Mapping Cincinnati in this new way could help cyclists rediscover it

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Courtesy UrbanCincy.com

Nate Wessel created the Cincinnati Bike Map to help old and new cyclists across the region.

Randy Simes

Owner and managing editor of UrbanCincy.com- Cincinnati Business Courier

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In 2011, Nate Wessel sought to change the way Cincinnati mapped its transit. In a region with multiple transit operators that all use traditional bus mapping visuals, it was quite the daunting task. But after successfully raising more than $2,000 on Kickstarter, Wessel was able to fund his effort to print tens of thousands of his newly designed maps that ultimately received national praise.

Since that time, he has continued his quest to improve the visual nature of mapmaking in Cincinnati, including serving as UrbanCincy's official contributing cartographer, but he also embarked on another major endeavor. Instead of a transit map with bus frequencies, Wessel this time focused his energies on creating a new regional bike network map.

"Imagine someone kept taking, and reproducing and sharing, very unflattering photos of you or someone you loved. If you're like me, you'd probably let the first one slide," Wessel stated. "Maybe it was an accident, but by the fifth or sixth one, you'd start noticing a pattern and you'd start getting kind of miffed about it."

This is the feeling the 20-something urban planner, cartographer and fashion designer felt about the region's existing bike maps, and he wanted to take control of the situation and improve it.

"This is a subtle visual game, and words won't do," Wessel said. "You need to make your own photo that shows the beauty you see in what you love and then get other people to see what you see."

One of the ways to accomplish that, he says, is to get the maps into people's hands – digital maps are not enough. While the physical presence of a printed map gives it a sense of permanency and seriousness, producing a hard copy map also comes with its challenges.

Simes is owner and managing editor of UrbanCincy.com, a content partner to the Business Courier