I envision helping the OpenStreetMap US vision in two important ways.
- Working on outreach efforts with local governments to help them realize the benefits of OpenStreetMap within their organizations by contributing data to the project, and then using it in their processes. I have assisted two municipalities in Maryland with thorough, community driven data loads into the map, and wonder if those processes could serve as a modular process for future local government involvement in the OpenStreetMap project.
- I have a passion for improving the map’s routing capabilities by working with athletes to get good information about off-road paths and trails onto the map. I believe OpenStreetMap has the greatest capacity of any map to bring local knowledge of things that are impossible to map based on imagery alone, like bicycle paths in the woods. I believe working with the board and the community, we can harness the local knowledge of athletes to improve the map that is off the beaten path.
Respectfully,
Elliot