Making Rackspotter more useful
[transposed from my thread]
rackspotter.com is a very useful tool to have at hand (for #bikemoco but also #bikedc/#bikeva/etc), although it'd be nice if it had features where you could filter (and rate?) bike racks. The actual usability/convenience of racks varies so widely.
Some are well-positioned, have plenty of space, and are compatible with a wide variety of bicycle styles and types of locks. Others are very poorly thought out for various reasons.
I know there's a feature where you can leave comments about specific racks, but I don't think it's possible to sort/filter the map points that way.
So for example, a rack that's badly positioned and placed too close to a wall might have a lower rating than one that's positioned conveniently outside a building's front entrance with plenty of space.
Additionally, perhaps also include info on whether given racks are prone to fill up (at present, maybe this might get mentioned in a comment). This generally isn't a problem where I am, but definitely could be in other areas. On the other side of this point, perhaps a second layer where people could mark locations they wish had (more) bike racks. This wouldn't be shown on the default map to keep things uncluttered, but it could be an interesting thing to crowdsource data about.
It'd also be interesting if racks could be sorted/tagged by type -- as in covered vs uncovered racks. Covered bike parking seems to be relatively rare, and even then, the degree of covered-ness varies. Tucked well inside a parking garage is a higher degree of covered-ness compared to just under an overhang next to a building. (anyways, bicycles are more vulnerable to weather [rain] damage than cars)
I wonder if indoor bike parking will ever catch on around here? As the cycling mode share is still rather low, particularly in more suburban areas here, just a few spaces would probably accommodate the number of people who bike in rainy weather currently.
What I envision is a few spaces in a little alcove or something in the lobby space near a building's front entrance. Inside the building. Nothing too obtrusive/that takes up an outlandish amount of space, but it's there if needed.
I know that office/apartment buildings may sometimes provide indoor bike rooms, but I'm talking about places that are more open to the general public. Libraries, shopping malls, perhaps even some restaurants, that sort of thing. Movie theaters too?
What other features do you wish Rackspotter had? Any other thoughts about the general topic of bike parking?
rackspotter.com is a very useful tool to have at hand (for #bikemoco but also #bikedc/#bikeva/etc), although it'd be nice if it had features where you could filter (and rate?) bike racks. The actual usability/convenience of racks varies so widely.
Some are well-positioned, have plenty of space, and are compatible with a wide variety of bicycle styles and types of locks. Others are very poorly thought out for various reasons.
I know there's a feature where you can leave comments about specific racks, but I don't think it's possible to sort/filter the map points that way.
So for example, a rack that's badly positioned and placed too close to a wall might have a lower rating than one that's positioned conveniently outside a building's front entrance with plenty of space.
Additionally, perhaps also include info on whether given racks are prone to fill up (at present, maybe this might get mentioned in a comment). This generally isn't a problem where I am, but definitely could be in other areas. On the other side of this point, perhaps a second layer where people could mark locations they wish had (more) bike racks. This wouldn't be shown on the default map to keep things uncluttered, but it could be an interesting thing to crowdsource data about.
It'd also be interesting if racks could be sorted/tagged by type -- as in covered vs uncovered racks. Covered bike parking seems to be relatively rare, and even then, the degree of covered-ness varies. Tucked well inside a parking garage is a higher degree of covered-ness compared to just under an overhang next to a building. (anyways, bicycles are more vulnerable to weather [rain] damage than cars)
I wonder if indoor bike parking will ever catch on around here? As the cycling mode share is still rather low, particularly in more suburban areas here, just a few spaces would probably accommodate the number of people who bike in rainy weather currently.
What I envision is a few spaces in a little alcove or something in the lobby space near a building's front entrance. Inside the building. Nothing too obtrusive/that takes up an outlandish amount of space, but it's there if needed.
I know that office/apartment buildings may sometimes provide indoor bike rooms, but I'm talking about places that are more open to the general public. Libraries, shopping malls, perhaps even some restaurants, that sort of thing. Movie theaters too?
What other features do you wish Rackspotter had? Any other thoughts about the general topic of bike parking?
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