MAPPING TOOLS IMPROVE CYCLIST SAFETY
Did you have a near miss during your morning cycling commute? Then map it on bikemaps.org and your incident will be part of a new University of Victoria project aimed at improving cycling safety. UVic geography professor Dr. Trisalyn Nelson and a team of researchers in the UVic Geography SPAR Lab (spatial pattern and analysis research) are launching a web-map to find hot spots of safe and risky cycling in the Capital Regional District. They are collecting data to conduct geographical information system (GIS) and statistical analysis. Cyclists can record bike crashes, near misses, hazards and thefts in the region.
“With only 30 to 40 per cent of cycling accident data captured by traditional data sources, BikeMaps.org represents an important effort to fill data and information gaps”, says Nelson. “I love cycling and I commute by bike daily. But, especially as a mom, I am always looking for ways our family can ride as safely as possible.”
Sponsorship for bikemaps.org is provided by the SPAR Lab, CRD, CAA (Canadian Automobile Association) and NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council).
Engage using the #bikemaps hashtag on Twitter.
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Dr. Trisalyn Nelson (Dept. of Geography / SPAR Lab) at 250-472-5620 or trisalyn@uvic.ca
Anne MacLaurin (Social Sciences Communications) at 250-217-4259 or sosccomm@uvic.ca
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