Sidewalk obstructions are to walkers what bike lane blockages are to bike riders. That is, always annoying and often downright dangerous.
Portland nonprofit advocacy group Oregon Walks has a new tool that to report these hazards. And they’ve turned it into a game.
Sidewalk Obstruction Bingo, a website that also works great on mobile devices, comes with 24 squares labeled with some of the most common things that get in your way including: low branches, cars, garbage bins, a-frame signs, trash, work zones, and so on. There are even squares for missing lights and sidewalk gaps. (I was a bit disappointed to see that they included “Bike riding on sidewalk,” because that’s legal (except for a section of downtown) and often necessary for many people.)
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To play the game all you do is click the icon on the board that matches the hazard you face and share the location details with Oregon Walks. Once you get a bingo you can be entered into a prize drawing.
This is an interesting idea and seems like a great way to collect information about hazard hot-spots. Check it out here.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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