I've been having fun with Google Maps. I am hoping that the Dallas Bike Route system can be incorporated into Google Maps someday. In my shallow research, I've seen several folks post their favorite bicycle journeys. In that spirit, here's my standard bicycle commute following the Dallas Bike Route system.
There are several variations on this, some faster, some more direct. They're all fine.
It's a fairly easy commute, at the outside edge of the distances I recommend for people and planners. Ten miles is generally the maximum distance I suggest as a reasonable commute (although many of the most dedicated bicycle commuters easily double that distance). I prefer to focus on five miles, and I dream of the day one and two mile commutes make sense in my community. A one to two mile commute means you live and work in very close proximity, and that a bicycle will take about as long as a car trip, and will be considerably faster than walking. This requires urban high-density situations.
Many people still misunderstand the purpose of a bike route system. Lingering in the backs of our Bicycle Inferiority Complex minds (down near the "eat or be eaten" lizard brain) is the idea that bicycle routes are somehow "safer", or "the best". While either could be true, it's not necessarily the case, because the primary variable – the cyclists – have to make that decision themselves. The route system shows how many other cyclists navigate the same area. It's a suggestion that will get you where you want to go, but it never really rises above the level of a recommendation... after all, every city street is a bike route, even though many cyclists want to surrender that very basic right.
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6 comments:
I've found Google Street View to also be a useful tool for finding good bike routes. You can see which intersections have traffic lights and get some idea of the width and condition of the street.
Also, check out bikely.com for finding/sharing bike routes.
I'm working on it.
Click here to add the mapplet that is under development.
Cool.
stu42j praised Google Street View:
I can attest to the fact that Street View has actually had an air quality and cost saving impact on the City of Dallas Department of Public Works and Transportation. By utilizing Street View to look at intersections, traffic engineers have been able in most cases to review issues from their desks without going out into the field until absolutely necessary. This has improved work efficiency, sped up citizen response (in theory), and saved gasoline, thereby actually avoiding more unburned hydrocarbons being emitted from unnecessary vehicle cold-starts.
I guess I have been a bit remiss in posting to this thread - plus I had to finish updating my profile! :-D
http://www.mapmyride.com/user/280329020/
Bear in mind, none of these routes are etched in stone. Anywhere there is an intersection of two or more routes or any one comes within a kilometer or or so of another, there is the very real likelihood I will transition from one to another.
Herman,
The Dallas Bike Route Plan was developed by a lot of different people (I wasn't one of them, I got involved just as the route selection was completed, but I have modified a few since).
I look at the routes, and can usually tell who had the primary input out of a group of about six main route selectors. Three stand out.
I can tell which routes Bud Melton tagged (probably the closest to my style). Logical, usually parallel to thoroughfares, plenty of stop signs. Just my speed.
I can tell which routes were blazed by Kevin Buchanan (he's now the City's chief surveyor, and a member of MENSA... which I don't hold against him), because his routes tended to be the most convoluted ones (even though he's a fearless vehicular cyclist). All the course changes make me dizzy.
And finally, there are the routes blazed by Michael Carr, who was in many ways the backbone of the plan. He was a programmer (EDS?) who cashed out REAL early and lived off his dividends. His routes are the most fearless, and most direct.
You would like him.
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