New Alexandria Bicycle Maps

[Judd]

I got one of the new Alexandria Bicycle Maps fresh from the printer last night. Look for them at a Bike To Work Day near yoooouuuu!

https://twitter.com/LumberjackCycle/status/996192806732431362

[Emm]

One map gripe I have: They have markings for “steep hills”, but don’t place them in the places with steep hills. Let’s get a draft from the city next time they do an update and plan a day or two to ride all the roads so we can help them properly identify the hills.

For example: Braddock Rd going west right after Russel Rd isn’t marked as a steep hill–but that hill is ridiculously steep, and in the 2015 version of the map it is properly marked as such. And the part of Braddock they do mark as steep I’m not sure isn’t nearly as hilly as the section they failed to mark. The small hill right outside my place on Valley Drive between Holmes and Gunston is considered steep on this year’s map, while the rest of Valley Drive isn’t, even though there are sections of it that are much worse than the area outside of my place (once again, it was marked correctly as all being hilly on the 2015 map…). And don’t even get me started on Martha Custis, which is a giant steep hill, and isn’t marked as such on this year’s map.

[KWL]

@Emm 178351 wrote:

One map gripe I have: They have markings for “steep hills”, but don’t place them in the places with steep hills. Let’s get a draft from the city next time they do an update and plan a day or two to ride all the roads so we can help them properly identify the hills…And don’t even get me started on Martha Custis, which is a giant steep hill, and isn’t marked as such on this year’s map.

Martha Custis isn’t marked? That hill is what convinced me to trade in the 12-23 cassette on my new 1993 Bridgestone RB-1 from Spokes Etc. It’s been a steep hill for decades and ain’t getting flatter.

[CaseyKane50]

@Emm 178351 wrote:

One map gripe I have: They have markings for “steep hills”, but don’t place them in the places with steep hills. Let’s get a draft from the city next time they do an update and plan a day or two to ride all the roads so we can help them properly identify the hills.

Good idea. Lots of input had been provided to City staff, but some of the input was lost in all of the staff transition that has taken place in the last year. I was surprised by how much was dropped from this map. There are enough errors on the map that maybe a revision will be in the cards.

[peterw_diy]

The City’s GIS division has data on both topography (e.g., https://www.alexandriava.gov/uploadedFiles/gis/Topography2014.pdf) and roadways – shouldn’t this be a straightforward matter of deciding what grade percentage qualifies as steep and then relying on the data rather than volunteer feedback? It seems crazy to me as I review old versions that, for instance, Kennedy/Landover aren’t marked as steep.

[mstone]

@peterw_diy 178373 wrote:

The City’s GIS division has data on both topography (e.g., https://www.alexandriava.gov/uploadedFiles/gis/Topography2014.pdf) and roadways – shouldn’t this be a straightforward matter of deciding what grade percentage qualifies as steep and then relying on the data rather than volunteer feedback? It seems crazy to me as I review old versions that, for instance, Kennedy/Landover aren’t marked as steep.

In general that data just doesn’t work that well for determining how steep a short segment is.

[peterw_diy]

@mstone 178385 wrote:

In general that data just doesn’t work that well for determining how steep a short segment is.

Surely that depends on the resolution of the topo data. If you had, say, one foot contour lines or one square foot LIDAR/elevation data, how could you not be able to derive a really good understanding of road slope? I don’t know what the resolution of City data is, but I’m pretty sure it’s a *lot* better than, say, a Forest Service printed hiking map.

[mstone]

@peterw_diy 178456 wrote:

Surely that depends on the resolution of the topo data. If you had, say, one foot contour lines or one square foot LIDAR/elevation data, how could you not be able to derive a really good understanding of road slope?

Well, that’s a big if. But sure, with perfect data you can do anything.

[Judd]

I think everyone on BPAC would rather that the city engage for feedback than rely on the topographic maps.

[Emm]

@Judd 178470 wrote:

I think everyone on BPAC would rather that the city engage for feedback than rely on the topographic maps.

I just think it’d be really fun to ride on EVERY SINGLE ROAD the city calls bike friendly, and then decide if we agreed with them or not .

[Judd]

@Emm 178472 wrote:

I just think it’d be really fun to ride on EVERY SINGLE ROAD the city calls bike friendly, and then decide if we agreed with them or not .

ZOMG WSGFAB and do this.

[lordofthemark]

@Judd 178473 wrote:

ZOMG WSGFAB and do this.

We can spend days riding on every street in the City where there is any bike policy relevant question capable of being checked out by riding around, and we STILL won’t have checked out as many as Casey Kane has.

[komorebi]

@Emm 178472 wrote:

I just think it’d be really fun to ride on EVERY SINGLE ROAD the city calls bike friendly, and then decide if we agreed with them or not .

Damnit, where is my ELITE button? We should definitely do this.

[CaseyKane50]

@lordofthemark 178476 wrote:

We can spend days riding on every street in the City where there is any bike policy relevant question capable of being checked out by riding around, and we STILL won’t have checked out as many as Casey Kane has.

Thanks LOTM, I have definitely ridden every street in the City with a hill that either has bike infrastructure or has been designated an on-street bike route. Sadly, the City has done a better job marking designated bike routes on maps, than they have on the actual streets.

[CaseyKane50]

@peterw_diy 178373 wrote:

It seems crazy to me as I review old versions that, for instance, Kennedy/Landover aren’t marked as steep.

There are lots of steep hills not marked. The bike map was only marking hills that either have bike infrastructure or were on designated bike routes. Currently, Kennedy and Landover don’t meet the criteria.

[Author]

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