SALISBURY, Md.--It's been about a month since Salisbury officially launched its first 'open data hub'--a collection of information and data made available, free of cost, to the public.
Users can find information on anything from city government, to infrastructure, transportation, public safety and more.
The research has ben organized in an orderly fashion by two city officials who say this new website provides both locals and visitors the ability to learn more about the city and its people. Assistant Director of Information Services John O’Brien is one of the creators who said research took about two years, followed by 30 days of creating the actual website.
"This data dates back to, we started really categorizing this information back in 2014, some of our utility data and stuff like that but we make an effort to, any of the data, we put out, we always make an effort to make sure that it is the most recent up-to-date data," he said.
Visitors can download raw data, view visualizations and maps, build new apps using templates, and easily share data or insights with others.
Irshana Nawnvr told WRDE she has gone to the Wicomico Public Library with her daughters for the past three years.
"We come for the library and we come for, take a walk, the library has like a 'story walk,' we just enjoyed a story walk," she said.
Nawnvr said she was unaware that there was free public WiFi and easily accesible in several locations nearby.
Now, she and anyone else looking for free WiFi in the Downtown Salisbury area for example, has this new tool to quickly search for anything--from biking trails to parking spaces.
O' Brien said it even gives investors abroad the information they need to know to bring business to town.
"Regionally and locally especially for Salisbury, for the economic development, if you have companies nationally looking for some place, to land, to start up a business, to start up, you know to move headquarters or whatever they could very easily go to this site and just by looking at the data, tell how that community, how that city, that government... handles its responsibilities toward infrastructure and its citizens," he explains.
City officials said they hope this further opens lines of communication and transparency between city government and its community.