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Using FOIA Data and Unix to halve major source of parking tickets

mchap.io

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Re: Using FOIA Data and Unix to halve major source of parking tickets

#91

Post by bpchaps »

NegativeK wrote: post #66

Matt/bpchaps, have you shared the results with the aldermen? I'd love to hear about their reactions.

Kind of, but nothing super formal. I've contacted a few of the aldermen's offices, but never the aldermen themselves.

Though, during last mayoral election, some of the mayoral candidates wanted to use parking tickets as part of their campaign, and through some connections I found my way into Bob Fioretti's campaign manager's office to discuss parking tickets, alongside an ex-candidate, Amara Enyia's campaign manager. They were super, super interested - Fioretti's CM calling the work "fucking golden". But.. they both went silent after that, despite Fioretti started using parking tickets as a major part of his campaign. Go figure.

There's a lot more to that story - I'll end up write about sometime later :).

Re: Using FOIA Data and Unix to halve major source of parking tickets

#92

Post by bpchaps »

yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #56
nevir wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

10 year support contract is certainly a good chunk of that

The initial product could be free, and that would still be a decent price for 10 years of any real support.

Yep. Have a look at their hourly rates for systems support [1].

All of the entry level positions are above 80/hr.

[1] https://imgur.com/a/ieJj5Po

Re: Using FOIA Data and Unix to halve major source of parking tickets

#93

Post by refoundglory »

mehrdadn wrote: post #29
rlpb wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Criminal proceedings are usually public in most countries. Where do parking tickets fall? Even if not technically criminal, some might, for the same underlying reasons, consider it acceptable for "someone well-off whom you don't like and who doesn't seem to mind getting tickets on a regular basis" to have this illegal behavior on the public record. "Don't want your name tarnished? Don't park illegally." [Edit: on the…

I was asking about the legality, not the morality. If it's not technically criminal then that's all that matters. Also, this is completely missing the point here: > Don't want your name tarnished? Don't park illegally. It's not about reputation, it's about privacy -- and safety.

In WA at least all traffic offenses are public record. You can go search court databases by either name or license plate to get the full details of any tickets and charges in that system.

Re: Using FOIA Data and Unix to halve major source of parking tickets

#94

Post by pasbesoin »

pasbesoin wrote: post #17

Reminds me of working with free-form, manual entry order detail information, in a former life. Hundreds of thousands of records a month. I ended up importing them into Excel(1) and then using... what was that called? An MS/Windows library that came with IE 5 and/or a few other things, that provided regex support (with a few quirks) that was accessible via VBA. The point was, I could programmatically mine it -- includ…

I'm pretty sure what I was thinking of is Windows Scripting Host (WSH). At the time, I picked it up as a part of IE 5.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Script_Host

Re: Using FOIA Data and Unix to halve major source of parking tickets

#95

Post by ssdd »

acct1771 wrote: post #8
toomuchtodo wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could have these hobbies!

I'm kind of on a negative streak these days, so forgive me, reader, but...why in god's green earth aren't these the government's hobbies?!

Nice humor :)

Re: Using FOIA Data and Unix to halve major source of parking tickets

#96

Post by ddingus »

tptacek wrote: post #2

Matt's schtick is automated, large-scale FOIA requesting; he obtains huge collections of data from cities and then tries to do interesting stuff with it. Here, he apparently managed to get all the tickets in Chicago for several years running, and then used that data to fix the parking signs. This, to me, is so neat.

It is neat.

(Not all of my post came through)

Great example of value being in data. One that ordinary people can connect the dots on and encourage.

Re: Using FOIA Data and Unix to halve major source of parking tickets

#97

Post by refoundglory »

jimmaswell wrote: post #28
btrettel wrote: post #13

Would be nice to use the same skills to help reduce cars illegally parked in the bike lane. Identify areas which cyclists commonly complain about that (e.g., to the city) and encourage them to put up better signs?

Could also signal the area is starved for parking, so the lane should be removed and bicyclists should just ride in the road for those stretches. Small inconvenience to the bicyclists who still get to use the road, big win for the drivers.

You must be joking, drivers hate having cyclists in the lane with them.

Re: Using FOIA Data and Unix to halve major source of parking tickets

#98

Post by gammateam »

kasey_junk wrote: post #3
tptacek wrote: post #2

Matt's schtick is automated, large-scale FOIA requesting; he obtains huge collections of data from cities and then tries to do interesting stuff with it. Here, he apparently managed to get all the tickets in Chicago for several years running, and then used that data to fix the parking signs. This, to me, is so neat.

He also spends a lot of time corresponding the old fashioned way to get the data & cleaning it for mechanical evaluation. His hobbies make me feel bad about my own...

"I got burned by the CIA and now I'm stuck in the records office fulfilling FOIA requests for conspiracy hobbyists in Ohio!"

a cautionary tale from a public servant

Re: Using FOIA Data and Unix to halve major source of parking tickets

#99

Post by ddingus »

acct1771 wrote: post #8
toomuchtodo wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could have these hobbies!

I'm kind of on a negative streak these days, so forgive me, reader, but...why in god's green earth aren't these the government's hobbies?!

Right?

They could be. And having a beer or two with govt people will reveal these kinds of desires and ideas.

I have had those chats in the past. Got involved in a legislative effort and was given a sort of insiders view, tour.

What gets in the way, the number one thing, is money. Not lack of it so much as priorities and ripple effects.

Fixing the signs is a net public good. The ripple effect might be revenue targets going down, and the priority being that revenue being made from inane parking tickets all make for a bit of a mess.

The number two is people forgetting or ignoring who works for who and why. There are lots of little fiefdoms, all closely guarded. Barriers where there really should be collaboration.

And on that note, collaboration can be expensive. Sure, we can step out of your way on this, but about that school levy...

Re: Using FOIA Data and Unix to halve major source of parking tickets

#100

Post by bpchaps »

kasey_junk wrote: post #3
tptacek wrote: post #2

Matt's schtick is automated, large-scale FOIA requesting; he obtains huge collections of data from cities and then tries to do interesting stuff with it. Here, he apparently managed to get all the tickets in Chicago for several years running, and then used that data to fix the parking signs. This, to me, is so neat.

He also spends a lot of time corresponding the old fashioned way to get the data & cleaning it for mechanical evaluation. His hobbies make me feel bad about my own...

So many PDFs......
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