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.

[boobirdsfly.livejournal.com]

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