Bicycle map
These maps may also include information on elevation changes, points of interest, bike racks, repair stations, and traffic conditions relevant to cyclists.
Bicycle maps aim to provide cyclists with essential information for route planning, to promote cycling as a mode of transportation, and to enhance the overall biking experience by ensuring accessibility and safety.
City departments of transportation (DOTs) have aimed to “encourage cycling primarily as a replacement for car trips”[1] and recognize that most will bike to get somewhere rather than for a leisurely ride.
Maps, whether in a physical format or via the internet, provide the cyclist with a wide range of data on street conditions and available paths.
Street maps available prior to this time period showed roads, but often emphasized railway lines, omitting information of particular relevance to cycling, e.g. pavement quality, hills, etc.
Merged bike paths and car roads are preferred for cities with smaller vehicles like in Europe.
In recent years, these have become increasingly multi-modal in nature, offering directions for cyclists, pedestrians, transit users, etc.
[7] Online bike maps are useful to denote service stations and dangerous areas that change over time since users can input data through programs like Bikemaps.org and Opencyclemap.org.
Web-based mapping efforts have often been hampered by the lack of detailed data on street conditions of interest to cyclists, and even of basic infrastructure like bikeways and lanes.
This mental effort has the highest fixation per glance of all mediums, consequently depriving cyclists attention off the road and onto their physical Paper Maps.
These two key features, spatial representation and extra information, enable faster cycling speed and less errors on route.
From there, the app provides a variety of straightforward tools, allowing users to name their map, offer descriptions of the route and add up to ten spots and stopping points.
Some of the world's notable routes with easy-to-access maps include The Old Ghost Road located on the South Island of New Zealand, The Minuteman Bikeway located in Massachusetts, USA, The Sea to Sea Route spanning from Ireland to England, and The Karakoram Highway spanning from China to Pakistan.
The Minuteman Bikeway runs through historic towns in America, following the route that Paul Revere took on his famous ride of 1977 announcing the beginning of the American Revolution.
The Karakoram Highway offers adventure-seeking cyclists the opportunity to ride on high-altitude terrain and experience steep descents.
Maps for this route typically include symbols indicating road conditions, gravel, and landslide warnings.
[12] These indices aim to assess various factors influencing the safety, comfort, and convenience of bicyclists along specific roadways or routes.
In the later half of the 20th century, urban planners and transportation engineers began to see a need to establishing suitability criteria indices specifically designed for bicyclists.
Additionally, bike maps denote major road crossings and promote the development of larger cycling networks when disparities are analyzed.
[15] Safe routing information is important as uninformed cycling becomes more common alongside the increase in bicycle usage.
