Looks even better in Times Square.

Travel Oregon (a combined effort of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department and the Oregon Tourism Commission) is continuing their aggressive promotion of Oregon as a premier bicycling destination. Last week they announced the publication of a new map of their Scenic Bikeways system and today they celebrated when Times Square lit up with the news.

Travel Oregon introduced the new map earlier this week. It includes full details on the nine officially-designated Scenic Bikeway routes complete with mile markers, information about nearby parks, campgrounds, lodging, eateries, nearby bike shops, and more. The map is available free from Travel Oregon's website (where you can order a copy, it's not available online yet).

And today from New York City, Travel Oregon staffer Kristin Dahl shared a cell phone image of the Scenic Bikeways map announcement being beamed on a jumbotron high above Times Square. Check it out below the jump...

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New map posted on a signal box at
NE 42nd and Alberta.
(Photo: PBOT)

The Portland Bureau of Transportation does an amazing job making biking and walking maps available. One of my first impressions upon moving here in 2004 was when I ordered some bike maps from them and a few days later say a smiling staffer delivered them to my door (by bike of course!). All told, they hand out about 100,000 of them a year. At Bridge Pedal alone, they passed out 4,000 of their pocket-sized bike maps.

Now they've taken their quest to encourage more biking through better knowledge of where the good routes are, to the next level. Yesterday PBOT posted 13 x 27-inch maps on traffic signal boxes at three locations around the city. The locations — SE Clinton and Cesar Chavez, NE Alberta Ct and 42nd, and NE Morris and MLK Jr. Blvd — are all neighborhood greenway streets where PBOT says, "active transportation is the priority."

PBOT says this is a pilot project to see how the maps are received and whether it makes sense to put more of them. The maps are specific to the locations they're posted in. Here's more from PBOT: (more...)

Google will be in town Thursday for a "MapUp" event to raise are awareness of (and participation in) their Google Map Maker feature.

Map Maker is Google's attempt to let anyone edit its vaunted map and have the additions go public to its millions of users. The application lets people add in their favorite short-cuts, places, favorite bike routes, and so on. Since people on bikes tend to interact more intimately with their surroundings and rely on shortcuts and safe route suggestions more than other road users, mapping technology like this can be very useful. (more...)

Cover of new Washington
County bike map.

Washington County has a new bike map, and it's a must-have for anyone with plans to enjoy the fantastic rural roads, trails, and towns west of Portland.

I used the map extensively on a recent trip out to Stub Stewart State Park and Vernonia and it was key in helping me find a low-traffic route on bucolic farm roads north of Hillsboro. The best part is that the map is free thanks to the Washington County Visitors Association.

The map itself is printed on tear and water-resistant paper. It shows roads as far east as the Tillamook State Forest, south to Newberg, and north to just below Vernonia. Campsites, wineries, transit centers (MAX is your gateway to bike adventure) farm stands, bike shops, museums and other places of interest are labeled. And, like any bike map worth the paper its printed on, the new map features color-coded roads so you know what you're getting into.
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PBOT map of potential 2012 projects.
- Download PDF (6MB) -

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Download free maps here

PBOT is at it again. Last fall we shared a new series of maps that offered detailed routes of 100+ mile bike rides/tours you could easily take from Portland. Now they've completed a new series of maps for rides that offer quick escapes without leaving the city.
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Detail from new Russian version
of PBOT bike/walk map.

The Bureau of Transportation's SmartTrips program just got a lot smarter. The focus of the program, which resides in PBOT's Transportation Options division, is to encourage people to bike, walk, and take transit. Today PBOT announced that their popular series of biking and walking maps are now available in five new languages: Burmese, Nepali, Somali, Russian and Arabic.

SmartTrips employees visited the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization today to pass out the new maps. PBOT's Marni Glick says that for people new to our city, getting around can be "a monumental task, especially if English isn't a first language." (more...)

Screen grab from Bike to Transit Map.
- See it here-

Our regional transit agency, TriMet, is a national leader at data-sharing and they embrace open-source tools. One such tool that they've recently added to their App Center is the nifty Portland Bike to Transit Map.

According to the map's creator, Melelani Sax-Barnett, "It can display bike routes, transit stops, and transit routes at the same time, so you can find the best way to bike to your transit stop." (more...)

Imagine the possibilities...
(See full map below)

Remember Cycle Wild? They're the local non-profit that organizes and promotes bike-camping trips from Portland. We went along with them for a ride back in 2009 and learned just how easy it is to pack up some gear, start pedaling, and get away from it all — without having to drive a car.

Cycle Wild founder and ring-leader Matt Picio just published a very cool map (see it below) that anyone with a glimmer of bike adventure in their hearts will appreciate. It's a map of campsites within Portland's "rideshed." Picio defines a rideshed as, "anywhere you can ride a loaded bike on a summer day." Typically, that distance is about 75 at the most, but thanks to MAX light rail, Portland's rideshed is much further. (more...)

Biking in downtown Hillsboro.
(Photo © J. Maus

Metro has been awarded a $75,000 grant from health care company Kaiser Permanente for a biking and walking map project in Cornelius, Forest Grove and Hillsboro.

The goal of the project, which Metro staffer Katie Edlin says is currently called, "Vámanos! Let’s explore Cornelius, Forest Grove and Hillsboro by bike and foot," is to promote existing biking and walking routes to those communities. The project would also have a specific focus on connecting with Latino families.
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