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New maps help cyclists navigate city’s streets
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Paul Kobulnicky of Poland, a librarian at Youngstown State University’s William F. Maag Library, gets ready to ride his bicycle. The city of Youngstown has a new map to show riders the easiest, moderate and hardest bicycle routes through city streets.
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Paul Kobulnicky of Poland, a librarian at Youngstown State University’s William F. Maag Library, gets ready to ride his bicycle. The city of Youngstown has a new map to show riders the easiest, moderate and hardest bicycle routes through city streets.
YOUNGSTOWN
The newly published Youngstown, Ohio, Bicycle Transportation Map will help cyclists safely navigate city streets.
The color-coded map sells for $2 and is available in local bicycle shops and at the city’s economic- development office at 20 Federal Place on West Federal Street.
The 550 maps, costing about $250 to print, were paid for using city community-development funds.
They were prepared by members of the OutSpokin’ Wheelmen bicycle club, who cycled and evaluated each street shown in color on the map, and the Center for Urban and Regional Studies at Youngstown State University.
“You can access almost any place in the city on really pleasant, quiet roads,” said Frank Krygowski, OutSpokin’ Wheelmen safety committee chairman. “We wanted to show bicyclists where these pleasant roads are,” he added.
The map is beneficial because it educates local residents and visitors concerning traffic patterns on various city streets, said Councilman Jamael “Tito” Brown, D-3rd. “Any time we can make those connections to those green spaces, it would be good for us,” Brown said referring to links between parks and bicycle trails.
“It encourages more people to cycle in our area. If you’re a beginner, you know where to go. If you are an advanced cyclist, you know where to go. It helps with route planning,” Bethaney Krzys, a planner with the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, said of the map.
“It keeps people healthy. It reduces stress on our roads,” and causes no air pollution, she said of the benefits of encouraging cycling.
The map shows only Youngstown, but Krzys said she looks forward to incorporating it into a regional cycling map showing all of Trumbull and Mahoning counties within the next two years.
Such a regional cycling map would be similar to those in the Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati areas. The Youngstown map was patterned after the Cleveland area map, said Sarah Lown, the city’s development incentive manager.
The map’s goals are to promote cycling, help motorists and bicyclists “learn to share the road safely” and justify building a bicycle-trail network connecting the Stavich Trail in Struthers with the Lake-to-River Greenway Trail, Lown said.
The roads were rated based on traffic counts, slope, pavement quality and safety factors.
Besides being sold in bicycle shops and at 20 Federal Place, the map is available online at www.cityofyoungstownoh.org and www.outspokinwheelmen.com.