Local GIS Tidbits
In Missoula, MT a tree inventory on the docket for city council. It passed a measure putting 37K to the matter, much of which comes from a grant. There was one dissenter on the vote:
Councilwoman Renee Mitchell cast the only vote against that agreement with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. She said she was tired of much talk and little action - and of paying for studies.
“We’re studying stuff to death, literally,” Mitchell said.
Councilwoman Pam Walzer, though, said the money wasn’t slated for a study at all. Rather, she said it’s a long-term investment in the future that allows the city to keep track of its trees and their health.
“This is what any good business does. They know what their inventory is,” Walzer said.
Well said!
Somerset County, PA has an unpaid intern mapping illegal dump sites and old cemeteries. Elena Lepley of Somerset “has a master’s degree in geography from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and who has taught Geographic Information System use to college students, is working on all the map projects simultaneously.” That’s great. I hope Elena has a real job; if not, I hope this exposure gets here one!
- Ourtown Online (Johnstown’s Community Newspaper)
Over in Kalachowkie in India there was a huge road cave in (a hole 10x30x10), the eighth in the last two years. The cause? Leaky pipes corrode the soil under the roads. Why can’t the city prevent these accidents waiting to happen?
Said a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official: “To complicate matters, we don’t have maps of the underground utilities, which is the biggest hurdle. The BMC is doing GIS mapping. Once that’s done, we will be able to tackle this problem.”
- Mid-day
