Map image on ipad

I’m getting ready for the Adventure Cycling Leadership Training Course, and I’m taking an ipad with me so I can keep in touch, work on on the train, and have reference maps of the Richmond Area.

Tonight, using the good GoodReader app on my ipad, I downloaded the Northeastern Pennsylvania Bicycle and Hiking Map onto my ipad.  When you have all these maps as PDFs on a computer, it’s phenomenal!

I download a pdf of the philadelphia inquirer onto the ipad as well. These are big pdfs, and they are easy to navigate.  I can use these in conjunction with the 3G GPS Mapping functionality of the ipad.

My thought is that, when I am going to take a trip, I should download lots of reference maps (like state parks maps) into the ipad.

Rain is always a consideration.  For the trip to Richmond/Pocahontas State Park, I’m making a 24×24″  area map and printing it onto Tyvek.

Today I was also looking at the Moorestown Bike Plan at communitywalk.com. This site is more oriented towards people drawing their routes in. Toole Design and Urban Engineers are using this service, which costs $4.95 month.

So, today I was asked if we can develop something like this communitywalk. We actually have developed some custom sites that are database oriented, but these focus on point data only. Now, with the NJ State Bike Map, we will have a project that can utilize greater GIS/Web functionality.

I’m excited about this.

Jeff Appeltans (and Lara) have been doing very cool things in Philadelphia when it comes to bicycling.  I probably met Jeff through the Bicycle Coalition or TimeCycle Couriers many years ago.  He’s always taken positive steps to promote bicycling in Philadelphia.

Some of the proceeds from the jerseys Jeff sells (above)  benefit Neighborhood Bike Works and the Philadelphia Mountain Biking Association.   These Jerseys and others are available at http://gocycling.com.

We were talking on the phone today and Jeff mentioned Big Al, Big Al’s website, bicyclebaby.com, and Big Al’s annual “Spring Classic” loop bicycle ride around Philadelphia that is coming up. The ride is modeled after Paris-Roubiax, hence the name “Spring Classic”.  Jeff said it has  actually been happening for over 20 years, maybe even 25!  Big Al lives here in Jenkintown and is forever taking photographs and bicycling around.

I sent Jeff a NE Pennsylvania Bicycle and Hiking Map the other day.  We had fun talking about Wayne County and all of the incredible bicycling there.  He’s researched this area extensively, and I spent a little time there this fall while field checking the map.  As Jeff talked me through his travels, I enjoyed hearing about his favorite roads between Hawley, PA and Hancock, NY.   Jeff also showed me a good alternate route to Bicycle PA Route Y that I’ll want to add to the Route Y Maps.

I also mentioned to Jeff, “You’ve got to meet Jim Sayer, the Executive Director of Adventure Cycling.”  And interestingly I found myself telling Jim a few hours later, “You’ve got to meet Jeff Appeltans at the National Bike Summit“.

Spring is a busy season.  Yesterday I just got copies of the Martin County, Florida map that I just updated.  Currently I’m working on edits to maps of the Delaware River Scenic Byway and of San Mateo County, FL.  Over the next couple of weeks Gerry and I will design maps for people to use in DC when they meet with their Congressional Representatives.  I may edit some maps in the Midwest, and I’ll be working on projects in New York.

This weekend at the park is their winterfest.  Locals  are looking forward to snow for this event.

So, I was meeting with a group working on the NE PA six counties of the CLI.  There are 7 areas of Pennsylvania where DCNR and partners are “working on creating a sustainable regional economy based on our natural resources and these links between communities and resources.”
How do you express this on a map?

Let’s take a step back…  What is the Conservation Landscape Initiative (CLI)… I really don’t know much about the CLI, but here’s an article about why it exists, and Ellen Ferretti at Pennsylvania Environmental Council is quoted.  I also found a link to another summary.

When you are involved in an initiative, it’s natural for it to consume much of your energy. I think that stakeholders involved on a day to day basis need to focus on details.  But people who would be supportive of the CLI efforts (such as local communities, state representatives, and Congressional Reps), need a much broader picture.  They need to see what’s most important in a split second.  If you’re advocating for the CLI to a potential supporter, you need to leave them with a summary that, I think is, a map, the mission statement, specific asks, a reason to be feel good, and how these asks fit into a broader context (ie, the projects total investment priorities).

The consequence of driving 4 hours for a 20 minute meeting was that I could consume about 8 gallons of gas, add some carbon emissions to the atmosphere, and listen to Ken Burns’ book  The National Parks.

Looking at the CLI efforts from an outsider’s perspective, I think of all the people in the Philadelphia Area I know who either own properties in the CLI or are looking at buying properties.  And when you romanticize the “cabin on the lake”,  “the mountain house”, or “the farmette”, the reality is that you’re buying into private lands at a cost of maybe $200,000 + $2500/year (taxes and utilities) that could be appreciated by everyone.  I explore these opportunities for fun and then realize how much nicer it is to head to a CLI area and go to a B&B or enjoy a state park campground.  And then we can invest that much more into making our homes and communities, where we live day to day, nicer.

As residents of Southeastern PA, we don’t need to know the details of the Conservation Landscape Initiative.  We do need to support it. It’s a great connection to nature.  I appreciate the efforts of everyone working on what seems a monumentally important task.

Richard Boardman has our maps!

I have always enjoyed browsing old maps at the Main Branch of the Free Library in Philadelphia.  And, when I first came to visit, Richard Boardman had the 1974 version of the Bicycle Commuters Map posted.

In grad school, I’d find old maps showing the city before the Parkway was built or maps of Fairmount Park during the Centennial Exposition. Even if I didn’t need maps, I came here to study and enjoy the awesome indoor space.

The spacious interior of the map room at the Free Library.

And as I’ve designed maps for Philadelphia and the region, I’ve always given Richard a bunch to give out.

Today, if you’re looking for one of the City’s Official Bike Maps, you can still get them here.  They may be outdated, but people still post them above their desks at work.

Right now we are going through the maps to make sure that trails shown really exist, that the text placed is correct, etc.  This has been a fascinating project so far because of the complexity of doing so many maps at once. I hope this process may be useful for mapping (and then updating the maps for) the US Bicycle Route System.

My philosophy in creating these maps is that cyclists want flexibility to choose which roads they ride on.  Because the signed routes stick to state roads, cyclists may suggest other options that they prefer.  Also, having all the roads on the map allows cyclists to explore. At some point, I’d like there to be information about each panel on an accompanying page so cyclists have a better sense of the area in which they are cycling.

If you have an interest in reviewing the maps, please let me know.  You can see drafts of a few of the first pages at this link (8 mb in size).

If you like old maps of Pennsylvania, there’s a good website called http://www.mapsofpa.com/.

Jenkintown to Old City Coffee