CyclePhilly Bike Route App Available
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
DVRPC Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
press release
(Philadelphia, PA) – CyclePhilly, a mobile application created for bicyclists around Greater Philadelphia, is available. The app records cyclist biking habits such as route and time traveled, as well as the purpose of the trip. The data received provides an additional resource for local planners and agencies in an effort to understand bicycle trends, routes, and trip purposes, implement better bicycle facilities, and connect the region’s trail network, known as The Circuit.
The application was developed by a group of volunteers from Code for Philly, a branch of Code for America’s Brigade Program, in conjunction with the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC), the City of Philadelphia, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, and SEPTA. It follows a trend of similar applications that track personal tripmaking, but is the first bike route application specifically for the Philadelphia area.
While national bike mapping applications, such as MapMyRide, focus on the user’s bike time or fitness goals, CyclePhilly’s resulting data will be beneficial for all. Corey Acri, a volunteer for Code for Philly, noted that he was originally interested in “developing a smartphone-based project to collect voluntary data on cyclists' bike route preferences that could help the city build better bike routes.” Similar applications were successfully implemented in places such as Atlanta, Austin, and San Francisco and Acri had no problem building interest in Philadelphia, which according to a Bicycle Coalition report, has the highest rate of bicycle commuters per capita in the nation. Despite such enormous interest for the project, Acri said none of it could have become a reality without the work of Code for Philly's programmers.
“We are excited to use the route and trip information as shared by cyclists around Philadelphia,” said Barry Seymour, Executive Director of DVRPC. “It will be invaluable in showing where bicycles are now used and helping to plan for and expand bicycle infrastructure, including additional on-road bicycle lanes, off-road trails and connections to the transit network.”
The CyclePhilly app is available for free in the Apple Store and Google Play Store. To use the app, a smartphone owner logs the starting location and purpose of the trip. The app then tracks the route taken until the user completes the trip and logs out. The route and its attributes are linked to a webmapping viewer that shows the recorded routes and bike patterns of all participants.
Download CyclePhilly for your smartphone or tablet at www.cyclephilly.org and start pedaling!
About Code for America and Code for Philly
Code for America is a non-partisan, non-political 501©3 organization founded in 2009 to bring web-industry professionals to work with city governments in the United States in order to promote openness, participation, and efficiency in municipal governments. Code for America helps local governments harness the internet through its Fellowship, Accelerator, and Brigade programs. Founded under Code for America's inaugural Brigade Program in 2012, Code for Philly currently hosts a weekly Meetup for volunteers and participates in a number of hackathons and web-based City projects. The programmers who worked on this project include Corey Acri, Lloyd Emelle, Kathryn Killebrew, Kevin Clough, and Chris Alfano.
About DVRPC
DVRPC is dedicated to uniting the region's elected officials, planning professionals and the public with the common vision of making a great region even greater. Shaping the way we live, work and play, DVRPC builds consensus on improving transportation, promoting smart growth, protecting the environment, and enhancing the economy. We serve a diverse region of nine counties: Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia in Pennsylvania; and Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Mercer in New Jersey. DVRPC is the official metropolitan planning organization for the Greater Philadelphia Region - leading the way to a better future. DVRPC fully complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. For more information, visit www.dvrpc.org.
The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) fully complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice, and related nondiscrimination statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. DVRPC’s website, www.dvrpc.org, may be translated into multiple languages. Publications and other public documents can be made available in alternative languages and formats, if requested. DVRPC public meetings are always held in ADA-accessible facilities and in transit-accessible locations when possible. Auxiliary services can be provided to individuals who submit a request at least seven days prior to a meeting. Requests made within seven days will be accommodated to the greatest extent possible. Any person who believes they have been aggrieved by an unlawful discriminatory practice by DVRPC under Title VI has a right to file a formal complaint. Any such complaint may be in writing and filed with DVRPC’s Title VI Compliance Manager and/or the appropriate state or federal agency within 180 days of the alleged discriminatory occurrence. For more information on DVRPC’s Title VI program, or to obtain a Title VI Complaint Form, please call (215) 238-2871 or email [email protected].