Maps
 Durham |
 Cary |
 Orange County |
 Raleigh |
[ad#ad-1]
Note: After a few folks volunteered to help develop a map, we quickly decided to make it a true regional resource, including biking opportunities beyond Durham’s city or county limits. But, due to technical limitations of Google Maps, each map can be richer if they are broken into more specific regions. For that reason, there are now four maps, each one in need of development. So, again, send me an email if you want to help draw some maps.
Key:
Green = Greenways — paved, off-road bicycle facilities
Purple = bike Lanes — on road, striped bicycle facilities
Red = recreational road routes
Burnt orange = gravel or dirt roads (i.e. not singletrack)
Yellow building = social and Advocacy related meeting spots
Green bicycles = Bicycle shops (sales, repairs, and rentals)
Contributors currently include Torsha Bhattacharya, Ted Buckner, Steven Waters, Dan Schudel, John Ramsey, Dave Connelly, and Tanner Lovelace.
—-
Durham’s cycling community is growing rapidly, and yet there’s no decent cycling map for the city. One of the most often asked questions on local listservs is some version of “how would you get from here to here on a bike?” For those in the know, Durham’s got a nice network of bike lanes, wide outer lanes, and greenways. For those new to Durham, navigating some of the circuitous city streets can be overwhelming.
Over coffee one day, Jack Edinger and I were lamenting the lack of a decent map. Around the same time, Google started making available APIs to create your own Google Maps, the GMap Pedometer came to our attention, and Google Maps EZ helps JavaScript illiterate folks like me work with Google. Jack and I put our heads together, and we came up with a homegrown solution, which lasted for a while. Long enough to make it popular.
Then, others developed better maps. KMZ layers in Google Earth and other such fancy stuff. I stopped working on the GMEZ map and started directing folks to the other maps.
Now, Google makes it too easy not to return to a self-hosted solution. Using your Google account (GMail, Google Video, etc), anyone can log in and create their own Google Maps. And, you can collaborate with others, which lightens the burden of updating and maintaining the map.
So, here is the new incarnation.
This map has the full functionality of any Google Map. You can zoom in or out. Click, hold, and drag the cursor to move the map around. You can toggle between map view, satellite view, and even a hybrid of both.
If you have any ideas or suggestions for a place, a favorite route, or an event that should be marked on the map, please let us know. We’ll add you as a collaborator, and then you can draw on the map your favorite route. We want this map to represent everything Durham’s got to offer the cycling community.
Phillip Barron and Jack Edinger
