What Makes an Award-Winning Bike Map?

Congratulations to our GIS Specialist Kody Thurnau. His redesign of our popular Duluth-Superior Metropolitan Bike Map took not one but two awards from juries of his peers at the 2011 Esri International User Conference in San Diego, CA.

The map was awarded first prize in the category Best Cartographic Design Single Map Product – Large Format Press Copy.  Judged by 38 Esri staff members for general and specific cartographic quality, entries in this category had to be a single map product larger than 11 in. x 17 in. but not exceeding 48 in., printed professionally on a printing press.

The map was also one of three overall winners of the Cartography Special Interest Group (Carto SIG) Map Awards, out of 1,200 conference Map Gallery entries.

Judging criteria included ‛efficiency in communication of intended message’ and ‛maximization of the user’s cognitive experience.’  More specifically, the judges appreciated:

  • Its compact size
  • Its design, layout and the way it’s strategically folded
  • Its scale and legibility
  • Its topographical info
  • Its easily identified green space destinations
  • Its urban area destinations, including local bike shops
  • Its information about different riding surfaces
  • Its information about designated bike routes

In other words, it’s perfectly designed to for people who want to bike in, around or between Duluth and Superior, whether you’re a recreational rider or an urban commuter.

Your guide to biking Duluth and Superior

You can pick up own copy of the Duluth-Superior Metropolitan Bike Map at local bike shops, tourist information outlets or email us at dsmic01@gmail.com and we’ll mail you a copy.

Next up: online interactive version

Right now we have a pdf version of the map available for you to download on our website.  Never fear, Kody is hard at work converting the print version into an interactive map you’ll be able to access and use online.

Great Lakes Short Sea Shipping (try saying that fast three times)

Steven Fisher, Executive Director of the American Great Lakes Ports Association, made the case for the value of the Great Lakes navigation system and discussed the legislative and regulatory issues posing challenges to the maritime industry at the MIC’s annual meeting on July 20, 2011.

Fisher noted that throughout the United States, road and rail congestion threaten economic growth and quality of life. Transportation planners (including the MIC) are examining how short sea shipping via the Great Lakes can ease some of the burden on the land-based transportation modes.

View Fisher’s discussion of all topics (4:39)

Safe, Cost-Effective, Environmentally Sustainable

Fisher asserted that waterborne transportation has demonstrated that it is the safest, most fuel efficient, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable mode of moving goods in the global economy. Vessels on the Great Lakes burn significantly less fuel and produce fewer emissions and have far fewer accidents than trains or trucks.

Great Lakes Harbor Dredging

Bottom line: there’s not enough money to properly dredge many Great Lakes commercial harbors.

Most ports require regular dredging to remove sand and silt that naturally accumulate in shipping channels. This work is the responsibility of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but its FY 2012 budget only provides $22.4 million to dredge Great Lakes navigation channels, less than half the amount necessary.  As a result, many ports are becoming difficult for ships to navigate, and in some cases, shipping channels have become blocked and two are slated for closure.

Congress should provide adequate funds in the Fiscal Year 2012 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill to address the backlog of dredging projects at Great Lakes ports,

Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and Political Gridlock

Bottom line: The money being collected from waterborne commerce is not dedicated to commercial ports.

The Harbor Maintenance Tax is a fee collected from domestic commercial cargo loaded or unloaded from vessels using US ports in order to fund the Army Corps of Engineers’ operation and maintenance activities. This includes the dredging that is needed to keep the Great Lakes ports up and running.

Despite the fact that adequate revenue (approximately $1.3 billion annually) is being collected, Congress has traditionally used about half of the fund’s money to offset general spending. Fisher noted that although there is significant support in Congress to enact legislation to ensure that funds collected for harbor maintenance are spent for their intended purpose, the current political gridlock in Washington DC is hindering the progress of this initiative.

View Fisher’s discussion of Great Lakes dredging and funding (1:16)

Aquatic Invasive Species and the Great Ships Initiative

Bottom line: there is widespread agreement in both the maritime industry and the environmental community that the best way to prevent the transfer of aquatic invasive species is to keep them off ships in the first place. For that reason, there is considerable research being done to develop technology to treat ballast water and remove or kill aquatic nuisance species.

In 2007, the Great Ships Initiative (GSI) opened the world’s first fresh water ballast treatment technology test facility, located in Superior, Wisconsin.

View Fisher’s discussion of the GSI (1:13)

Future of the Shipping Industry on the Great Lakes

Bottom line: both the US and Canada are continuing to invest in the future of the shipping industry on the Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway, which is managed and operated jointly by Canada and the United States, is a unique and significant navigation route into the North American heartland for deep-draft vessels coming from the Atlantic Ocean and beyond.

Fifty years after its construction, both countries recognize that it provides important economic benefits by transporting cargoes such as grain, iron ore, and steel into and out of the Great Lakes region. Recent policy changes in Canada have spurred $400 million investment in rebuilding its Great Lakes fleet.

View Fisher’s discussion of future prospects for the GL maritime industry (1:05)

Photo credit, Laker in Duluth Canal: Minnesota Extension Service, Don Breneman

Photo credit, Laurentian Great Lakes: NOAA, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory

Video editing: Brian Heaton