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from the Your-honor,-there-was-a-tree-branch-blocking-the-sign! dept.
Utilizing FOIA and some clever software Mr. Chapman quickly identifies a troubled spot for parking in Chicago and gets results!
http://mchap.io/using-foia-data-and-unix-to-halve-major-source-of-parking-tickets.html
The story relates how the author used Freedom of Information Act requests to gather raw data on parking tickets issued in Chicago. What he received was a semicolon-delimited text file containing a great number of data entry errors. The author outlines the steps taken to clean and extract data on a likely problematic parking location. Armed with this data, he visited the location and discovered very confusing signage. He reported this to the city, who rectified the signage. This led to a 50 percent decrease in the number of tickets issued for that location.
I immediately asked myself three things
1. How much more effective has that corner become?
2. Who's grumbling about the loss of revenue?
3. What would happen if more of us did this very thing?
(Score: 2) by infodragon on Wednesday August 15 2018, @01:29PM (2 children)
And that is why I have point #2! Grumbling in the government due to loss of revenue often leads to someone being punished or fired. Power has to be used and protected!
From the article it was about $60k/year reduction in revenue. That is a LOT of money someone is no longer pocketing.
Don't settle for shampoo, demand real poo!
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 15 2018, @02:38PM (1 child)
Chicago sold off its parking space to private interests for 50 years. If ticket revenue is no longer going to the city, they have no more interest in confusing signage.
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Wednesday August 15 2018, @02:45PM
If the confusing signage is impacting residents, they may well vote the people allowing such a situation out.
Also, more subtle effects, like in my township, there was a confusingly labeled no-parking spot near a corner. This caused the garbage truck not to be able to get on to the street, meaning garbage could not be collected if someone parked on the corner.
A complaint to the township resulted in a new sign and yellow paint that makes it quite clear. Additionally they stepped up towing people that parked illegally, and enforced the ban on unregistered and undriveable vehicles stored on public streets.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh