Updates, Updates & a rescheduled mapping event

It was kind of a yucky day today, so we're going to try the 7th Ward area again next Sunday. We'll be meeting a the neutral ground at the intersection of N. Tonti, Bayou, and Esplanade this time though. It's a nicer little corner there. We'll be meeting at 1pm this time too so you all can sleep an extra hour.

Also, graphics meeting is tomorrow at 7pm. E-mail me, lauren@nolacycle.com if you'd like to attend!

Finally, here's the map of the updated completed areas.

Events for next weekend and the following

These might be the last two mapping events before the first NolaCycle map is released! Try to make it out one of these two Saturdays. We'll be meeting at local neighborhood organizations that you might not have been out to before. Ashe' does a lot of arts, music, drama, and cultural events. Rubarb is a community bike shop that focuses on helping kids learn how to build and fix bicycles.

Saturday, January 31st, 1pm to 3pm - Central City: Meet outside the Ashe' Cultural Center at 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard

Saturday, February 7th, 1pm to 3pm - Upper 9th Ward: Meet at Rubarb community bike shop at N. Tonti St. and Gallier St. behind St. Mary of the Angels Church

Events for this weekend: Hollygrove and the 7th Ward

We had some really great events last weekend - new faces and completed neighborhoods! The weather was really nice this weekend too. Couldn't be any better!

Phil from the Tulane Bike Shack figured out the best way to map city streets this weekend - the use of a tandem! The front person steers while the back rider fills out the maps! You can just keep rolling the whole time and you don't need to stop to fill things out.

We have events for you guys this weekend again. We'll be doing Hollygrove on Saturday and the 7th Ward on Sunday. On Saturday we'll be meeting on Olive Street near the Hollygrove Market and Cuccia-Byrnes Park. There are some baseball fields there and we'll probably just be hanging out in front of those across the street from the Market. If you haven't been to Hollygrove Market yet you should go check it out. Right now they're getting everything ready to be an urban agricultural site and produce store but while they're still building planting beds and fixing everything up and you pick up a box of locally grown produce on Saturdays between 10am and 2pm for $25. You have to e-mail them ahead of time to reserve the box. If you're curious about it, Saturday's mapping event will be a good time to stick your head in there and check it out. Eira and I have been getting them for 3 weeks now and we love it. I'd recommend spliting a box with a friend because it's a lot of food.

On Sunday we'll be in the 7th Ward at the neutral ground park at St. Bernard Ave and AP Tureaud Ave. There is a statue there and some park benches.

Both events are going to be from noon to 2pm. As always, try to get there as close to noon as possible so we can get everything done in time. We'll be sending out people in pairs or small groups, so bring your friends!

Bring a bike lane with you!

Things can get a bit slow with trying to get DOT to fund bike lanes in New Orleans (and many other cities for that matter), so Alex Tee and Evan Gant of Altitude came up with a bike light that let's you create a bike lane wherever you are! It's only a concept right now and not for sale, but if I was these guys I get one because I think it could be the #1 gift for cyclists in 2009.

I guess this was featured in GOOD magazine this month...but since I don't live with Ella and all her amazing magazine subscriptions anymore I don't get GOOD. Bummer. I need a money and a permanent address so I can have magazines delivered to my door.

Started making the digital map! Here's a little taste of the draft

So last night I as watched CSI, 11th Hour, and Law and Order (Why are there only crime shows on on Thursday nights?), I started converting the field data into a digital file. I was averaging about 45 minutes a neighborhood, but that's mostly because I kept changing colors and line weights. Here's a little screen shot of some of what I was working on last night. All the colors are just working colors. I won't keep the background purple - it will most likely be white. I think I like the blue, yellow, and red for the lines. The blue stands out well and I think blue is pretty positive color. Yellow fades back a bit, but most of the roads in New Orleans fall into that moderate category, so that works well because it doesn't need to stand out since you can assume a road will probably be of moderate quality. I want a strong color like red for the poor quality roads because you need to be able to easily see them to know to avoid them. I could use purple...maybe magenta. I want to avoid using red because some people can't see red, so if you can think of another good color for poor pavement quality roads, I'm open to your input. Blue = good pavement. Yellow = moderate. Red = poor. The fatter lines = wide roads. Dashed lines = fast travel speed of cars.

Once I figure out how I want all the labels to be and such, I'll upload some of the completed neighborhoods so you can use them right now. I need to double check some of the roads because I'm using the state's road file, which includes private drives, so this is by no means a final. Also the labels are all over the place - that'll take forever to correct too. But I love the cyclists of New Orleans, so I'll make it look extra pretty for you all even if I have to spend an hour a night until June to finish it!

Upcoming mapping days - Algiers Point and City Park!

We have two upcoming mapping dates scheduled for January. We'll have some more dates coming up soon. We're getting really close to completing the map! We only have a few gaps left, so it's really important to come out and volunteer so we can get this baby out for the summer! So if you haven't volunteered before, now is the time to get involved.

Saturday January 17th, 2 to 3:30pm: City Park/Naverre/Lakewood

Meet in the park near the playground by Victory and Marconi.

Sunday January 18th, 2 to 3:30pm: Algiers Point
Meet at the grassy area around the Ferry Landing.