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TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

June/July 2005

In the News

BikeMapper(SM)BikeMapperSM Debuts

Just in time for National Bike Month and Bike to Work Day, MTC added an interactive online bicycle mapping tool to its popular www.511.org traveler information Web site. The free 511 Bike MapperSM contains data on more than 3,000 miles of bike routes in the nine-county Bay Area. The tool is part of MTC’s ongoing effort to promote bicycling as a viable option for more travelers.

With BikeMapperSM, the user plugs in the starting point and endpoint, or just a city name, and the tool generates a map displaying all possible routes within that area. “This allows you to see all available options and decide for yourself which route to take,” said MTC planner Doug Johnson. The route lines are color coded to indicate whether they’re class I (off-street bicycle path), II (on-street bike lane) or III (on-street bike route). Among the innovative features is a “show slope” option that allows riders to identify bike routes with grades of 5 percent or more. A halo of red indicates hilly portions, with the color intensifying as the grade steepens. Users can zoom in and print the map.

“511 BikeMapperSM will become even more powerful as time goes on,” said Johnson, explaining that some communities have not yet taken inventory of their bicycle facilities or have not mapped their bike paths, lanes and routes. “We’ll develop a richer database as more cities and counties take stock of their bikeways and start feeding that data into 511.” The database also will expand as new bike paths are built, new on-street bike lanes are striped and additional streets are designated as bike routes.
— John Goodwin

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