The City of Edmonton is putting its Open Data portal to good use just as kids finish up at school; it’s released a map of family-friendly activities for summer.
The map uses several different data sets layered on one interactive map. It points out everything from rec centres, public libraries, outdoor pools and splash parks to Green Shacks, pop-up play areas and kid-friendly businesses.
“As a parent of three children myself, I can envision us using this map to go and plan our day and do a fun adventure maybe in an area of the city that we’re not so familiar with,” the map’s creator, Karen Parker, said.
Parker works for the city as a program manager in business analytics. While combing through all the raw data, she decided to compile it in one map that would be easy for families to access.
“I know where my neighbourhood playground is and I know where the spray park is and we hang out there a lot, but wouldn’t it be fun if we could go explore another area of the city?
“I could use the map to see where there’s a playground and an adjacent spray park and also add in the layer for child-friendly businesses so that if we wanted to go out for lunch, we know we could go somewhere that would be appropriate for our family.”
Users can filter the map to only show certain attractions.
“If you were interested, say, in only seeing summer drop-in programs or only seeing spray parks or maybe seeing where the playgrounds and the spray parks are, you can control what you see,” Parker explained.
By clicking on the point on the map, more information about the spot comes up, including hours, address and dates.
Even though she works for the city, there were a few attractions Parker didn’t realize existed.
“I’ve been for hikes and walks with my family at Rundle Park before, but it wasn’t until I made this map that I noted there’s actually paddle boat rentals available and also a mini-golf course in Rundle Park. So I thought that would be cool to check out this summer.”
To view the complete kid-friendly summer activities in Edmonton map, click here.
If you have suggestions for things that could be added to the map, contact Edmonton’s Open Data department. You can email opendata@edmonton.ca or message them on Twitter @OpenDataEdm.