google maps -- for bikes?

[trochee]

_dkg_, currently of NYC and formerly of the Bay Area and Atlanta, raises a good point, which I am bugging him to put in his journal. In the mean time, I repost here:

the problem with Google Maps: their route planning is specifically geared towards the automobile driver.

spurred by a recent thread on metafilter, i just wrote them the following note via their comments form ("send feedback" from http://maps.google.com/).

Good work on maps.google.com!

But why should the routing and timing information be centered around
cars?  Good route planning focussed on bicycle use would be incredibly
useful.

Some differences:

0) avoid highways and other thoroughfares off-limits to bicycles.

1) minimize hill-climbing

2) Prefer streets with separate bike paths or lanes

3) Modify the reported timing to account for the generally slower pace
   of bikes (or faster pace in rush-hour gridlock!)

4) Mark local bike repair/gear shops

Some groups who might be willing to collaborate with you are: 

A national advocacy group: 
  http://www.americabikes.org/ 

NYC bike advocacy: 
  http://www.transalt.org/
  http://www.times-up.org/

San Francisco bike advocacy:
  http://www.sfbike.org/

Also check this recent thread on AskMe for many good links.

Regards,

   --D K G

If lots of folks did something like this, maybe they'd listen?

peace,

  --_dkg_

Hey evan et al, take note! an[other] opening for Google to establish itself as a company that Isn't Evil.

Comments

[evan.livejournal.com]

though i don't work on maps so i don't know the plans, i do know a bunch of people have been asking about this.

my ten-second impression is that it'd be tricky to route-plan with these features because the cost function isn't immediately apparent: is 1 mile on a 15% grade better than 1.5 miles on a 10% grade? is 2 miles on a bike-laned street better than 1 mile on a sidewalk-only street? etc. etc.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_dkg_/]

i'm glad to hear that it's being asked about a lot, evan!

cost functions aren't terribly clear for cars either, right? is 45-minute route better than a 55-minute route, even if it's on toll roads? Is a 2-mile short-cut through streets that are occasionally traffic-clogged better than a 4-mile route that is always uncongested? Somehow, these tradeoffs are being made already. Do you know how the cost functions are weighted for google maps?

Sites like hopstop (NYC) and 511 transit (SF bay area) allow you to optimize/recast an alt-transit search with different weights for the cost function. While their interfaces are clunkier than google maps, i'm sure that can be finessed somehow.

Is there a way to stay on top of google about this?

[evan.livejournal.com]

your best bet is the google blog: http://www.google.com/googleblog/ .

[boobirdsfly.livejournal.com]

Well.. from a scooter girl point of view, i do think the no highway feature is very important. :)