Sunday, March 15, 2009

Bike Routes and Signs

One of our discussions at our last meeting was about bike routes in the city, and we seemed to settle on the idea of having signs that would designate particular routes. This would avoid the problem of posting signs that say simply "bike route" and could imply that cyclists aren't fully welcome on roads that lack those signs--which is not true, legally.

So, we'd be creating signs LESS like this:












and MORE like this:














I'll be bringing Maurice's map of best routes for biking to our Tuesday meeting so we can plot specific routes. We'll need to consider common destinations and the layout of the overall network.

Also, for those who've heard Ian or I talk about them, here's a photo of a "conference bike". They say it's the world's best social lubricant, and that it works well for parties, tourists, as part of team building exercises, even for meetings. In my line of work, they might work well for urban sociology field trips!


Sure are pricey, though, at about $10,000. Guess that's why now they're mostly seen as rentals. Austin has 'em, wouldn't you know.

1 comment:

Michael Carmody said...

I like your ideas for the routes and the signs.

Regarding the bike routes suggested by Maurice or others, I suggest you consider using MapMyRun.com or MapMyRide.com to set up routes that folks may comment on and edit and vote on.

I heard this group talk about Broadmoor Library to Preston Av to Fant Parkway route in the past. This would be a good demonstration project for using the online mapping software to gauge the interest of the piblic.

I enjoy reading your blog.