Mapping New Paltz Walking Trails

When Google Maps first added the "walking" feature I thought it was a pretty cool idea, but not one that was complete. Sure, I can get walking directions to London (sort of), but look what happens when you ask for walking directions from Stop and Shop to Meadowbrook:

View Larger Map

Obviously the Google Mappers don't know that we preserved the walking path between this condo community and the New Paltz Plaza (no, we really can't call it the Ames Plaza anymore). I know Google is good about fixing things that are wrong if you ask, but understanding the nuances of adding my own maps is a little beyond me.

But now there's WikiWalki, a user-edited database of trails that combines the ease of Wikipedia with the database of Google Maps. I gave it a shot by eyeballing the visible location of the Rail Trail to see how easy it is:

View Trail at wikiwalki.com

Trail Map widget provided by Wikiwalki.com

It's not perfect by any stretch - for one, I stopped mapping because it's 2:30 in the morning and I couldn't follow the line on the satellite photo very clearly, so I was afraid I would map people right into the Wallkill. But since it's a wiki, anyone can come along and improve upon my work and extend the Rail Trail map from Gardiner to Rosendale.

Bicycle-Pedestrian Committee, Senior Task Force, and anyone else interested in pedestrian needs, please take note!

(And did anyone notice that the pedestrian-in-crosswalk signs have returned on Main Street without fanfare? I'd like to know who to credit for that!)

Village Crosswalks Continue to be Dangerous

Does anyone else remember when we had signs in the middle of our village crosswalks reminding drivers that they have an obligation to yield to pedestrians? It's a frustrating issue that has gotten only marginal newspaper coverage. The signs were put out by the DPW and brought in at night by the police. Apparently they didn't want the job anymore, so it stopped happening.

I was a member of the Bicycle-Pedestrian Committee for its first year, and Alan Stout is being kind when he implies that they've only been trying to get those signs back since the summer. It's been high on their agenda since day one, and it boggles my mind that they have been thwarted for so long.

So here are the reasons I have been told about why we don't have signs to keep our citizens and shoppers safe as they cross various parts of Main Street:

• They must be brought in at night and the police doesn't have the manpower.
• Even though volunteers have been approached
• Even though the DOT will permit them to be out all night
• The DOT has to give permission before we can put them back
• The village board claims they sent in the request, but sitting around and waiting strains credibility when people have phones in their offices . . . how about calling to see if you can walk this one through?
  
• A town in Texas was found liable when a drunk driver hit a boulder that was in the middle of the road
• I don't want to embarrass the elected official who made the comparison between a plastic sign and a boulder in writing, but it's tempting
• They make it too difficult to turn for trucks
• They're plastic signs, remember?
• They cost too much to replace
• The cost about three hundred bucks apiece. How much are you willing to spend so senior citizens can feel safe crossing from Starbucks to P&G's?
• The village Department of Public Works is concerned about their plows
• Don't put them out in the snow.

If you're an elected official in the Town or Village, please remember that the police and DPW are your employees. If it is good for our community, go ahead and tell them to do it.

We really have too many fiefdoms represented to make this idea happen. Unification, anyone?