Redrawn maps put age of the car into reverse

Cycle guides: Computer techniques used to highlight pathways and cash in on growth in `green' transport

CHRISTIAN WOLMAR

Transport Correspondent

The first in a series of local maps, based on the Ordnance Survey series and specially designed for cyclists, has been published in an attempt to cash in on the growth of interest in environmentally friendly forms of transport.

In a reversal of priorities which will give any motorist mistakenly using them apoplexy, the maps give prominence to the best routes for cyclists. Therefore, the thick green splurge running from Bath to Bristol dominates the map as it shows the pioneering cycle path built by Sustrans, the group now developing the 6,500-mile national cycle network. But in contrast the M5 and M4 motorways are almost invisible thin blue lines, because they are as useless to cyclists - who are barred from them - as the canal towpaths are to juggernauts. It is the first time the Ordnance Survey has used the sophistication of its computer mapping techniques to reverse the road hierarchy.

As Martin Whitfield, who has devised the maps, said: "Britain is criss- crossed with an abundance of byways and lanes on which cyclists should be able to avoid the worst of the traffic. With normal maps, they might well not see what the best route is."

Mr Whitfield researches all the routes on his bicycle before working with the Ordnance Survey to produce the maps to his requirements. He says: "It takes about 300 to 400 miles' cycling to cover the area of one map. I received a lot of suggestions on the best local cycling routes from local cyclists, and then checked every single detail personally."

His work took about three weeks of cycling round the area: "You can't do lots of miles every day because of having to stop and make notes."

The first map covers Bristol, while those for Oxford and East Kent are in production and should be published next month, although a theft of computer chips at the Ordnance Survey's Southampton HQ may delay production. Future maps will show the planned Sustrans network across the country and Mr Whitfield is confident there is a big market for his maps: "Interest in cycling is growing, with more cycle paths and cycle routes being developed."

5 Bristol cycling map, from CycleCity Guides, 3/4 Zig/Zag, Clevedon, Somerset, BS21 7EJ, pounds 4 95.