One of the great challenges for non-motorized transportation users can be in finding an attractive and safe route. This can apply to both transportation cyclists as well as more casual or recreational cyclists. Although in Minnesota bicycles are allowed on any non-restricted roadway, sometimes finding a route that is desirable to ride on can be a challenge. There are trails and facilities at the city, county, and state level. There is no real comprehensive database or mapping tool for what currently exists.
On Thursday we discussed taking an inventory of the bicycle facilities we have available in Ramsey county. The goal is to put together a database at the county level that consists of detailed and consistent information about the various types of bicycle related facilities that do exist. Participants during the meeting agreed to be data acquisition specialists for what exists. We agreed to collect information according to the different Ramsey County GIS User Group Pedestrian and Bicycle Definitions:
(1) TRAIL: An off-road pathway that is 6 - 12+ feet wide that is generally multi-use.
(2) SIDEWALK: A sidewalk is pathway within the road right of way, generally 4-6 foot wide and running parallel to the road, intended to be used by pedestrians.
(3) BIKE ROUTE: A shared right of way located on roadways designated with appropriate signage to encourage bicycle use.
(4) BIKE LANE: A portion of the roadway that is designated by physical barrier, striping, or pavement markings for the preferential or exclusive use of bicycles.
(5) STRIPED SHOULDER: A portion at the edge of a paved road surface that is contiguous with the road surface and separated by striping at least 4 feet wide.
(6) CROSSING: Indicates an area where a trail crosses the path of another transportation system where trail users may encounter motor vehicular cross traffic.
(7) FOOT PATH: An earthen travel way that was created from natural foot/bike traffic and Continued use.
(8) OTHERWhile some of these definitions may be revised.
Once the data is compiled at the county level, the eventual goal will to be make it available for people to use to create routes and plans to get to different areas through a "Trailquest" tool. With the properly designed mapping tool, a user could select which level of information to display. Example: Recreational cyclist may only want a map of Trails, Bike Routes, and Bike Lanes. A more seasoned cyclist may want to add Striped Shoulders.
While we have a comparatively small group of individuals to collect the information. My thought would be that it would be great if we could put the Trailquest tool out there NOW. Let the people that are using it contribute to data collection. Let's put up a social networking site for Ramsey County or (better yet metro or state) to allow a support and connection network where people can share and collaborate on existing facilities. My thoughts are based on putting together what we have now as an overlay or details with a tool such as:
RouteslipMapMyRideGMap-Pedometer (Example route to the meeting.)
Social Networking Sites where users can discuss and offer support are also another idea that I think could be valuable. Examples:
Minnesota Off Road Cyclists - While primarily in existence to promote and provide support for off road cycling, there are a number of general bicycle related topics that arise from time to time.
Minneapolis Bike Love - Though some of the content could easily be a little offensive to some people, there are some very dedicated cyclists and knowledgeable advocates. The
route planning discussion could be very helpful.
While our effort to collect information on specialized bicycle and pedestrian facilities, there are hundreds if not thousands of miles of desirable local streets that can be used by cyclists and pedestrians. Having the ability for different users to share the knowledge and experience of using them could be another key to getting other people to be more active and to take more trips by bicycle. Something at the county or metro level to help users connect with users as well as committee members and resources would be a great way to build an organization.
As a leadership team or as the bicycle advisory commitee, I would like to keep focused on what else we can do to promote cycling. In my humble opinion, simply publishing a map and concentrating on what there is for infrastructure alone isn't going to do much.
