[BikeLongmont] crazy idea: GIS based trip planner

[Richard Masoner]

When I look at my web referrer log I consistently see Google searches 
for "best bike route to boulder," "longmont bike paths," and so forth. 
People are obviously looking for some place to ride their bikes to in 
Longmont, but they're too afraid to ride even in quiet residential 
areas, and they don't get out enough to find the paths that meander all 
over town. Just the other day I explored the area north of Clover Basin 
and explored the amazing network of paths around Dry Creek back there. 
There are a couple of discontinuities, but they're easily bridged by 
riding on wide streets with zero traffic on them.

I have in mind something like the direction finder service offered by 
MapQuest, Yahoo Maps, and others, except this would be local and it 
would be for cyclists.

For a trip, a user punches in origin and destination addresses and 
traffic comfort level (e.g. "Prefer lightly traveled streets," "bike 
lanes only," "bike paths if possible," "shared lanes okay," etc). 
Streets are weighted in the GIS database with information similar to the 
current city map's green, blue, and red classifications.

Another use would be for a ride generator: I'm Joe and Jill Average and 
I want to ride my comfort bike five miles but I don't really know which 
way to go. Joe punches in his address, comfort level, and desired ride 
distance. The Trip Planner picks a good destination at the halfway point 
depending on distance and suggests a there-and-back route. Suggested 
destinations would be some sort of reward: a place that serves ice cream 
or something similar.

For either scenario, the Trip Planner spits out a map showing a 
suggested route, highlights of interesting things along the way (e.g. 
Art in Public Places, local coffee shops), a summary of road rules and 
trail etiquette and tips on riding safely in traffic.

To this end, could city GIS be made available? If so, is there the 
slightest chance that this data is based on any kind of open or 
published standard?

Are there any GIS experts on this list? I'm reading up on it, but the 
last time I worked with GIS was in the 80s when I worked on some 
pioneering and very proprietary GIS applications from Intergraph. It was 
all very cool, but things have changed a *lot* in 20 years.

In the meantime, I think I'll create a form asking users for the 
information. This info then goes to the human interface (me) which makes 
a custom, handcrafted bike route for the user.

RFM