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The region's most dangerous cycling intersections

Bike Maps data provides perspective for cycling commuters
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Trisalyn Nelson is behind Bike Maps

BikeMaps.org released the eight most dangerous areas for cycling this week and two of the spots are in Saanich, involving intersections with the Galloping Goose.

After six months since online, the University of Victoria launched project BikeMaps.org has collected 500 bike incidents in the Capital Regional District. The eight most dangerous intersections for cycling are in Saanich, Oak Bay, and Victoria.

“We launched in October and we already have 500 reports from the CRD,” said  University of Victoria associate professor Trisalyn Nelson, who created the project with a team from UVic’s Spatial Pattern Analysis and Research geography lab. “To put it in context, ICBC reports about 130 incidents per year,  just by asking for public data, we have twice as much data from the last six months as we’ve ever had for a period.”

The goal for Bike Maps is as a global map where cyclists can record near misses as well as incidents, as the collected data of near-misses are also indicative of danger areas.

In a few weeks Nelson and her team will meet with representatives from Saanich and its Planning, Transportation and Economic Development Advisory Committee, to see how they can partner.

“When we launched Bike Maps it created a baseline data, so as Saanich puts protected bike lanes in, we can survey how effective they are, this is a tool for surveillance,” Nelson said.

The newly finished Cook Street Complete Street project provided Saanich with protected bike lanes, going both ways, from Quadra Street to Maplewood Road is an example of that.

Bike Maps is also hoping to create a case study on the impact of the coming cycle tracks Victoria recently committed to.

“It turns out no one has done a before and after study on the impact of cycle tracks, and because Victoria has no cycle tracks, we can do it,” Nelson said.

Based on the demand of foreign users, Bike Maps is being translated into Dutch, Spanish, French and German. The first Android app for Bike Maps is scheduled to be ready in late June, followed by an IOS version for Apple products.

To visit the region’s eight most dangerous cycling spots since November visit bikemaps.org/blog.

reporter@saanichnews.com

Key Areas highlighted:

A) Mckenzie and Hwy 1B) Galloping Goose between Ardersier Rd and Burnside Rd EastC) Johnson St BridgeD) Landsdowne Rd between Richmond and Foul Bay RdE) Fort St and Foul Bay RdF) Quadra St between Pandora Ave and Courtney StG) Harriet Rd and Highway 1H) Cook St and Bay St