A brand-new version of Metro’s venerable Bike There! map is set for release in the next few days. According to sources, the new map should be available ($6) at tomorrow’s Lloyd District Bike to Work Day event and will be available at local retailers by the weekend.
Mark Bosworth in Metro’s Geographic Information Systems department says the new map includes 17 miles of new, striped bike lanes and nearly 20 miles of new off-street bike and pedestrian paths which are not on the current version (last printed in 2005).
Other new features of the map are special markings for bicycle boulevards (they’ll be green with a black outline), and a new color for caution areas. Nine new bike shops have also been added to the list in the map’s resource section.
Bosworth says that much of the updates for this new version came in from bike planners throughout the region, and were coordinated by John Mermin at Metro. The Cartography was done by Matthew Hampton.
If you use the ByCycle Trip Planner, you’ve already seen these updates. Bosworth says Metro has developed a data workflow that pushes the updates directly to ByCycle founder Wyatt Baldwin and he posts them on the Trip Planner as soon as he gets them.
This is being called the 25th Anniversary Edition and the first Bike There! map was printed in 1983. I’d love to compare that map to this new one!
[Editor’s note: My initial version of this story included a photo and references to the role of map expert and volunteer Jack Newlevant. While Newlevant did compile some data for the map, I have since learned his role was more minor than I originally assumed and I decided to edit the story accordingly.]
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Woo! That bike to work day is going to be LITERALLY right outside my window. I’ll be first in line to get a new map. 🙂
Thanks be all to Jack Newlevant!
Tom,
I also work at Oregon Square! OMG!
Hehe 🙂
>>>This is being called the 25th >>>Anniversary Edition and the first Bike >>>There! map was printed in 1983. I’d >>>love to compare that map to this new >>>one!
That is actually next on my plate Jonathan. We don’t have the map digitally, so we have some work to be done to get it into the same format for comparison. But it will be good to see how far we’ve come. Also, I’ve got the Multnomah Wheelmen map from 1896 too!
Just some further clarification. Jack Newlevant, who is a volunteer bike enthusiast/geek has put in a lot of time this go around in working on the “backend” – translating the data from regional planners and citizen input – into the network that drives both the hard copy map and the trip planner.
We couldn’t do it without you Jack!
See everyone tomorrow at Oregon Square!
Mark
I have the 1988 version…
Sweet! Got into biking to work a year ago after I rid of my autimocar! Have been patiently waiting for a new bike map. This should be awesome! Thank you everyone who put this together! Getting mine this weekend!
I won one!
thanks!
The Bike There! map was not available today at the NE bike-to-work event. I was told it will be available for purchase tomorrow at some “three-bridges”/trailhead event (I was too disappointed to remember the details). But there were free flashing back lights.
On Monday, I’ll be in Portland (from Salem) to bike on the Springwater Corridor and other multi-use trails or safer streets with a friend who doesn’t do much road biking. Any info on where we could latch on to one of the Bike There! maps would be most appreciated. Starting point will be the Gateway MAX station. Thanks.
“Nine new bike shops have also been added to the list in the map’s resource section”
Hopefully they also removed all the former bike shops that don’t exist anymore, like the mountain bike shop in downtown Milwaukie which closed.
Re: Three Bridges – that event is tomorrow, Saturday May 19th, and is being sponsored at least in part by the Ardenwald / Johnson Creek Neighborhood Association. Should be a great event, and the Sprockettes will be performing during the event. I wish I could be there.
One place Mary S can be sure to find them available for sale is at Metro’s Data Resource Center, 600 NE Grand Avenue. Thanks Jonathan for your excellent reportage on this matter!
I seem to have a 1979 version kicking around somewhere…
Wow, the cartographer, Matthew Hampton, is one talented masterful professional!
Well done!