Daily Camera: Boulder bike routing site racking up visitors - Mapping relies on user feedback for friendliest routes for bikes

Boulder’s transportation officials say they’re pleased with the progress of a unique, online mapping tool that tells visitors the bike-friendliest way to get where they’re headed. Since GoBikeBoulder.net launched in June, more than 1,500 people have signed up to use the site. And since then, it’s gotten much better — because more than 200 of those people have told the city how the map can be improved, said Marni Ratzel, a bicycle and pedestrian planner.

“We launched the site knowing we still had a few kinks to work out, especially with the details on some specific routes,” she said.

The two-wheeled version of MapQuest or Google Maps has the potential to work a bit more effectively because a cyclist who thinks a proposed route stinks can say so — and if the people who run the Web site agree, GoBikeBoulder will suggest a better route the next time.

The city can’t always endorse a suggested route — particularly if it involves cutting across private property. But often, the suggestions are an improvement, officials say.

“There’s been a wealth of information from the community,” said Larry Ferguson, a city planning department employee who led the team that developed the site’s technology. “From day one, we’ve tried to take the approach that it’s their Web site, and their feedback has really been helpful.”

Now, the Web application only works within Boulder’s city limits. Many users want to see it expand to include nearby cities. Ferguson said the city is exploring how to work with other local governments to make that happen.

“Of all the feedback we’ve gotten, requests for regional routing would have to be right at the top,” he said.

Kurt Nordback, of the Boulder Bicycle Commuters, said he’s happy with the site and that he’d like to see more done to promote it at local bike stores and other two-wheeled hangouts.

He said designing a site to find the best bike route is challenging because opinions about what constitutes the best route can vary with every rider.

“One obstacle is that choice of route is a more personal issue for cyclists than for drivers,” he said. “Driving a car, you’re pretty much just interested in what gets you there fastest. But biking is about more than that. It’s about the scenery, or a quiet route, or for some people it’s about avoiding hills, or sometimes it is just about getting there fastest. … So finding the ‘best’ route is a challenge.”