New app enhances the Florida Road experience

CONTINUING its efforts to enhance the user experience of Florida Road, an area App has been designed as a single, inclusive source of information on the road for residents, visitors, employees, Durban locals and tourists alike.

The App is free to download on the iPhone App and the Google Play stores.

Speaking about the App, Cara Reilly of UrbanPLACES said while a few seconds on a search engine will give you reams of information about Florida Road, what seems to be lacking is a central hub of information that is more than a business directory but provides ‘insider-info’ on the place and keeps you connected to those driving its activities.

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The App was developed in response to this need and through an understanding that an information source must be immediately available. The area App is positioned as the single ‘go-to-point’ for all things Florida Road.

The App is a collaboration between the Florida Road Place-Making Committee, a sub-committee of the Florida Road UIP, place-making company UrbanPLACES and App development company APP Fab.

“The APP is aimed at anyone from the Durban local looking for a night out, or a day visitor wanting to know where to go for a family lunch, to an employee looking for the local post office number or a tourist looking for accommodation. We have grouped similar information together making it easier for people to access exactly what the are looking for,” said Cara.

Comprehensive and user-friendly, the App uses bold icons to highlight each section, with content including things like local knowledge from maps and the history of Florida Road to information on the local clinic, library and much more.

Another aspect is a one-touch-call to the 24/7 UIP Hotline Number as well as the option to Report a Fault, by capturing an image and sending an alert an anything from street lights out, to lost pets, directly to the UIP.

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There is also a comprehensive A-Z that lists every business located on Florida Road (and within the immediate boundaries) at no charge with a click-to-call phone number for easy connection. The Eat, Shop, Stay and Property categories feature key offerings in the area and allow for local businesses to upgrade their listing to include images, web and social media links and a more detail on what they offer. A news section links the latest news on Florida Road as hosted on the UIP website while an events section lists a line-up of activities on Florida Road as well as the option of checking out what is happening in the whole of Durban.

It also features a Contacts button that links users with details of a range of important contacts, from the UIP to emergency and municipal contacts.

Asked if all the bases were covered, Florida Road Place-Making Committee Chair Mike Holland noted that the team had been working on the App for some months and would look at any necessary updates to improve functionality.

“From creating the structure of the App, to loading relevant content, we have tried to be as comprehensive and inclusive as possible, but that is not to say that we haven’t missed anything or anyone, so please if you have a business or service located on, or immediately surrounding, Florida Road and you are not listed on the App, you must let us know,” he said.

Feedback on the App, listing requests or information on how to upgrade a listing can be sent to Cara Reilly on cara@urbanmgt.co.za.

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