HawthorneVillager.com

I agree. Skip the photo gallery or put it on a separate page if there are users that want to see it. Use the space for a list of Coming Events and Public Notices.

I like the fresh look and the index header. Don't know yet whether a search is any easier.

I like it generally. I agree the front page, while pretty could have more quick-links and news info. I did like that about the old front page. It does seem to have more content easily accessible within a few clicks and the organization seems better. I was disappointed the program registration page didn't change but I guess one thing at a time . What I noted is there's more information easily accessible for residents, but also for developers and prospective businesses looking at Milton. Thumbs up!

On the old site "Mapping" was accessible from the homepage.

As of now, it has been confirmed. All mapping features, maps, and Find an Address functions are completely missing from the new website.

There is no alternative to the original site because the town has the most up to date maps. Google Maps and similar sites are not even close when searching for new streets.

For Example - If you are looking for a street in the new Mattamy development south of the hospital - GoogleMaps is incomplete, where the old Milton.ca site has every street and if you want you can pin-point a specific address.

Trades, delivery people, friends of people in new homes, and people like myself depend on this - impossible to find elsewhere information - so the town needs to fix this NOW.

Rick was able to find the direct URL through some searching of google caching, so for now if you need Milton Mapping go to this link -

http://maps.milton.ca/gis/go?

_________________
For Home Inspection services call Andy Shaw at Halton Home Inspection Service. 905 876 4761

Hi Andy, just wanted to add that the only confirmed part is that I wasn't able to locate it on the new website myself. It might actually be there somewhere and me and you are just not able to find it on our own

Yes, going to the mapping program directly at that URL seems to work. Google Cache has saved people's derrieres multiple times in locating orphan programs/links like this.

I received a reply this morning (nice how senior town staff often work on weekends) from the town's planning & development department that the interactive mapping tool has not been (intentionally) eliminated. As the press release on the new website mentions "For the next few days you may experience some disruption to our website. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause." so it's likely the mapping program being missing or difficult to find is just related to that. The IT department will look into it and hopefully rectifiy the situation.

Nik, I sent you an email in regards to Open Data in Milton. Let me know if your interested in coming up and giving some of us a hand

Thanks for the update Rick.

I would assume that Maps is missing from the left column on the Roads page and I am sure they will fix that soon.

Home Page > Roads > Mapping = Perfect.

_________________
For Home Inspection services call Andy Shaw at Halton Home Inspection Service. 905 876 4761

Hi Andrew, I'm looking to add a motion on Open Data to the council agenda for Dec 5th meeting, I'll email you when the motion is made public and you'd be more than welcome to come!

Rick,
I am also interested in the OpenData. Please keep me in the loop.
Would be nice to create some quick access to information apps with the data.

I am so glad to see a discussion on open data happening here. I work in the public sector and open data is something we have been trying to move toward for a long time. The US Federal Government is making some huge leaps forward on this with Obama's open data initiatives. Ontario is generally far behind on publishing data in an open format, but we're getting there. The challenge is usually convincing the higher-ups that releasing data openly can stimulate innovation and lead to some wonderful and usable application of public data. It's the fear of "what if someone does something bad with it" that needs to be addressed before most public agencies feel comfortable with releasing the raw data. GIS is a wonderful venue to release data because it provides a way to release "crunched numbers" in a usable context that makes sense to most people. The Ontario Government has been publishing some great GIS applications recently to release data in a usable format to the public. It would be great to see Milton embracing some of these technologies moving forward. With companies like ESRI Canada offering web-based GIS services and applications for low cost (some are even free), and Google basemaps being free for public use, there are some great options available.

I look forward to hearing more about these initiatives!

Thanks Andrew, Sandeep, Nik & Chris. I'm looking to have a motion before council on Open Data possibly for the upcoming Dec 5th session. As soon as it's public I'll post a link here.

It's fixed now. If you go to the home page, and click on "Developing in Milton" you'll see a link to the online mapping tool.

Be advised that depending on your ISP, it may still take while for refreshes to occur in regards to the dns entry for this service. Although most of the ways I attempted this morning all were able to see the online mapping too updates now, there may still be some stragglers that it's not visible for yet.

Getting a page error when accessing Mapping Online.

Works for me, but I was warned some people might have some trouble loading it for the first couple days. Try again on wednesday and let me know. If it still doesn't work by then try contacting town staff.

Worked for me on IE. I was trying at first with FF.

Worked - Thank you.

_________________
For Home Inspection services call Andy Shaw at Halton Home Inspection Service. 905 876 4761

Hey Rick

Tried the new website. Worked the first time for me. Need to do a little re-orientation as to where things are, but looks good overall.

_________________
Geer