News


Sumner Street NS Overpass (closed)

Try out the new "What's Here?" feature

James Baughn
Sunday, December 09, 2012
If you have an editor's account, you may have noticed the "What's Here?" button next to the map when adding or editing a bridge. This feature generates a list of geographic entities located near the bridge. Click on the "Show" link next an item to see it superimposed on the map.

Right now, the tool shows these items:

  • Counties
  • County subdivisions (townships, New England towns, precincts, etc.)
  • Incorporated places (cities, towns, villages, etc.)
  • Quadrangle maps from the USGS, with link to download
  • Railroad lines, with the yard or subdivision if available
  • Other bridges
  • Listings from uglybridges.com

This tool should help settle arguments over the ownership of railroad lines, as well as whether a bridge is located in a certain town or township. It should also help cut down on duplicate listings, since it will show other nearby bridges that are already listed.

Right now this is a highly experimental feature. I plan to expand it to cover other things (rivers, lakes, highways, streets, public land). If this is successful, and it doesn't overload the webserver, then I hope to make this tool more widely available.

Post a comment here · Contact webmaster

Comments  (2)

Try out the new "What's Here?" feature
Posted December 12, 2012, by Robert Elder (robertelder1 [at] gmail [dot] com)

Hey, I just discovered a really neat suspension bridge that connects San Francisco, California with Marin County. I think I will have to add it...

Hard to say if this will cut down on duplicate listings, but I think it is worth a shot.

Try out the new "What's Here?" feature
Posted December 10, 2012, by J.P. (wildcatjon2000 [at] gmail [dot] com)

High Five to our webmaster!!!!