CAMBRIDGE, MA

INTERACTIVE BIKE LANE AND BIKE CRASH MAP


By Christopher Vidaurrazaga

https://editor.p5js.org/ChristopherV/sketches/Fy00GHboR


 The Interactive Bike Lane and Bike Crash Map was created to help bikers in the City of Cambridge feel safer by knowing where bike crashes have happened and where there are bike lanes. Cambridge is a city that has prioritized creating new bike lanes, both to encourage more people to utilize biking as a means of transportation, and to protect riders who choose biking over driving or walking. In spite of increased bike lanes, there are bikers who still feel uncomfortable biking on certain types of bike lanes or in areas where crashes have previously occurred. The interactive map enables users to have more information that will help them to make informed choices as they plan their bike routes in the city of Cambridge. This map utilizes MapBox to take the spherical surface of the earth and flatten it into a flat image that can be read on a screen (using latitude and longitude as coordinates). It also utilizes the coding program p5.js (Java Script) to take the latitude and longitude points and plot them on the map in the correct locations as well as for those locations to be selected and deselected.  


This interactive map can be utilized by any person who bikes in Cambridge, but is especially useful for bikers who are hesitant to bike in Cambridge because of the danger of getting run over by cars or even buses. Bikers can use this map to plan a route where it will be safer for them to bike by selecting on the map which types of bike lanes they would like to use. For example, a user can select “Separated Bike Lanes” from a list of bike lane types and the interactive map will highlight those lanes in a corresponding color. Bikers can also use a sliding bar that goes from 2015-2022 which will allow them to analyze a time period in which bike crashes have previously occurred and use that data to assess potential safety. Selecting the preferred type of bike lane and comparing that data with data about accidents in the path will allow the user to determine which paths will give them the greatest safety according to the parameters that they set.