Leonard Ruggieri, a graphic artist in the Monmouth County Department of Public Information and Communications, has won statewide first- and second-place honors for a map he created outlining Monmouth County’s numerous bicycle routes.
The large, fold-out map serves as a reference guide for the hundreds of miles of roads, paths and trails available for public use, and rates each one as either good, fair or poor.
The back of the map contains information about bicycling laws, bicycling safety, and maintaining and securing a bicycle.
The map was created for the Monmouth County Transportation Council, an advisory panel to the Monmouth County Planning Board. The full-color map was judged second place for best overall map, while Ruggieri received firstplace honors for his instructional presentation. The contest is sponsored annually by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. It is an opportunity for mapmakers to share their work and expertise with colleagues. This year’s maps were judged in the 24th annual New Jersey DEPMapping Contest.
“I am deeply honored to be recognized by people who are doing the same work as me,” said Ruggieri, who made his presentation at the DEP offices in Trenton.
“What I do is take GIS (geographic information systems) data and put it into a graphics software to tie it all together. The end result is an appealing map that is GIS oriented and graphics oriented,” he said. This is the second year Ruggieri has won. Last year he was awarded top prize for his creation of a Monmouth County road map, according to a press release.
“Leonard Ruggieri is an extremely talented artist who excels in a variety of media,” said William K. Heine, public information and communications director.
“He is an asset to the department and a reliable resource for all departments that request support communicating information about the county programs and services they offer to the people of Monmouth County,” Heine said.
Copies of the bicycling map are available upon request from the Monmouth County Planning Board. Call 732-866-3645 or send an email to [email protected].