I was adding a couple local USPS Post Office drop box locations using Potlatch when I wondered if there was a public list of locations I could upload. I did find that there was a release of 2005 locations that was released under the Freedom of Information Act. There are 20 Excel files ranging from 14,000 to 65,000 lines in length each and it looks like they do have all the locations. I thought it would be a good project for me to extract/clean up the data and geocode it for upload (only addresses are given in the files) and so would like to first seek feedback from the community before proceeding especially with regards to licensing, tagging and geocoding.
==== LICENSING: ==== The data comes from here: http://www.prc.gov/docs/53/53396/DFC-LR-2-R200-6.exe The best information in regards to its release I can find is from here: http://66.208.7.72/(S(tgqmwqywriczne55l1bjqtnu))/Docs/53/53359/Testimony_Errata.pdf Which is erratum of a Postal Rate Commission Docket, which states "In 2002, I submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Postal Service for an electronic copy of pertinent information from the CBMS database. The Postal Service declared that releasing information on locations and posted collection times of collection boxes would pose a security risk. I filed a lawsuit, and in March 2005, a federal judge ruled in my favor and ordered the Postal Service to disclose the data. In September 2005, the Postal Service provided" (and then is cut off) See also here: http://www.postalnewsblog.com/2007/10/16/usps-loses-appeal-of-foia-case/ -Is this compatible licensing? -What kind of attribution is required? ==== TAGGING: ==== Included in the released files is the pickup times of the boxes. -Should this info be included as a tag? How? -Also, what kind of tag should I use to denote this is a bulk upload of locations, or should I just create a dedicated user account for the import? -How do I prevent duplicating existing positions already uploaded by users? ==== GEOCODING: ==== -Can anyone recommend a geocoding service (that is, translating an address to latitude/longitude) preferably free or very cheap. Only one I've found is http://geocoder.us (since I can't use Yahoo's or Google's without using them on one of their maps), but I can only send one request per 15 seconds and so it will take weeks (since I don't want to pay hundreds of dollars). -Additionally, should I also cross post these questions to the 'imports' mailing list? Cheers and thanks for any and all help, ~Kirk Ireson -- View this message in context: http://gis.638310.n2.nabble.com/Uploading-all-Post-Office-Drop-Box-locations-in-the-US-tp5164668p5164668.html Sent from the USA mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ Talk-us mailing list Talk-us@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-us
