Local rider Brian Lackey hopes to bring a new all inclusive trail conditions app to the market. The TrailStat app will have real time official information submitted by government agencies and observations gathered by actual trail users. The app is still in the development phase and Brian is trying to obtain funding to complete it via his Gofundme campaign. At the time this article was published, he had raised $960.00.
Donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/trailstat
Here’s what he has to say about it.
The outdoor experience is one to be enjoyed. In trying to work towards that enjoyment I started app development back in January 2014 with the idea that there should be an easy way to decipher what trails are near me and what their status and conditions are right now. Governing entities do an admirable job of keeping trail users off trails when conditions are not conducive to use. However with tight resources and time there are often gaps and lags in getting that information to the public. That is when my frustration of deciding when and where to ride became evident. I could not locate good trail status information. I also discovered this is a common problem with other trail users. Miscommunication of trail conditions adversely affects citizens’ outdoor experience and potentially reduces utilization of public trails.
My product solves two problems. The first is enhancing the user experience as mentioned above. The second is a real-time tool that greatly reduces administrative work and time by governing entities to update these trail conditions. These cost and time savings will enable governing entities to focus on other tasks and projects.
Sure, there are 100’s of crowd-sourced apps out there but that is only as good as the crowd that takes time to input information. I developed a two-sided system to fix the information on the government side and get the status and conditions out to you, the user. This all takes money and a lot of time to develop. Currently, the governing portion of the app (one that managers/rangers use) is complete. The end user app is still in need of development and is only weeks away if I can get the funding to pay for that last of the process.
The feature rich system allows for social interaction with other users. We all know that because a trail is open does not mean it is truly ride-able. Events or trail maintenance can be a safety concern for riders or more importantly, young riders. Parking can be an issue when lots start to fill up. We can get a lot of this info from Facebook and Twitter but finding it is another story too. I want to know now, what is going on with trails. Geolocation allows you to travel and pinpoint trails no matter where you decide to travel. Bonus is it is a free app for you!
Are you with me? If so, take time to consider helping out the development of TrailStat. Be sure to share this as well with fellow trail users!
