The Chainlink

App: A bike map and guide for Chicagoland

Consider this: You like to use the Chicago Bike Map but you don't always carry it with you. You want to be reminded of where the bike lanes and trail access points are. But you do carry your smartphone with you, all the time. 

In April 2012 I launched my first-ever app, the Chicago Bike Guide. It works similarly to the "Chicago Bike Map" (the City's printed one) in that it shows the presence of on-street bike lanes, multi-use trails, and train stations. It works like Google Maps, though, where you can pinch and zoom to interact with the map. 

Divvy, train stations, directions, The Chainlink, Twitter, points of interest, it's all right here. 

Available for Android and iOS. 

Routing on the Chicago Bike Guide

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Agnieszka Z. on November 28, 2012 at 5:21pm

I'd love that feature!

Just Will said:

Do you have a feature to report a specific situation? Like pot-holes, or road under construction, in your app?

This would be a nice feature to have. Click on an icon that takes you directly to a location of where you are and a memo pad to write the report and has a send button to send to you to report the situation. Or just tweet with the current location attached

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on November 28, 2012 at 8:21pm

In the meantime, there are two great apps that can do this for you: Chicago Works (iOS only) and SeeClickFix (Androidand iOS). They only allow the reporting of 14 different request types, of which 4 are bicycling related. You can also make a request online. 

I am definitely going to work on this feature!

Agnieszka Z. said:

I'd love that feature!

Just Will said:

Do you have a feature to report a specific situation? Like pot-holes, or road under construction, in your app?

This would be a nice feature to have. Click on an icon that takes you directly to a location of where you are and a memo pad to write the report and has a send button to send to you to report the situation. Or just tweet with the current location attached

Permalink Reply by JimmyD on December 28, 2012 at 6:17pm

Hi there!

Got an update on the potential arrival date of an Android version of this app?

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on December 28, 2012 at 8:59pm

I got off my ass when you posted this and I'm trying again. Downloading Eclipse IDE, Android SDK, and trying this again. Fingers crossed I won't run into the same issues as last time. 

Windows Phone requires that I have a Windows computer, which I don't currently. Android is the first priority!

JimmyD said:

Hi there!

Got an update on the potential arrival date of an Android version of this app?

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on December 28, 2012 at 10:51pm

Android update.

The app for Android is getting somewhere

It works, sort of. I can't load all the files in because I'm having "insufficient file space" problems in the Android emulator. If you're an Android developer, a little help?

Permalink Reply by JimmyD on December 29, 2012 at 9:51am

Steven, thanks for giving it another go on the Android platform. While I do know how to code in several languages, I have never attempted writing code for any mobile platforms (let alone Android). I'll see if any of the Android code monkey peeps I know are willing to lend a hand.

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on December 29, 2012 at 12:57pm

I don't know if I did anything differently, but I no longer receive the "insufficient file space" error (on an emulator, where it shouldn't have mattered in the first place). I was able to test many features of the app last night (went to bed at 5 AM ;) but the Android emulator is REALLY, VERY slow. 

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on January 2, 2013 at 11:18pm

Does anyone have an Android device they want to give me for free or sell me for cheap so that I can begin hardware testing of my app?

Permalink Reply by JMinHP on January 3, 2013 at 9:50am

I'll volunteer up my rooted and unlocked T-Mobile G2 running cyanogenmod, if it would work for you. A couple of things:

1) It no longer has a sim card, but will connect via wifi.

2) I'm not sure which version of CM it's running, but I know it's not the current jelly bean release.  Pretty sure it's an ice cream sandwich version.

3) I only ask that I get the phone back at some point.  It's my back-up should I lose my current phone.

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on January 3, 2013 at 10:21am

Don't forget that such an expense can be tax deductible.

Steven Vance said:

Does anyone have an Android device they want to give me for free or sell me for cheap so that I can begin hardware testing of my app?

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on January 3, 2013 at 3:25pm

Forgive me if this has already been asked/suggested Steve, but have you considered integrating Chainlink events on the app? Now that Cal's is gone, I'm probably not gonna know where bar night is...

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on January 3, 2013 at 4:41pm

I will borrow it and keep care of it. I have a SIM card that will work in it if needed. 

JM 6.5 said:

I'll volunteer up my rooted and unlocked T-Mobile G2 running cyanogenmod, if it would work for you. A couple of things:

3) I only ask that I get the phone back at some point.  It's my back-up should I lose my current phone.

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