You may have seen a unique-looking bike along the Johnston trails during the week of August 15, 2022. This is the Data Bike. Members of our city staff have been taking turns riding the Data Bike through the 45 miles of trails throughout the community to record information about the condition of the trails.
The Data Bike is an initiative led by the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization in partnership with the Iowa Department of Public Health and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. Using an app that senses the roughness of the pavement, the Data Bike will generate data scoring the condition of the trails. The Data Bike will also collect 360-degree imagery along the trails for Google Street View.
The Data Bike weighs around 60 pounds with all the gadgets, and to collect all the necessary data, whoever is riding it needs to keep it around 6-12 mph. Riding the Data Bike is challenging to operate between the weight and the specific mph requirements. Thank you to our City Staff members for taking the time and effort to help improve our trail system.
The Johnston Trails Committee (made up of the Mayor, Council Members, City staff and community members) has also had a hand in acquiring the Data Bike. They have planned the routes and will use the data to plan and prioritize trail maintenance and additions moving forward.