July 17, 2007
We are a traveling society. One of the things that brings us special satisfaction is our ability to travel.
Last week, I went to a Boy Scout camp in Bloomington, Ind., with Orland Park Troop 318. Camp Ransburg is a wonderful place to visit. Despite having to sleep in a tent on an air mattress, I enjoyed the week, and the food was good. Sox was the program director and made sure all the Scouts enjoyed themselves. Check out www.crossroadsbsa.org/camping/ransburg.htm. There are topographic maps as well as walking trail maps—80 miles of walking in one week just about got me in shape.
So what does all that have to do with traffic and traveling? Well, I used a new Garmin GPS unit to find my way down to Bloomington. It worked like a charm. It also made me start thinking about how technology has improved our ability to travel, especially in getting to a place quickly and without pulling over to ask for directions. Something most men (including me) are genetically programmed to avoid.
For getting from here to there, the GPS systems are nice. But how about at the neighborhood level? Traffic analysis and mapping systems and information are coming into the high tech arena, too.
Check out Ald. Ginger Rugai’s Web site at www.19thwardtraffic.com for traffic plans for the 19th Ward. In the interest of full disclosure, my company helped put the images of the maps on the Web site, but we did not do the geographic information system (mapping) part.
The hallmark of this Web site is your ability to look at what is planned for your street and neighborhood. It allows you to see several plans and solicits your comments about those plans. Do you like the plan with the speed hump? Do you want a cul-de-sac? The whole point of the Web site is to get information into the public’s hands so they can help determine the best course for future traffic improvements. Professional plans like these are almost unheard of. The maps give you a great feel for the traffic flow and what new traffic control plans are in store.
Going more regional, a useful tool for getting real time traffic is Google Maps. You can load Google Maps on your PC, but that won’t do you much good when you are traveling down the highway. The good news is that there is a version of Google Maps for PDA cell phones (only high-end Internet models). I loaded my Treo with Google Maps, and it shows real-time traffic reports for the major highways through the country.
In the morning, when I am heading out, I can choose to take Interstate 55, Archer, Interstate 57 or an alternate route, depending upon the number of slow zones shown on the traffic map overlay. If you have a Blackberry or Treo, you should try it out. I wonder if my pretty new iPhone will have something akin to Google Maps?
I still am waiting for my iPhone. I ordered it online direct from Apple on June 30, the shipping date was July 13, so hopefully I can write about it next week.
Jim Harmening is president of Computer Bits Inc., an Orland Park computer services company. Send questions to Jim in care of Mary Beth Sheehan at info@bitsmail.com or at www.computer-bits.com. Personal responses are not always possible. Questions may be used in future columns.