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Ask Google Maps to generate bike route maps

I found this request on the Marin County Bicycle Coalition's website. They are requesting all of their members to go to the Google Map website and click on "Yes" to create bike and trail maps.


A request for Google to create maps for the best cycling routes in any particular area has been posted on their "Suggest It" page.


Explicit bicycle maps are useful for several important reasons:

1. Cyclists need routes that minimize the use of congested roadways. No extant Google (or competing) maps do so. Many cities and counties have gone to considerable labor and expense to mark bicycle routes. These would be the obvious heart of the Google bicycle map database.

2. Many cities have created dedicated bicycle lanes or bike/ped facilities through dense developed areas. More people will use them if they can map their locations and connections!

3. Transit maps often indicate walking routes to and from terminals/stops - but not cycling routes, which vastly increases the range of travel for cyclists. Bicycle maps should be integrated with the transit maps.


Here's how you can help:

1. Go to

http://maps.google.com/support/bin/static.py?page=suggestions.cs

2. Scroll down the list to the Route Information section

3. Click the "Suggest It" button after the last choice - "Add bike trail

information and biking directions".


If you want to do more than click a request, you need to write to the discussion forums and hope Google staff pays attention. If you choose to take this extra step, feel free to use the above talking points.


Thank for helping! A flood of input just might get Google's engineers in gear.


swalfoort
2009-08-31 13:00:38

That's street view. What Swalfoort is talking about is generating directions just like you can get for driving, walking or public transit.


rsprake
2009-08-31 18:17:40

Or we can do it ourselves. OpenStreetMap has a data set you can add bike infrastructure and route safety information to and folks have set up applications to map with it.


alankhg
2009-08-31 23:15:04

funny you should bring this up. one thing that google needs to do is to incorporate the trail data into their maps, otherwise their route generator will be sending you down second ave instead of the jail trail.


however, i was riding on the southside trail this morning and saw this:



erok
2009-09-01 14:22:00

Whoo hoo!


I think that google HOPES to be able to integrate trail maps, as well as bike suitability maps of the sort created by Bike Pittsburgh. What a great NATIONAL resource that would be!


swalfoort
2009-09-01 14:57:04

that machine being in pittsburgh is unreasonably exciting to me


imakwik1
2009-09-01 15:00:32

that picture of the google-bike makes me happy.


argylepile
2009-09-01 15:06:22

no, it came in last fall, but arrived broken, so they didn't actually do it


erok
2009-09-01 16:02:45

Gotcha


rsprake
2009-09-01 16:29:38

gmap-pedometer.com just added openstreetmaps and auto routing too... very cool... the open street maps things is awesome


imakwik1
2009-10-09 16:32:42

I'd love to be the one who gets to ride from Pittsburgh to DC to put "trail-view" on google maps.


Too bad nobody knows when they will actually ride the trail to get images because how funny would it be to be on Gmaps somewhere taking a leak off the side of the trail, mooning them as they drive by, waving into the camera as you ride by, tokin a spliff on a bench in the background, fixing your flat tire, or whatever other creative things you could think of to do for them LOL


adam
2009-10-15 17:53:57

Like on Sampsonia Way.


alankhg
2009-10-15 20:49:13