Touring - state maps graphing shoulder and road usage

i just found this really cool map at the LBS, which tax dollars have provided to me free of charge.

it graphs on a 3x3 grid road usage against shoulder width... so it is either a blue road.. which either means that the shoulder is under 2 feet, or the road gets 2500+ cars on it a day. or it's orange, which means that the shoulder is 4+ft, or there are less than a thousand cars a day. and pink is in the middle.

there are ways that it could be improved, but i think it is a great start. i have emailled the person listed on the internet as the contact in that particular highway department asking if it is on the net somewhere. i couldn't find it, but if it is i'll post a link.

does anyone know if there are other states with similar maps out there? i was ready to pay for this one and was delighted to find it was free. and i wouldn't mind paying for others if they are in states that i would visit. i hear that MA and VT have these maps available. ME, i think, was also mentioned.

it makes sense to have a "cyclists atlas".. i'd be willing to bet people would pay up to 25$+ if it was a useful enough book. i certainly would. i understand that those things cost a lot to produce, and the demand wouldn't be very high, overall. a high price is fair compensation, i feel.

Maine definitely has one because I got one last year. It's sligthly dated but like you said it'll list the whole traffic density and shoulder width of the entire state. It's a great thing and I wished more states did something like that...

It was also free!

Jay

ottawa has a map that shows what roads have a bike sholder. it is available in pdf.

Delaware DOT publishes a very nice cycling map though it doesn't quite go as far as identifying shoulder widths. It does have a color/line thickness code to designate conditions and traffic volume. The Bicycle Level of Service (BLOS) used in evaluating the roads was developed by Sprinkle Consulting. DOT provides two maps, one of New Castle County, and another for Kent/Sussex counties. On the back of the map there is other info regarding state parks, Wildlife Refuges, Campgrounds, Bicycle Laws, and some specific cycling routes.

Let me add that NJ has a very informal map done by a local cycling fan, not official, not complete but its as good as you're gonna find as far as I know about cycling in and through NJ.

The website is:

http://www.njbikemap.com/

The maps are in PDR format and they list food places, parking, etc..

I've sent some updates to the person before.

Jay

Illinois has a set of bicycling maps. They aren't very useful to me.

PA has a map that I picked up a few weeks ago. It has the roads color coded.....for how much use and shoulder width. It is a bit old, but works well enough when I get lost.

i guess a lot of states have these maps. unfortunately, most are in pdf format. and the state says "we will send you one".. which is nice.. but they don't send them to bike shops for the most part.. i had to tell a LBS in colorado that colorado DOT makes the things, and that they might contact them for free copies. you'd think that if they went through the trouble to make them, they'd distribute them..... go government go!

Originally posted by RegularGuy
Illinois has a set of bicycling maps. They aren't very useful to me.


I was thinking about getting some of Illinois' DOT bicycle maps.

What is it that you don't like about them?

There is a beautiful map of my city, Charlottesville, VA, designed to show routes for all kinds of non-car transporation. It includes all the city's bike lanes and marks the best bike routes. Even shows where there are bike racks! I've seen it, for free, at many outdoorsy type stores in the area.

Minnesota, Wisconsin, Montana, Oregon, and Colorado and Wyoming have such maps. Kansas too, with suggested cross-state routes. Some are paper, some are online as pdfs, some are both. Some counties have such maps on line, in a few states.

In my experience such maps tend to be dated and may be inaccurate, but they are a place to start.

For Washington: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/bike/

For King County specifically: http://www.metrokc.gov/kcdot/tp/bike/bikemap.htm

Originally posted by bradw
I was thinking about getting some of Illinois' DOT bicycle maps.

What is it that you don't like about them?

Sorry, I didn't see this to reply earlier. The IL maps don't show road names very well.