Atlanta might not be known yet as a bicycle-friendly city, but city planners, organizers and researchers are looking to change that with the help of a simple mobile app. This app, named Cycle Atlanta, will allow cyclists the opportunity to transfer information about their ride directly to the City of Atlanta through their phone's GPS capabilities. 

Now available on iPhones and Androids, the free app will track a rider's route, speed, time, frequency and other statistical data in real-time that will be used to help improve Atlanta's environment for bicycle-riding, along with the rider's ability to offer feedback on bike-lane obstacles, potholes, or unsafe conditions. Not to mention, the Cycle Atlanta app can also be used to track a cyclist's ride for fun and be shared with friends. 

Cycle Atlanta is a joint project between the City of Atlanta Department of Planning & Community Development, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Bicycle Coalitionand Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). 

It is funded through a contribution from the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition with support from local businesses, and the Atlanta Regional Commission's Livable Centers Initiative planning program. Additional support is provided by the GVU Center and the Institute for People and Technology at Georgia Tech. This project will also aid the ARC in implementing initiatives to meet the goals of PLAN 2040, a fifty-year plan aimed at improving metro Atlanta's growth as a sustainable city. 

“By looking at cyclists’ origins, destinations and route, City of Atlanta transportation planners will be able to see which roads are avoided and which are popular,” said College of Engineering Assistant Professor Kari Watkins. “The city can use the information to make future decisions about where infrastructure is needed to create bike-friendly routes throughout Atlanta.” 

Watkins developed Cycle Atlanta with Christopher Le Dantec, an assistant professor in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. "One of the main reasons people don't frequently cycle is a lack of safe infrastructure – dedicated bicycle routes, roads with bicycle lanes and other designated bicycle facilities," said Le Dantec. "The city has a desire to put proper infrastructure in place but needs better information from citizens about where they currently ride and would like to cycle."

To use Cycle Atlanta, visit the Apple App Store or Android Market to download the app, or visit cycleatlanta.org.  

At the beginning of your ride, tap "Start," then "Save" at the end, and add details like trip purpose and any comments. The data is confidentially be sent via GPS, with the option to opt-out of sending certain personal information. Cyclists are able to see a map of their ride, distance travelled and average speed. 

This is the first iteration of the app, so if you have suggestions for future versions, please share them below! 

Today was a banner day for Atlanta cycling! Mayor Reed made a strong commitment to creating a bicycle-friendly city and vowed the city would work with the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition to achieve that goal. His support is already showing fruit - the 5th & West Peachtree bike project is one small step for existing cyclists, one giant leap for every Atlantan who'd like to ride a bike! 

Thanks to everyone who attended - the strong and impassioned turnout was the perfect illustration of the demand for high quality bicycle infrastructure in Atlanta. The partnerships on display - Midtown Alliance, Georgia Institute of Technology, ABC, City of Atlanta, Bikes Belong (a bicycle retail group) - were really impressive. 

Pictures from the event, which included a press conference, announcement of a new bike app (story to follow with details), ribbon cutting, ceremonial bike ride to city hall, and city bike expo, courtesy of Cameron Adams, with project photos from Joshuah Mello. More photos of ribbon cutting and expo here. More photos of project here. 

Not so long ago, riding a bike was such a basic building block of the American childhood that it became a cliche: "it's like learning to ride a bike -- you never forget." Kids generally walked or biked to get around their neighborhoods and to school. 

In 1969, 48% of children 5 to 14 years of age usually walked or bicycled to school. [2]. 

In 2009, just 13% of did so. [2]

Geography has a lot to do with this, but even when you take geography out of the equation there's been a massive shift. 

In 1969, 90% of those kids who lived within a mile of school walks or rode bikes to get there. Today 65% of kids who live within a mile are driven to school, mainly due to safety concerns (Source: 2009 study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine). 

We can't change school siting policies or residential settlement patterns overnight, but we can work to educate the next generation of cyclists. We've organized free classes for kids at the Andrew Young YMCA, Latin Academy, and Kipp schools serving at-risk communities in SW Atlanta, as well as schools like Drew Charter and the Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School. (We're focusing on charter schools for the first phase of this program as they tend to have greater flexibility in scheduling).

Atlanta Bicycle Coalition instructor Neil Walker has taught many bike classes since becoming a League Cycling Instructor, but none are closer to his heart than the ones that involve kids.

Read more to find out what Neil has to say about these classes. 

Click image to open interactive version (via BikeGuard).