Shawn E. Richardson

Shawn E. Richardson has worked as a cartographer for the Ohio Department of Transportation since 1988. He specializes in photogrammetry, the process of creating maps using aerial photography. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Geography with emphasis on cartography form Kentucky's University of Louisville in 1985. Growing up in Kentucky between the early 1960s to the late 1980s, Shawn has lived in Ohio since 1988.

In 2000, Shawn developed the concept for Ohio to establish a "Bike Route Number System" following a combination of Ohio's major bike trails and lightly traveled back roads which would be similar to numbering the highways for the automobile drivers. These reports & maps from 2000 to the present can be viewed on Biblioboard.com with a search for "Ohio's Bicycle Route Numbering System". In 2012, the Ohio Department of Transportation adopted Shawn's plan to continue the numbering for bicycle routes & trails within Ohio.

Shawn enjoys bicycle touring, and his excursions can last anywhere from a few hours to several days. Although he has biked back roads through many states including Ohio's Tour of the Scioto River Valley, the majority of his touring has been on trails. He has been a pioneer member of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, the Heritage Rail-to-Trails Coalition, The Ohio-to-Erie Trail Coalition, Columbus Outdoor Pursuits, American Youth Hostels, and the Louisville Wheelmen.

In addition to writing and mapping, Shawn enjoys photography, sightseeing, and traveling. Shawn has bicycled numerous rail-trails through 49 of the 50 States and Washington, DC.