They did it!
The City of Prince George has finally introduced the long-anticipated new website to the public. We all seem to want to jump all over the city when things are not in good shape. Today, I complement them on a job well done.
I am not the most computer literate person on the planet by any means, but even I can navigate the new site quite well.
When I checked it out, I was greeted by three rotating header images. The first shows that paving is underway. On my large monitor, the picture is so clear, I can smell the asphalt smoke seen coming from the paving machine.
What I like right away is that site is available in over 100 languages, from Afrikaans to Zulu. This makes it welcome to everyone, regardless of language. It will also help many foreign tourists and business people logging in from across the globe who might be interested in our city.
Of course, the translation application, available on many such sites, is not exactly perfect.
Not only are some of the words, as simple as "underway," not contained in the dictionary but the grammatical structure suffers quite a bit. With so few people in Prince George speaking more than one language, only a visitor from other parts of the world is likely to notice that. An excellent feature is that one can contribute a more appropriate translation for words shown in English.
But no worries, English is a widely-spoken language. If they do not understand a word, switching to the language of their choice might give them a hint.
The site is broken into six top level menus, each of which opens into numerous sub topics. For instance, hovering the cursor over "How do I" opens into 19 topics.
A current favourite is likely "Dispute a Ticket."
Clicking on that immediately opens into a ticket dispute form.
Fill it out, click that you agree to all the terms, enter your legal name, ensure the computer that you are not a robot, and click the submit button. Of course, there is a gentle reminder that "a $25 fee is added if the adjudicator finds the offence did occur."
A bit intimidating, especially since the adjudicator is an employee of the city and not a judge.
Bored? Looking for things to do in the city? Just hover over the menu item "Things to do."
You will find such topics as City Events, Arts and Culture, Maps, Parks and Trails, Recreation Activities, Seniors Activities, Youth Activities, as well as specific City Facilities.
Interested in walking on one of our warmer, sunnier days?
Clicking "Parks, Trails and Sports Fields" will open a short page which links to "trail system."
Clicking on that will provide you with a list of 12 locations, each identified by length, ranging from 30 kilometres to 2.5 km. Six of those are linked to another page for detailed information.
The photos are very good and it shows our city in a positive light and yes, that we are open for business.
The price tag for this task cost the taxpayers $225,000. Web pages, especially one which contains so much information that must go through a rigorous accuracy check, are very expensive. This site appears to be very complete so I am not concerned about the price especially with the knowledge that it did not go over what it was budgeted for.
The city got it right this time.
The task, as with every competent web page, will be to keep the content current. Rob Van Adrichem, director of external relations for the city and Mike Kellett, senior communications officer, have both assured me that it will be.
Folks, if you have not been using the city's web page often, please try it. It is your electronic access to the city and your local government. Suggestions are welcome.
Your assistance is needed for a continuous improvement process.
