The last bike map for Santa Barbara County was published in 2013. A lot’s changed in the 12 years since, not the least of which being the massive technological opportunities offered by computers and social media. But in addition, there’s been a significant proliferation of bike lanes and bike paths and what’s known as road infrastructure designed to make cyclists feel more safe and more comfortable. Thanks to a half-million-dollar state grant, a new app-accessible map of Santa Barbara County’s bikeways — aided by the double-edged sword of AI technology — is in the offing.
Fueled by the seemingly subliminal agenda of “If you map it, they might ride more,” the new project — a joint project between UCSB, the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG), and the Simon Fraser University in Canada — hopes to fold in metrics showing which routes are more comfortable to the riders. The shortest line between Points A and B is not always the safest or most comfortable, especially when the pushing of pedals is involved. Hills, road conditions, levels of congestion, and visibility are all factors that enter the equation.
The trick here is how to arrive at an interchangeable, comparative metric for something so inherently subjective in nature. To do this, SBCAG is beating the bushes for 12 volunteers to populate a new AI Bike Map Ad Hoc Working Group — or AIBMAHWG — to help evaluate and rank stretches of roadway on a scale of 1-5 along a gradient of low, medium, and high comfort levels…