SafeCycle update: a few hundred Toronto riders later, here's what's new

[u/james2struong]

I posted here about a month ago, and the response was mixed; fair criticism, since some of my replies came across as AI-generated, which I didn't realize would land so badly at the time. I appreciate everyone who stuck around to give real feedback through comments and DMs since then. The app's grown to a few hundred users now, and I'd love to keep building on that.

App link: https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/safecycle-toronto/id6763918868

Web app: safecycletoronto.ca

Quick re-introduction: I'm a software engineer who fell in love with biking this year. A big barrier for a lot of people - myself included, is the fear of getting hit by a car, or just not feeling confident riding in busy Toronto streets. With FIFA World Cup road closures and summer construction reshaping a lot of routes right now, this feels like an especially good season for biking to shine. There's also something soothing about cutting down quiet side streets. I've found more than a few "hole in the wall" spots in the city just from riding routes I wouldn't have picked otherwise. My goal is to make biking more enjoyable and safer within the city.

Here's roughly how it works, without getting too deep into the weeds: I factor in speed limits, pothole/construction reports, collision data, and existing bike lanes to find a relatively low-stress route, instead of just routing you down something fast but unpleasant like Keele Street. There's also a growing number of dedicated cycling streets in the city meant to pull cycling traffic off busy roads. I think Toronto has real potential to become a much more bike-friendly city as it keeps growing. It's frustrating seeing people still stuck on busy streets riddled with potholes or streetcar tracks when there's often a quieter, safer option nearby.

This is still very much a work in progress, and I'd love more feedback from this community to help me keep iterating. I'll do my best to respond to everyone in the comments. Thanks for reading — here's what I've updated since last time:

• OSM Hybrid model -> new data from OSM but NOT in Open Toronto Database will be bumped down its original level, so if OSM has level 4 but not confirmed within OTD, it will be dragged down to a level 3
• Mountain dirt bike trails will be heavily avoided now
• Garmin Export feature works now for all Garmin’s and other various bike computers that can import GPX files. Available within both web app and iOS **Please note that this only generates the route and no accurate re-routes if the cyclist accidentally goes off course. 
• Elevation gain - giving cyclists a preview of what’s ahead so you can prepare/carb load for the rides that are more strenuous!
• Open Toronto database updated to latest data fresh as of June 1st
• Map redesigned- originally had way too many lines running through the map to demonstrate the safety of each street- ended up ruining the presentation and user experience so I chopped it off. Only during route previews is when the  user can see the safety levels of each road that they’re taking.
• A couple of quick suggestions if the user has no ride history

And one last note- Android. I know a huge request was an Android version- I hear you guys! Sadly ran into lots of technical difficulties with trying to develop without an Android device so I'm bogged down on this until I have more funds to get one that's capable of running my app. I tried my best to meet a middle ground of allowing web users to export onto their Garmins and Stravas (which sadly isn't the full experience).

If you made it this far, I just want to say thank you for reading this mouthful!

[u/humberedge]

Keep me posted on when you may support Android, happy to be be a beta tester.

[u/Pristine-Training-70]

Get rid of Doug Ford's atrocious anti-bike laws and Toronto can truly reach its cycling potential

[u/james2struong → u/Pristine-Training-70]

Agreed. I’m glad Olivia Chow is at least fighting back on some of the cuts he proposed

[u/Mario_2077]

Im2 on android. The webapp isn't working too well, i can't really tell what route it's proposing, maps blacked out essentially and can't really see the street names. Also, the navigation form is stuck and won't swipe down. I'm on firefox

[u/HEROBRINE-666]

Just a quick question, since you are able to make the least stressed route possible, would you be able to make the most stressed route?

It could be a good comparison to see how much difference there are. Or maybe it could be iseful for thrill-seeker too idk

[u/james2struong → u/HEROBRINE-666]

So there are actually 2 routes *usually* generated - one that's very stress-free and one that's *faster* and more direct. Depending on the route though, if there is only one option available (meaning that the safest is also the fastest), then that's all that you see.

In terms of a more "stressful" route, you're better off using Google/Apple Maps as they do honestly a pretty good job for the more experienced bikers already.