What's New

June brought more than a return of summer vacation days to the Greater Akron area. The month also brought the release of a new, updated regional Bike Map from AMATS’ Switching-Gears Program.

First released by the program in 2012, the Bike Map has proven to be a popular resource for the area’s cyclists. Not only does it rate major roads in Portage and Summit counties and a portion of Wayne County by level of difficulty from “Beginner” to “Expert,” but it includes useful information such as the locations of bike shops, trailheads, and trailheads with restrooms. The new map also clearly identifies streets that include bike lanes and features new smaller maps detailing downtown Barberton and Hudson in addition to those of Akron and Kent.

AMATS Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Coordinator Seth Bush says that the Bike Map was created using the latest GIS data available to the agency. The Turnpike Trail in Hudson and the latest extensions of the Freedom Trail are among the new details included in the updated map.

Copies of the map are available at the AMATS office and will be provided by the agency at special events, such as the upcoming Switching Gears Conference in Barberton on July 26.  Copies are also available at Switching-Gears.org.