<
In a post on the Google Earth and Maps team blog, the ubiquitous company revealed plans to add the long awaited “Bike There” option to their maps.
They say that by integrating this [new] information, and working with specialized data sources like the USDA Forest Service’s Forest Boundaries and the US Geological Survey’s National Hydrography Dataset, we’ve been able to expand and improve features in our maps like parks and water bodies.
Read more at www.Bike-PGH.org.
Interesting.. I recently discussed CycleStreets and other route finding websites which kind of a perform this role already. Of course having Google onboard is always good. Though a website such as walkit.com would for me be the most ideal. This website really takes the time to explain the best route.
About bloody time!
goo goo would do well to check this
http://www.cyclevancouver.ubc.ca/
which is the bad-ass effort put up by the Uni. kids in Vancouver that helps me get everywhere I go in that burg while on assignment for the next 3 months.
the features are awesome – allowing you to determine route based on criteria like elevation, shortest, least pollution, most greenery, etc.
Bravo! It’s been a long time coming…
For SF Riders this is already interfaced with google maps on the backend: http://amarpai.com/bikemap/bikemap.html
NY Riders: http://www.ridethecity.org/
I’m totes happy about this new feature from google, but while SF and NY riders wait, use those.
Cyclists in the Twin Cities also have a wonderful routing utility out there for this called Cyclopath: http://cyclopath.org
The major difference between Cyclopath and all the other route-finding maps out there is that it follows a wiki model. That is, the cyclists that use it can also edit the actual map itself to keep the rest of the community up-to-date on roads that have closed or have construction, trails that as blocked off, etc. It’s pretty nifty.
@allan
> The major difference between Cyclopath and all the other route-finding maps out there is that it follows a wiki model
That’s also true of http://www.CycleStreets.net (UK only though) as it is based on http://www.OpenStreetMap.org which is effectively a geo-wiki. CycleStreets imports the data every few days so that new infrastructure or map fixes will be reflected in routing quickly.
any new additives to maps are welcome.