Making Bike Riding in the City Easier
Photo Courtesy of Change Your Life, Ride a Bike
One thing that keeps me from riding my bike regularly is the effort usually involved with planning a bike route. In economics I think this time spent is called opportunity cost and it keeps undedicated bike riders like me from having a healthier commute. Growing up in the suburbs I never had this problem. As long as I had an idea of where I wanted to go I would jump on my bike and figure out a route as I went. In New York City, taking a wrong turn on your bike may mean a death wish as many roads were not designed to accommodate bicycles.
Ride The City is a Web-based application that allows a quick and easy search for the safest bike routes in the city. Routes are found by either entering a start and end location or by dragging two icons and placing them on a map. The result is an easy to read map along with information about each segment of the route indicating whether or not there is a bike lane or if an off-road trail is involved. There is also an option to adjust the level of safety to accommodate a variety of skill levels and risk tolerances.
Since planning a bike route is no longer a tedious task, I am more likely now to choose to ride my bike rather than take public transportation. Opportunity costs are powerful and affect many daily decisions leading people to continue to stick to a routine. Tools like Ride The City decrease these costs and encourage more wholesome lifestyles– the kind of solutions for sustainability that emerge in cities and hopefully become popular.
