After about a month of serious work, I am pleased to say that
OpenCycleMap (OCM) is now a significantly accurate representation of
the United States Bicycle Route (USBR) system, both as it actually
exists today, and as it displays state-by-state proposals to AASHTO
of further USBR applications now underway.
OCM also displays two significant national bicycle routes which are
not part of the USBR system: the East Coast Greenway (ECG, which
both shares and diverges from segments of USBR 1) and the Mississippi
River Trail (MRT, which in Minnesota, is identical to USBR 45).
These two quasi-private (not government) bicycle routes (ECG & MRT)
are determined to be so "national in scope" that their inclusion in
OSM's national cycleway network (as ncns) is asserted. The MRT may
continue (as it did in Minnesota) to become USBR 45 in several other
states, though there are no active proposals to do so.
Actual USBR numbered national bike routes display in OCM as solid red
lines. Proposed USBR routes (ongoing proposal discussions at a state
level distinctly moving towards AASHTO application as USBRs) display
in OCM as dashed red lines. This was not the case a month ago, as
dozens of routing errors were wrongly asserted to be national routes
along corridors when there was no active proposal in those states.
But now, as those errors have been (largely or completely) corrected,
OCM can begin to be used as a valuable development tool for USBRs in
those states which wish to press ahead to identify specific routes in
the AASHTO-identified corridors. Further growth in the USBR network
is both well articulated and facilitated.
This is a real feather in the cap of OSM. Congratulations and kudos
to Kerry Irons of Adventure Cycling Association who tirelessly and
patiently answered a barrage of emails over several weeks to
facilitate this, not to mention is a font of state-level bicycle
contacts and resources. Additional thanks go to Andy Allan and Sarah
Hoffman who provide renderings of the underlying OSM data. Further
state-level development of additional corridors to promotion of
actual USBRs is now well supported by OSM/OCM being a valuable shared
fabric for geographic-based discussion.
Sarah Hoffman's renderers at waymarkedtrails.org show only actual
(not proposed) routes from OSM data, so her bicycling renderer
provides an excellent contrast to OCM, which does display proposed
routes.
While most of my effort here is completed, I welcome corrections,
additions, plans for future growth and discussion on this topic,
either in talk-us, OSM message, or email.
As OCM and waymarkedtrails.org now display USBRs from underlying OSM
data, it is the dawn of a new day for nationwide bicycle routing in
the USA!
SteveA
California
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