Crowdsource Cycling Safety Issues in Your Community with BikeMaps.org
Did you have a close call on your bike this morning? Would you like to alert others to a hazard that could be dangerous for cycling?
To date, 1 in 5 reports on BikeMaps.org are in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.
BikeMaps.org is a research website where you can report a variety of issues that can discourage people from cycling, or lead to problems for others on bike:
collisions with others
falls on our roads and facilities
frightening near-misses
unnecessary or unexpected hazards
bike thefts in specific locations
The web-based map was launched in 2014 by researchers from the University of Victoria, with the goal of capturing more data on bicycling safety, and to inform transportation policy-makers, planners and engineers on real-world experiences of people who bike.
It is estimated that less than 30% of cycling collisions with motor vehicles are collected by official sources, such as ICBC or police, leaving most incidents unreported. Falls or incidents involving individual road users — like people who bike — are also not systematically collected, yet they are sometimes the result of infrastructure that does not meet cycling standards or the behaviour of actual road users and thus may result in serious injuries that could be avoided. Thankfully, near-misses are far more common than crashes, and can actually be important predictors of problem locations.
Logging incidents can be done anonymously, and only takes a minute or two via the website, or the mobile app (available for Android and iOS). Unlike official data, there is no reporting lag— adding an issue on BikeMaps.org is immediately visible to the public.
To date, almost 10,000 BikeMaps.org reports have been logged worldwide; most of these have been concentrated in areas where BikeMaps.org has been actively promoted, such as communities across BC. Getting your community “on the map” takes a local champion to help spread the word about BikeMaps.org and make those connections with municipal transportation staff and advocates.
if you want to promote BikeMaps.org in your community, the team is ready to support your efforts! Get in touch by email, on Twitter, or through Facebook, and they’ll get started with guidance and ideas on what has worked in other locations, plus branded swag to help spread the word.
Every community can benefit from BikeMaps.org —