Free Software Plans Bike Networks Across Cities
The open-source BikeNetKit tool, released by IT University of Copenhagen, helps planners connect fragmented bike lane systems.
Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Cycling
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IT University of Copenhagen has released BikeNetKit, free open-source software for bike network planning built on eight years of bicycle infrastructure research. Users enter a city name and the tool pulls street data from OpenStreetMap, including existing bike lanes.
Why it matters
Bike networks are typically rolled out in disconnected pieces, and most U.S. cities have sparse bike lanes. A free, widely available planning tool could help local governments identify where to connect those gaps.
The software is built on eight years of research at IT University of Copenhagen, and the extraction provides no adoption figures or city-level results. Its real-world effectiveness in connecting bike networks has not been documented in the available information.
The players
IT University of Copenhagen
A Danish university whose researchers developed BikeNetKit based on years of bicycle infrastructure study.
The details
BikeNetKit offers three tools: GrowBikeNet builds a network from scratch by connecting a grid of seed points to existing infrastructure, LinkBikeNet connects gaps in well-connected networks, and FixBikeNet ranks which gaps to fix first. Superblockify, also included, suggests places to add car-free neighborhoods, and using the software requires knowledge of Python.
Timeline
Eight years of bicycle infrastructure research preceded the software's release.
Roadmap
BikeNetKit extends a multi-year academic research program at IT University of Copenhagen into publicly usable software. It addresses a broader pattern in which bike networks are built in disconnected segments rather than as continuous systems.
Local planners and cycling advocates can use the free tool to map where bike lanes are missing and which connections to prioritize. Users without Python knowledge may find the software difficult to operate.
The takeaway
Free, open tools like BikeNetKit can turn years of research into practical guidance for connecting fragmented bike lanes. Planners can use network gap analysis to prioritize where new infrastructure would add the most connectivity.
Further reading
Explore more on Cycling to see how bike networks are planned and built.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Fast Company.
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