2025
UX/UI
Consulting
Web App
BikeMaps.org is a is a global tool that allows people to map cycling collisions, near misses, hazards, and thefts, creating an interactive database of cycling experiences to improve cycling safety. This was a 10-week project seeking to enhance the usability and overall user experience of BikeMaps.org to increase accident reporting and strengthen local advocacy.
Graduate Student / Contract UX Designer
Figma, Qualtrics, Survey, User Interviews, Usability Testing
User Research, Product Thinking, UX Design
A survey was created to assess cyclists' current needs and their usage of biking apps, aiming to identify pain points and explore opportunities to improve BikeMaps' user engagement and increase the number of reports submitted.
Current Platform
2025
Current navigation apps do not provide detailed and accurate infrastructure information for cyclists and prioritize time over safety.
49% of respondents revealed that their top priority was detailed path information, such as protected bike lanes and bike lane merge points.
Riders want hazard data to lead to real infrastructure changes, with updates on resolved issues and tools to engage local decision-makers.
“I think the ability to track accidents and map them is an excellent idea, but I don’t know that most people would necessarily change routes to avoid hotspots. It feels like if the focus were on using the data that’s collected to CHANGE hotspots to make them safer, people might buy in more and input their ride data.”
— Respondent
User interviews shifted the focus from a Google Maps-like navigation app to a local cycling hub. While navigation apps help cyclists find the safest routes, the new hub supports advocacy, connects cycling communities, and uses existing data to drive change. This way, cyclists can not only find better paths but also play an active role in shaping local policies and improvements.
Accurate route planning that learns from user behavior, experience level, and preferences.
Community involvement that provides safe cycling coalitions with data-driven insights.
⚠️ A mobile app isn't the answer (yet?): Given limited resources, it's a more efficient use of time to rework the current web platform to enhance usability and increase accident and hazard reporting, rather than building an entirely new mobile app. Since interviewees reported they are unlikely to stop mid-ride to report an accident, the web app enables quick submissions after their trip on any device.
The Community Pages serve as a central hub for local cycling advocacy, offering newsletters, local resources, meeting updates, events, and tools for municipal action. This feature empowers cyclists to take collective action to improve biking infrastructure in their communities, ultimately increasing the number of trips taken by bike, the number of riders, and frequency of riding.
Mid-fidelity desktop
2025
New community tab
2025
Relevant activity in your area [redesign of 'Visualization' page]
2025
Usability testing via talk aloud method evaluates the current reporting flow to identify pain points and improve the user experience. Changes include simplifying drop-downs, implementing conditional answering, removing redundant questions, and refining the layout based on usability testing.
Redesign of reporting feature
2025
Throughout my design process, I conducted 12 usability tests with cyclists and safe cycling group board members. At the end of the project, the prototype received an overall positive response from all stakeholders, primarily the community bulletin, infrastructure concern voting, and current bikeway projects. Stay tuned for implementation!
In this case, semi-structured interviews with various stakeholders were more impactful because I was able to ask follow-up questions and dive deeper into their routines and pain points. I definitely want to incorporate more interviews in the future and early on in my process.
While my original focus was building a new mobile app with navigation features, my focus shifted to improving the existing website because it is more practical to implement and has lower development costs. It is a chance to increase the engagement and improve the usability on the platform where users are already engaged.
