Project Summary

Orchy MG is looking to develop and test a digital navigation component of a new wayfinding system for bicycles called MARKED, designed to promote cities’ active travel networks and make cycling easier and safer for everyone. The system makes it simple to find a city’s safest cycle route by combining digital route planning with physical colour-coded wayfinding and a subway-style map design.

Project Achievements

With the support of TRIG, we were able to validate our approach to data integration, demonstrate the value of combining digital and physical wayfinding, and establish crucial partnerships with local authorities and transport bodies. During the project we:
• Developed two methodologies to feed city data into OpenStreetMap, bridging the gap between local insights and global navigation platforms.
• Piloted our approach in two contexts: Vila Nova de Gaia (Portugal) and Glasgow Green (UK).
• In Gaia, mapped 17.42 km of existing infrastructure and identified 40.67 km of viable quiet streets to expand the network at low cost.
• Created a 360° cyclist-view imagery bank for the city’s design team – a first for local planning.
• In Glasgow, ran 4 days of user testing with a total of 24 participants. User feedback confirmed our approach of combining physical wayfinding and digital navigation.

Conclusions

Cycling is a silver bullet for cities. It’s better for our health, economic activity, social justice, and the environment. Yet only 2% of journeys in the UK are made by bike. Beyond infrastructure, something is missing in the active travel movement: consistent data and clear promotion of cycling networks.

Through this project, Marked developed a process for sharing cycling data both physically and digitally. With TRIG’s support, we achieved key learnings:

1. Combining physical wayfinding and digital navigation increases user confidence and experience.

2. By linking existing infrastructure with quiet streets, cities can expand their networks at low cost.

Our solution can be used today to help cities map, grade, and promote their cycling networks, whether across a city or on a single key route. Together, we can help cities unlock the potential of cycling!

Next Steps

TRIG support helped advance Marked to TRL 4/5, validating both our subway-style wayfinding concept and data integration approach using low-cost prototypes.
• Over the next months, we’ll focus on refining and testing our wayfinding components and improving digital integration (TRL 6), with further pilots at Glasgow Green.
• In parallel, we’re engaging local authorities to offer our network definition and grading methodology — a scalable service that can support planning on a single route or across entire networks.
• From late 2025, we’ll conduct real-world trials (TRL 7–8) to assess usability, durability, and impact across live cycling routes.
• A city-wide deployment is planned with a Scottish local authority for early 2026 (TRL 9), bringing together the system’s components at scale as we move toward commercialisation.