September 26, 2014 / by Open Data Portal Team / In Open Data , Data Portal

Removing a Column From CTA - System Information - Bus Stop Shelters in Digital Sign Project

We will be removing the Regional_Connections column (API Name: inter_modal) from CTA - System Information - Bus Stop Shelters in Digital Sign Project because that data element is no longer available from the source system.

This change will be made soon because we discovered the issue in the course of updating the dataset and do not want to hold back the fresh data longer than necessary.  We are still figuring out the exact timing – no later than next week – but did not want to delay this notice.

August 15, 2014 / by Open Data Portal Team / In Open Data , Data Portal

Deprecated CTA - List of Fare Media Sales Outlets dataset and corresponding map

We have deprecated the CTA - List of Fare Media Sales Outlets dataset and the CTA - Map of Fare Media Sales Outlets map, based on it, because they are no longer valid.  The retail sales program for fare media changed with the introduction of Ventra cards and the current locations are not yet available in dataset format.

August 15, 2014 / by Open Data Portal Team / In Open Data , Data Portal

Deprecating Permit Right-of-Way - Parade dataset on August 31

The Permit Right-of-Way - Parade dataset has been superseded with a new view based on the Public Permit Right-of-Way dataset. This new view is automatically updated every day. The former dataset will be deprecated on August 31. Please update any API endpoints to the new location.

August 11, 2014 / by Open Data Portal Team / In Open Data , Data Portal

Deprecating several attachment datasets on August 31

Several map datasets which are available as “attachments” are being deprecated at the end of August. These datasets require the use of special application, such as Google Earth, ArcGIS, or QGIS, to view the maps.

These datasets are superseded by interactive maps that can be viewed within a modern web browser. In addition, users can still export these maps to KML, KMZ, or Shapefiles. These maps are already available on the portal and should be used. The deprecated datasets are being removed to reduce redundancy and clutter on the portal.

Users can find the newer maps with the tag “map_layer”.

Below is the list of datasets being retired:

• Central Business District (new endpoint)
• ZIP codes (new endpoint)
• Census Blocks 2000 (new endpoint)
• Census Blocks 2010 (new endpoint)
• Census Tracts 2000 (new endpoint)
• Census Tracts 2010 (new endpoint)
• Enterprise Zones (new endpoint)

Any questions or concerns, feel free to contact @ChicagoCDO or dataportal@cityofchicago.org.

July 21, 2014 / by Open Data Portal Team / In Open Data , Data Portal

New Data in Public Chauffeurs

We have added two kinds of data to the Public Chauffeurs dataset:

• Rows: Pedicab chauffeurs are now included.
• Columns: There is a new column titled “Record Number” which contains the internal record number from the system used to manage public chauffeur licenses.

June 04, 2014 / by Open Data Portal Team / In Open Data , Data Portal

Public Right-of-Way Use Permits not updating

May 21, 2014 / by Open Data Portal Team / In Open Data , Data Portal

Incorrect Data Type for IUCR Dataset

The column containing IUCR codes on the IUCR lookup table was incorrectly categorized as a numeric value instead of plain text. As a result, while the data appeared on the portal correctly, someone attempting to download it would have seen 22 null values in the IUCR column.

We have correct the issue by changed the data type to “plain text”. We apologize for any inconvenience.

May 16, 2014 / by Open Data Portal Team / In Open Data , Data Portal

Deprecating Community Area attachment datasets on May 30

We will be deprecating the old Shapefile and KML Community Area datasets on May 30th. Please use the interactive version. You can download the KML and Shapefile formats under the Export button.

May 16, 2014 / by Open Data Portal Team / In Open Data , Data Portal

Building Permits not updating

The building permits dataset has not successfully updated since May 14. This is an automated dataset and has not succeeded due to an importing error. Our team is looking at the issue, but there is not an ETA, yet.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Update 5/22/2014 - We are still experiencing the issue, but have started to perform manual uploads for this data. Thus, it may not occur at the same frequency or time each day. Will keep you posted.

Update 6/2/2013 - A fix was implemented last week and has been successful for several days. We have closed the issue.

May 16, 2014 / by Open Data Portal Team / In Open Data , Data Portal

Hello World

So, you’ve come to rely on the open data portal to power a website, a research project, or simply browse. First, thank you! We do want to make the open data portal an effective platform for everyone.

The portal has grown quickly in three years to almost 600 datasets. As developers have come to rely on the portal, the open data team is looking forward to improving that experience. Thus, we’ve launched the status blog to keep you in the loop about changes and issues with the data portal.

The portal is a sophisticated setup of automated scripts that refresh data on a daily, weekly, or monthly process. But, sometimes things go wrong. If something does malfunction, it’s important that we provide a basic service of keeping our users up-to-date on the resolution.

What kind of things will we write about here?

• We are working to migrate geographic datasets from attachments to browse-able maps
• Change the API call name to correct a spelling error or improve consistency.
• Provide an update if we have a technical issue or out-of-date dataset.

This blog will be updated if we notice an issue or if one is brought to our attention. Visit here to see if there are any known issues and keep abreast of developments.

Each post will be marked with the dataset’s 4x4, which is a unique identifier associated with each dataset. You can find the 4x4, such as usfg-z9mx, can be found in the URL.

See an issue? Reach out to @ChicagoCDO or contact us at dataportal@cityofchicago.org