Update: an 11 MB PDF of the map is now available for download.
The first-ever comprehensive St. Joseph/Elkhart Counties bike map is now available. A joint effort of the Bike Michiana Coalition, local government, business and university, the folding map will first be distributed to cyclists who attend the South Bend Bike to Work Week events, June 1-5. Afterwards, the map will be available throughout Michiana in local bike shops and other locations yet to be determined. A free copy of the map ($5 value) will also be provided every person signing up for an annual membership in the Bike Michiana Coalition.
Created by South Bend cartographer Jim Moffitt, with assistance from South Bend Bike Coordinator Chris Dressel and Bike Michiana Coalition members Bill and Judy Lee, the first edition of the map came off the presses Friday. Based on the high-quality bike maps of Chicago and Portland, Oregon, the multi-color Bike Michiana map shows every existing off-road bike path, on-road painted bike lane, signed-only bike route and (in dashed lines) proposed routes slated for completion by Fall, 2009. A link to/ file of the new map will be posted on this site shortly.
The two-sided map, 22.5″ x 26.5″ in size, stretches in East-West scope all the way from Pine Road west of the US 20/31 bypass on South Bend’s west side, to County Road 17 on Elkhart’s east side; in North-South orientation from State Line Road on the North, to Kern Road/County Rd. 28 on the South. Particularly helpful are the detailed views of urban street routes in South Bend, Mishawaka and Elkhart.
A four-county bike map published by the Michiana Area Council of Governments (MACOG) has existed for some years. Since the new Bike Michiana map focuses on portions of just two counties (St. Joseph and Elkhart) it is able to show greater street details for South Bend, Mishawaka and Elkhart, and is of greater practical use to a person actually on a bike. The new map also distinguishes between actual bike paths or painted lanes, and mere ‘Share the Road” routes or bike routes recommended only due to lower traffic levels.
In creating the new map, Moffitt integrated data from the City of Elkhart, Elkhart County, MACOG, St. Joseph County and the City of South Bend. Map details now include the location of all area bicycle shops, parks, universities, colleges and high schools.
A majority of the map’s cost was funded by a generous grant from Irish Health, a campus wellness initiative at the University of Notre Dame. The Bike Michiana Coalition expresses its particular gratitude to Mary Warner, Benefits Manager, Health & Work Life at ND who helped secure the funding for this first edition of the map. Also to Williams Aerial & Mapping, Inc. for use of their mapping technology and to Mossberg & Co. Printing of South Bend for meeting a very tight Bike Week deadline under difficult circumstances.
More info on availability of the new Michiana Bike Routes Map, and the new BMC annual membership applications forthcoming on this website / bulletin board.
