BikeBetter wins Rep. Suzanne Bonamici’s 2022 Congressional App Challenge in Oregon’s First District

When asked what inspired the creation of BikeBetter, the students said, ”Portland is “America’s Bicycle Capital,” and true to the name, we Oregonians love to bicycle. With bicycle paths and lanes all over town – not to mention cool green spaces and striking scenery – Portland has great places to ride for bicyclists of all abilities. Bicycling is a way to get around, a fun activity that also provides health exercise benefits. In a state where bicycling is so dearly loved, not all bicycle lanes are safe and crashes have become more common. This can range from two bicyclists colliding to a bicyclist being hit by a car. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in America, more than 130,000 people are injured, and 1,000 people die each year in bicycle-related crashes.  As a matter of fact, we ourselves don’t feel comfortable riding a bicycle to school due to perceived unsafe routes in our neighborhood.  After learning about the state and national bicycle crash statistics, we attempted to find a data driven solution to provide information on crash-prone zones so that bicyclists can plan for safer routes.  While researching we came across publicly available crash data that showed crash-prone locations in downtown Portland. It struck us with the idea to create a safer route by plotting all of those crash zones.  We concluded that if people know certain roads have more crashes, they may consider taking an alternate route to ride more safely.”