Tag: Biking

The Future of Biking Across the United States

April 18, 2019 / odrozd

If you have ever felt compelled to confront the importance of planning in your daily life, try biking on the rumble strip of a highway. The discomfort of being distinctly out of place reveals underlying structures in the way things are built. In the summer of 2015, I biked across the country 4,295 miles from Portland, M.E., to Seattle, W.A., with the organization Bike the US for MS. Unexpectedly charmed by the extreme temperature fluctuations, chronic soreness, and eating peanut butter on the side of the road, I decided to bike from Yorktown, V.A. to San Francisco, C.A. in 2016.

On a cross-country bike trip, most of the roads are not designed with bikes in mind, and you face that challenge mile after mile. You spend a lot of time in weather you have no business being in. The promise of 55 mile per hour headwinds is not a sign to stay inside, but to head out at 4 am. And you have not experienced immense stillness until you are literally the only person in the middle of a Nevada desert. The tension of participating in a form of transportation far beyond what roads were designed for is what led me to transportation planning.

Yes, that is a road going straight up a mountain (Milford, Utah).
Source: Libby Szuflita

But if soul-searching about mobility amidst speeding trucks is not for you, how do you go about accessing this amazing travel experience? The opportunity to witness every last inch of the country, exposed to the wildly varying climates and powering every elevation change, is something you don’t get on a road trip. Local routes guide you to places rarely visited by tourists, inviting you to experience the unique daily life of small towns across the country. A safer, more accessible route across the country is on the horizon thanks to an upcoming project led by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC). The Great American Rail-Trail Project seeks to develop a coast-to-coast cycling (and walking!) path that is separate from vehicular traffic.

City Hall, Oxford Junction, Iowa
Source: Libby Szuflita

Planning the Great American Rail-Trail

How does one go about planning for an inter-state trail separated from vehicles? I spoke with Kevin Belanger, a Trail Planner with RTC, to learn more about the process of converting disused rail corridors to trails.

RTC is a DC-based nonprofit founded in 1986, with a mission to convert former rail lines across the U.S. to multi-purpose paths. The organization promotes trails through three channels – policy, communications, and development. Their policy team works at the national level to increase federal funding for trails, and expand the conditions under which trail development is permitted. The communications team builds enthusiasm about trails, and motivates people to advocate for them locally. The development team monitors potential trail corridors, and assists localities interested building a trail with technical assistance (including feasibility studies, concept plans, and railbanking applications) and coalition-building.

“Railbanking” is what makes former rail corridors great candidates for trails. The policy was introduced in a 1983 amendment of the National Trail Systems Act. According to RTC, railbanking is a “condition allowing a railroad to “bank” a corridor for future rail use if necessary. During the interim, alternative trail use is a viable option.” A railroad company can voluntarily sell or donate the property or easement rights of a disused rail corridor to a local agency or organization for the purpose of developing a trail. If the railroad decides to reactive that corridor, it has the right to repossess the land with fair compensation to the trail organization. This policy reduces proliferation of abandoned rail corridors, encourages the development of a community amenity, and allows for the preservation of rights-of-way for rail (1).

On a cross-country bike trip, most of the roads are not designed with bikes in mind. Leoti, Kansas. Source: Libby Szuflita

The Great American Rail-Trail project seeks to fill in the gaps of an already robust nation-wide network, to create one continuous vehicle-separated trail between Washington, DC and Washington State. That being said, RTC does not “force” localities to implement a trail. The trails are designed, constructed, and maintained by the municipality, after all. But RTC does work to get areas excited about the possibility of being connected to this vibrant network, and provides professional guidance and technical assistance to help them do so.

RTC will be releasing official details of its preferred route on May 8, 2019. You can preview the map of some of the existing trails that RTC plans to link, here.

Featured Image Source: Libby Szuflita

About the Author: Libby Szuflita is a 1st year Master’s student in the DCRP program specializing in Transportation and pursuing the Natural Hazards Resilience certificate. When she’s not learning about active transportation, she’s participating in it. You can catch her biking around Carrboro or walking with helmet in tow.

References:

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. “Railbanking.” Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. https://www.railstotrails.org/build-trails/trail-building-toolbox/acquisition/railbanking/.

Finding Your New Favorite Bike Route

October 26, 2017 / odrozd

Somewhere in the relief of cooler weather, the urgency of shortening days, and the beauty of the coming fall, is the drive to find a gradual slope and smooth descent. The only thing left to do is plan the ride. As a regular cyclist and a new North Carolinian, I looked through some of the tools I’ve previously used to plan new routes to see what they said about biking opportunities nearby. These are methods that can be used across the country for finding good local biking, or for getting more information to plan larger trips.

Understanding the Area

First, I checked into Strava, which bills itself as the “Social Network for Athletes.” This is a program that tracks and analyzes runs and bike rides, allowing athletes to share their routes and engage each other in friendly competitions. Weekend warriors, early morning runners, casual afternoon cyclists, and others regularly upload their adventures, complete with distances and times. Popular segments become sources of competitions, with people traveling out to them specifically to try for the best time on that stretch of road. Even better than that, because the information is tied to GPS devices, this tracking generates a whole host of mapped information that Strava is increasingly making more accessible.

One example of this is the Strava Heatmap, which represents every ride and/or run generated in a given year with colorful lines. This is, of course, a function of local density and individual affluence to a certain degree, but it is also a visual representation of locals’ knowledge. Because cyclists naturally gravitate towards comfortable roads in their given area, those that are friendlier to cyclists – smoother paving, wider shoulders, slower speed limit – get more use, and their path grows more brightly.

Strava bike heatmap for the US in 2015. Photo Credit: Strava Labs

To get a better idea of my locality, I zoomed in to see where people were riding the most within the Triangle. I adjusted the color to find the balance that was most clear for the scale of the map, and was instantly able to pick out darker threads. I checked them out further, and picked out a number of trails, as well as a ride out of Chapel Hill that I was familiar with in part because it had an ice cream shop along the way.

Strava bike heatmap for the Chapel hill area in 2015, annotated for major bike traffic. Photo Credit: Strava Labs

Working Towards Multi-Day Route Ideas

These tools are useful for working on multi-day routes as well. My friend and I have been considering the idea of taking time for a longer ride in the early Spring, so I opened up the possibilities for throwing my bike on the back of the car and starting a ride further away from home base.

In this instance, I had a starting place in mind. Because I had heard good things about it, I took a deeper look into the Blue Ridge Parkway. Google maps is a great starting point to get an initial idea for what a trip might entail. So, I simply let google maps fit a recommended bike route along the roadway. Very quickly, I got a snapshot of ride, which clocked in at 470 miles with just north of 45,000 feet of elevation gain.

Google Maps showing a distance and time estimate, as well as a small elevation profile for a bike route. Photo Credit: Google Maps

Finding Specifics

If it seems unlikely that you will able to find the time for a bike trip of that magnitude anytime in the near future, you’re not alone. These tools can be applied to breaking down and analyzing shorter segments. Here, I started to look into the options for taking on a two-four day adventure. I picked Asheville as a home base, and checked back into Strava. I used the “Segment Explore” tool to see what was popular and the area, and I quickly zeroed in on one hill in particular:

Popular hill bike route segments around Asheville, NC. Photo Credit: Strava

Mount Mitchell elevation profile. Photo Credit: Strava

Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi, is only a few dozen miles east of Asheville, and has a tie in to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It’s a brutal climb, with over 1,300 feet of vertical elevation gain, and some intensely steep sections.

I signed into Map My Ride, another training program that has a good interface for planning routes. I quickly laid out two multi-day options; one where Asheville was the major stopping point, and one where Asheville was the starting point. Both included a Mount Mitchell detour. And each can act as the perfect motivation to put in some hard training miles.

Two possible Asheville area bike routes generated by Map My Ride, complete with elevation profiles. Photo Credit: Map My Ride

These are tools that anyone can visit or sign up to use for free. Whether you’re planning your first ride, or your 100th century (a 100 mile ride), these programs can give you a well-documented idea of the route and everything it entails. Furthermore, comparing new routes to familiar ones is an easy way to get a quick snapshot of an upcoming, unknown ride. Prepare well, ride safe, and have fun.

About the Author: Nora Schwaller is a first-year Ph.D. student in the Department of City and Regional Planning, where she focuses on disaster recovery. Outside of class, Nora enjoys long bike rides and short walks, delicious food with good people, and casually perusing the design history of contemporary video games and systems. Prior to UNC, Nora worked in the architectural field in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Featured Image: Views from a previous cycling trip. Photo Credit: Nora Schwaller

Photo Essay: Bicycling Infrastructure in the Netherlands

October 3, 2017 / odrozd

This summer, James Farrell and Alyson West, UNC City and Regional Planning master’s students, traveled to the Netherlands for a two-week study abroad program. Over these two weeks, they saw some of the world’s best bicycle infrastructure, some of which has been captured in the following photos from their trip.

“The Green Heart” of the Netherlands. Photo Credit: James Farrell and Alyson West.

Most major cities in the Netherlands are part of the Randstad, a ring including Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht. Within this ring, the Dutch are dedicated to maintaining “The Green Heart” – a large region of rural and mostly undeveloped land.

Separated bike highways between Delft and Rotterdam. Photo Credit: James Farrell and Alyson West.

In between cities, there is still extensive bicycle infrastructure. Between Delft and Rotterdam, there is a dedicated separated bike highway running alongside the road, allowing safe and efficient travel along the entire route.

Bikes throughout Holland. Photo Credit: James Farrell and Alyson West.

It would be an understatement to say there are bikes everywhere in Holland. On the left, a rental Batavus; pink flower added by the author so that she could distinguish this bike from the many, many others.

Underground bike parking at the Utrecht City Hall and train station. Photo Credit: James Farrell and Alyson West.

There is also bike parking everywhere. This is Utrecht City Hall, which is adjacent to the main train station. Underneath, there are currently 4,000 bike parking spots, but that is nowhere near enough; they are expanding and will soon be able to accommodate 12,500 bikes.

Historic downtown Utrecht. Photo Credit: James Farrell and Alyson West.

By focusing on bicycling and walking as the main modes of transportation, cities like Utrecht have been able to maintain the natural and built beauty of their historic communities.

Examples of Dutch road design. Photo Credit: James Farrell and Alyson West.

Dutch road design is central to keeping communities livable by slowing motor vehicle speeds. No enforcement needed on these two roads — the infrastructure works to maintain slow traffic speeds.

Examples of Dutch roundabouts. Photo Credit: James Farrell and Alyson West.

In addition to good road design, the Dutch also build safe and efficient roundabouts. On the left, a two-level version in which bicycle traffic is separated from automobile traffic. They make it look easy.

Bicycle infrastructure in Houten. Photo Credit: James Farrell and Alyson West.

The suburban town of Houten is very dedicated to building community which prioritizes the people walking and cycling. Pictured here is a bridge across a major highway as well as a double-decker car and bicycle roundabout.

Wayfinding systems in the Netherlands. Photo Credit: James Farrell and Alyson West.

There are many different wayfinding systems to direct pedestrians and bicyclists throughout the country. Here are three different examples, plus a bonus roundabout for bikes in the middle of nowhere.

Roads with shared space for bicycle and car traffic. Photo Credit: James Farrell and Alyson West.

Rural roads in Holland are very narrow, and many have ‘advisory’ bike lanes on them, which means they are essentially shared space. But, there is so little auto traffic in general, speed limits on such roads are low, and drivers understand that people on bikes belong on the roads just as much as people in cars, so “sharing the road” works.

Bridges over train tracks in the “Green Heart” of Holland. Photo Credit: James Farrell and Alyson West.

There are also a lot of train tracks in the Netherlands, with frequent, fast-moving trains traveling on them. Consequently, there are many bridges over train tracks, including this one, miles from any town, out in the rural “Green Heart” of Holland.

Pedestrian and bicycle bridge over a canal. Photo Credit: James Farrell and Alyson West.

A common theme we noticed in the Netherlands is a focus on thinking at an integrated systems level. Here is a pedestrian and bicycle bridge over a canal. When boats need to pass, the bridge rotates horizontally to allow boats to pass

Alyson and James with other students on the study abroad trip. Photo Credit: James Farrell and Alyson West.

In addition to seeing the wonderful countryside, cities, and infrastructure of the Netherlands, we were also able to share the experience with some amazing students from all across the country.

About the Authors: James Farrell is a second-year master’s student at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Department of City and Regional Planning. He works as a research assistant at the Environmental Finance Center housed in UNC’s School of Government researching water and utility management. His interests in transportation are broad, but he is particularly passionate about data analysis, connected and automated vehicles, and bicycle and pedestrian planning. James’ hobbies include singing karaoke, making ice cream, and of course – cycling

After a twenty year career in the music industry, including ten years spent in Germany and Australia, Alyson West is now working on turning her passion for active transportation into a second career in bicycle and pedestrian planning. A second year master’s student in City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina, Alyson enjoys spending time with her second grader, pursuing all manner of curiosities and riding all of the bikes. Alyson is employed as a part time research assistant at the Highway Safety Research Center in Chapel Hill, NC.

Michigan Border-to-Border Trail Initiative pushes for 70+ mile trail network

September 27, 2017 / odrozd

In Michigan’s Washtenaw County, the County Parks and Recreation Commission’s Border-to-Border Trail Initiative is attempting to develop a network of non-motorized vehicle pathways. Currently, over 24 miles of pathways have been paved with more to come. When complete, the B2B will span 70 miles. The Border-to-Border Trail Initiative operates collaboratively with many unique organizations, including the Washtenaw County Parks and the Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative (HWPI), a grass-roots organization that wants to connect the local areas of Chelsea, Dexter, Stockbridge, and Pinckney with bicycle highways. This collaborative initiative sources funding and resources from many separate organizations.

The Border-to-Border initiative and its partners have outlined many objectives:

“Completion of +/- 35 miles of the Huron River Greenway – a paved shared-use pathway connecting Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, and Dexter along the Huron River
Completion of +/- 29 miles of the Huron Waterloo Pathway – a paved shared use path connecting Dexter, Chelsea, Stockbridge, the Lakelands Trail, and Pinckney in a “Loop”
Conservation of the Huron River corridor
Provide opportunities for transportation, recreation, river access, and links to neighboring counties
To the maximum extent possible, the trail is routed away from roads to create a safe a fun experience for a wide range of users
Distinctive signage system creates a unique identity for the B2B while helping users navigate the trail”¹

The Border-to-Border Trail Initiative is focusing on safety to gain the support of the public. The messages emphasize that the pathways provide a separated, safe way for pedestrians and bicyclists to travel and participate in recreation. HPWI also emphasizes connectivity and how the pathways will connect local communities to one another.

Karen McKeachie competes in a triathalon. Photo Credit: Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative

Karen McKeachie, an accomplished and well-loved local triathlete, was killed while biking. The Karen’s Trail campaign honors McKeachie and her engagement in the community and to healthy living by supporting the Border-to-Border Initiative. It also draws additional attention to the safety issues faced by local bicyclists and pedestrians and the benefits that trails can bring to community members.

In addition to enhancing safety, non-motorized pathways provide environmental and social benefits for cities. When citizens use these pathways for transportation, they avoid burning greenhouse gases, reduce the demand for parking in cities, and encourage density. These pathways also provide a space for interactions between diverse groups of people, thereby fostering a sense of community.

Community members will find their own reasons to enjoy the trail, whether it is to safely bike and walk, enjoy nature, or commute sustainably. HWPI and Border-to-Border have determined that this trail network will fulfill a need in the community – as that need goes beyond safety, so should the campaigns.

About the Author: Olivia Corriere is an undergraduate student from Ann Arbor, Michigan, majoring in Environmental Studies (Sustainability Track) and minoring in Geography. She is particularly interested in the implementation of sustainable practices of all kinds in the daily lives of the public. During Summer 2017, she interned with the Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative with the Karen’s Trail campaign. In her free time, she enjoys running, creating music playlists, and spending time in coffee shops with friends.

Information compiled from www.huron-waterloo-pathways.org, www.ewashtenaw.org, and www.karenstrail.org.

¹“Border-to-Border Trail (B2B).” Border-to-Border Trail, Washtenaw County.

Feature Image: Border-to-Border trail. Photo Credit: Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative