A New Way to Design a Bike Network

Streetsblog reports on the efforts of Nicole Freedman, Boston's recently appointed bike czar, to build a bike network from scratch.

"A planner and one-time professional cyclist, Freedman was charged with building a bike network out of nothing, in a city routinely ranked among the nation's worst for bicycling, on a shoestring budget.

"Well, you know what they say about necessity. Freedman invented a rather ingenious method of planning a bike network. Her team created a modified Google Map that enables cyclists to log on and trace the routes they ride every day. Watch the data pile up, and voila -- sensible bike routes. "We found out where the actual desire lines are," she said. "Using existing technology was great."

"In addition to figuring out where to stripe lanes, Freedman is using Google Maps to rate streets on bike-friendliness."