.
Anyone want to step up and volunteer to participate in ComNet? If so, start by going through your neighborhood association.
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