Google maps to add Bike maps, directions

Glenlivet12

Glenlivet12

Well-Known Member
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-10466313-265.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20




Google Maps is set to provide a new option for getting around town: biking directions.

The company plans to unveil what it called "the most requested addition to Google Maps" during the National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C. Google Maps users looking for directions between two points will now have the option of selecting "bicycling" from the current drop-down menu that lets you customize a journey with walking, driving, or public transportation options.

Anyone who has ever tried to bike across San Francisco knows the value of a good bike map in helping to avoid 200-foot hills and city streets that behave more like freeways. Google Maps users have created their own bike maps for cities like New York and Minneapolis, but Google itself hadn't taken that step until now.

Google obtained much of its data from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in putting together the maps, and will have detailed information on bike routes in 150 U.S. cities as of Tuesday night's launch, said Shannon Guymon, Google Maps product manager.

Bikers will be able to find bike-only paths, bike lanes on city streets, and bike-friendly streets when searching for directions using the tool. Google will also include an estimated travel time alongside the results that factor in hills and fatigue.

What's the second-most requested feature for Google Maps? Hiking trails, Guymon said.

By Tom Krazit
 
I mapped the route I did last summer to LBI from oakland. If I took google's route and made it through Wayne, I'd probably have been shot at in Newark, mowed down on route 22, stuck in a sand pit in Lacey and spent an extra hour touring the back bay areas of Barnegat before crossing the bridge at midnight.

As with any Mapquest or Google map it ain't perfect but it does allow you to alter the map easily. Unfortunately, there is no elevation info... yet.
 
Cyclopath said:
I mapped the route I did last summer to LBI from oakland. If I took google's route and made it through Wayne, I'd probably have been shot at in Newark, mowed down on route 22, stuck in a sand pit in Lacey and spent an extra hour touring the back bay areas of Barnegat before crossing the bridge at midnight.

As with any Mapquest or Google map it ain't perfect but it does allow you to alter the map easily. Unfortunately, there is no elevation info... yet.
Click to expand...

There is a link on the left to report areas that are not rideable or not safe to ride 😀 The more we report, the better it will be in the future.
 
rlb said:
There is a link on the left to report areas that are not rideable or not safe to ride 😀 The more we report, the better it will be in the future.
Click to expand...

One problem I have found with using the "walking" function to map routes on the canal and such is that the route line will still following the driving directions business rules, which make it hard to get a route you would actually ride. For instance, on my lunch route, there is an intersection where you can't make a left turn from a jughandle. I make the left turn on the bike, and you could do the same thing by just walking across the intersection if you were on foot (there are crosswalks too). Even with the walking option selected, it won't let the route make a left at this intersection.

I still use it all the time because it is so damn easy.
 
I've been using openstreetmaps.org for this, which then gets converted to opentopomaps on fridays.
I plot my local trails in and I've figured out how to take these open and marked up maps and get them on my 705
It's awesomely epic. I found out this week that it's also the map that the geocaching site uses on the iphone. there is also an open map app for the iphone.
 
gtluke said:
I've been using openstreetmaps.org for this, which then gets converted to opentopomaps on fridays.
I plot my local trails in and I've figured out how to take these open and marked up maps and get them on my 705
It's awesomely epic. I found out this week that it's also the map that the geocaching site uses on the iphone. there is also an open map app for the iphone.
Click to expand...

I was out for a ride the other day and I looked at my iPhone (MotionX program), which uses Open street Map by default and I saw dotted lines on the map for the trail! This was quite useful cause I was at a place I hadn't been to before (hook mtn). Today at Lewis Morris, I was happy to find that almost all the trails showed up on the map 😀
 
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