Bicycle Direcetions Added to Google Maps
SMS
I tried it for a route I normally use, and it didn't work properly, not
knowing about the bicycle bridge over 280 on Mary Avenue in Cupertino.
Kristian M Zoerhoff
It's beta, and it's got a lot of holes. I messed around with routes in and
out of Chicago this morning, and it kept wanting to route through alleys
rahter than streets, among other foibles. Bicycle infrastructure often isn't
well captured by the major mapping sources, so it will take time for Google
to assimilate this sort of info, as it will have to pore through a lot of
local GIS data to get it all.
--
Kristian Zoerhoff
kristian...@gmail.com
landotter
wrote:
> On 2010-03-10, SMS <scharf.ste...@geemail.com> wrote:
>
> > "http://www.pcworld.com/article/191152/bike_directions_added_to_google..."
>
> > I tried it for a route I normally use, and it didn't work properly, not
> > knowing about the bicycle bridge over 280 on Mary Avenue in Cupertino.
>
> It's beta, and it's got a lot of holes. I messed around with routes in and
> out of Chicago this morning, and it kept wanting to route through alleys
> rahter than streets, among other foibles. Bicycle infrastructure often isn't
> well captured by the major mapping sources, so it will take time for Google
> to assimilate this sort of info, as it will have to pore through a lot of
> local GIS data to get it all.
>
> --
>
> Kristian Zoerhoff
Works fine here, routing bikes onto a wetlands path and over a ped-
bike bridge to get to a suburban shopping center:
Ben Pfaff
> I tried it for a route I normally use, and it didn't work properly,
> not knowing about the bicycle bridge over 280 on Mary Avenue in
> Cupertino.
I tried it for my route to work, from Redwood City to Palo Alto.
Its first-choice route was close to the route that I usually
take, including use of two bicycle/pedestrian-only bridges. One
of its alternate routes was also similar to a route that I
occasionally take as an alternative. Seems pretty good to me!
--
Ben Pfaff
http://benpfaff.org
N8N
> "http://www.pcworld.com/article/191152/bike_directions_added_to_google..."
>
> knowing about the bicycle bridge over 280 on Mary Avenue in Cupertino.
Looks like they finally have discontinued support for IE6 as I heard
this on the radio this AM and tried it from work, and it did not load
the directions. I'll have to wait until I get home and have a real
browser to play with... (don't ask me why we are still using IE6, I
think it has to do with some web-based intranet apps that haven't been
updated in years)
nate
Dan O
I tried it for mine - across rural farmland, small towns, and into the
city. While it used an entirely different bridge about ten miles from
where I usually cross the river, the route was remarkably good to the
city. Across the city, though, it generated a truly horrific route.
But hey, it's just a computer.
It's good to see anyway; shows some inertia in the right direction.
Kristian M Zoerhoff
That's our problem; I think Siebel is used by the sales guys, and won't run
in anything else. Luckily, I'm not in sales, so I run Chrome :-)
--
Kristian Zoerhoff
kristian...@gmail.com
Martin Riddle
"landotter" <land...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:9222fd43-3ee8-450e...@k17g2000yqb.googlegroups.com...
Same here
(mind the wrap)
But it did pick a busy cross road between bike paths.
Cheers
Nate Nagel
Finally got home and tried it on Firefox; it works - after a fashion.
I tried to map from my house to work and it actually took me exactly
what I figured was the best way to go, including the W&OD trail, but it
also told me that it was only 20.something miles, which doesn't seem
right - it's 25 miles driving almost the same route per my car's
odometer. I'll have to check against my GPS tomorrow if I remember (it
has a trip function) and also maybe recalibrate my bike computer (but on
two different bikes?) Of course, I've never actually biked that exact
route... maybe I should map another route that I know is comfortable and
then ride it and check that way.
Unfortunately, what I was hoping for, which was a shortcut/trail that
would keep me off of nassssty shoulderless roads apparently does not
exist, or if it does, neither I nor the Big G are aware of it.
nate
--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel
Dan O
> On 03/10/2010 07:08 PM, Martin Riddle wrote:
>
>
>
>
> > But it did pick a busy cross road between bike paths.
>
> > Cheers
>
> Finally got home and tried it on Firefox; it works - after a fashion.
>
> I tried to map from my house to work and it actually took me exactly
> what I figured was the best way to go, including the W&OD trail, but it
> also told me that it was only 20.something miles, which doesn't seem
> right - it's 25 miles driving almost the same route per my car's
> odometer. I'll have to check against my GPS tomorrow if I remember (it
> has a trip function) and also maybe recalibrate my bike computer (but on
> two different bikes?) Of course, I've never actually biked that exact
> route... maybe I should map another route that I know is comfortable and
> then ride it and check that way.
>
> Unfortunately, what I was hoping for, which was a shortcut/trail that
> would keep me off of nassssty shoulderless roads apparently does not
> exist, or if it does, neither I nor the Big G are aware of it.
>
How about (OTTOMH WAG) Van Buren -> Alabama -> Eldin -> ... etc.?
N8N
you mean Eldon St. aka 606? that's what I was trying to avoid, it
turns into a POS once you get west of Herndon.
Looking at the aerial view it looks like if I can cut between a couple
parking lots however I might be able to avoid most of it. requires
more research.
nate
Mike Rocket J Squirrel
Tried it here for a route to get across town. It did good, except that it
suggested an unpaved road following an irrigation canal which is a good
choice for a fat tire bike but not so good for a road bike. Still and all,
the computer had several ways to get me across the river and up the other
side and it chose the route I use: following the same route as the
railroad. Trains need gentle grades as they don't climb so good. Neither
do I. I wonder if the system takes grade into account.
--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel"
Bend, Oregon
Dan O
Yeah, it was just a WAG, though. The Google satellite images can be
good for a little advance reconnaissance, but you can't tell if it's
feasible until you scope it out on the ground. (Also as you know we
don't know *exactly* where you're going yet ;-)
And yeah, you've got to be willing to get creative. Bicycles aren't
(anything like) cars. I feel sorry for people who try to pretend they
are. (But, okay for them if that's what floats their boat.) I cut
through part of a McDonalds Drive Thru (both directions :-) almost
every day. I've got an Eldin St, too - it's gravel and pocked with
gigantic crater potholes, but an excellent and very direct cut-through
with *no* traffic (sometimes you have to watch out for a cat laying in
the road, though). (Besides, nothing but straight lines and smooth
roads would probably get just as boring as no wind or hills :-). It
takes some exploration, but I have multiple alternatives for every
part of my commute. Sometimes I'll come to a red light or some other
such hassle, take off on a tangent, and then just freelance (*then*
you've really got to be prepared to pull some sh*t if you get into
it).
I'm sorry (maybe... sort of, in a way, I guess) if this offends the
vehicular cyclists and the faithful upholders of the official rules of
Parcheesi, but I grew up riding a bike over, under, around, and
through anything and everything. It's a kick. Leaving the cagers
sitting in traffic as I take full advantage of what I can do on the
bike and fly away is one awesomely satisfying payoff for all the work
and sucking up abuse. They hate it, of course, and it feeds their
animosity. Sorry (see above). Too bad. Sucks to be them. I don't
know if I'd keep riding if I had to go around as if driving a car all
the time.
Frank Krygowski
I tried my commute to work. It found the most significant little-
known road that's so nice for most of the trip. But it didn't know
about the very handy bike path shortcut, and it chose a slightly
longer and much higher traffic route for about half the trip, rather
than the much quieter route that's my default ride home.
Admittedly, I use a lot of their route on my way in, mostly for
variety. But I think most people would prefer the quieter one.
I'm sure it will get better in time.
- Frank Krygowski
Peter Cole
> I don't
> know if I'd keep riding if I had to go around as if driving a car all
> the time.
Just about sums it up. In cities and towns built up before the car, the
roads were originally spacious enough, then motor traffic clogged them,
and since then gridlock has been the way of life. I have no desire to
participate in the gridlock as some kind of mutual masochism. I don't
want the "same rules", I want better ones. Ideally, I'd like my own
lane, too, heavily policed to keep motorized trespassers out, and my own
traffic signals -- optimized for my pace. Pay for it all with gas taxes,
parking and congestion fees, and call it a day.
Tim McNamara
Peter Cole <peter...@verizon.net> wrote:
Pay for it?!?!?!? You socialist! This is America where we expect to
get everything for nothing. That's FREEdom!
--
Faith is believing what you know ain't so.
-Mark Twain
Peter Cole
Well, most things aren't a matter of *whether* you pay for it, just *how*.
Like many other states, MA has a budget crisis. One of the things they
did to "save money" was shut down 1/3 of the DMV offices. Wait times
went from 15 min to 2 hrs. It's still a tax, they're just taxing you in
time, rather than money. Given the soul-sucking DMV experience, it's a
much worse tax.
Tim McNamara
Peter Cole <peter...@verizon.net> wrote:
Yes, budget "crisis" here too (we had a budget surplus in the form of a
rainy day fund, but the conservatives destroyed that). Our functional
tax increases have come in the form of more potholes, increasing "fees"
from x2 to x10, fewer police officers, drastically slashed social
services, spiraling state university tuition, and much increased sucking
at Washington's teats by our "conservative" governor.
Our Republican representatives' new pledges to not take earmarks is just
going to strap the poor governor all the more since now he'll have to
figure out how to pay for those infrastructure projects (like crumbling
bridges, which he'll probably manage every bit as well as the last one).
(PeteCresswell)
>"http://www.pcworld.com/article/191152/bike_directions_added_to_google_maps.html"
>
>I tried it for a route I normally use, and it didn't work properly, not
>knowing about the bicycle bridge over 280 on Mary Avenue in Cupertino.
Ditto my route to work. Not even close: Missed much of the
route through Valley Forge Historic Park, ignored a bike path
over Betzwood bridge, and chose a more-or-less suicidal road (no
shoulder, cars careening down blind turns at 15-20 mph over the
speed limit...).
viz: http://tinyurl.com/yf65qo6
Seems like in a lot of cases there are going to be
shortcuts/connecting routes that are 100% doable on a bicycle,
but which will never be documented in the infrastructure
databases that GoogleMaps is working from because they are not
officially designated as "roads" or "bicycle paths".
--
PeteCresswell
Doug Faunt N6TQS +1-510-655-8604
They just replied to one of my suggestions, saying "you're right, I'll
let you know when it's in the database". It's a street that closed to
cars, but bikes are allowed through.
OTOH, another of their routes was definitely sub-optimal. By the time
I dragged it into submission, it was the same length, but without
multi-lane roads and high overpasses. I have to figure out how to
tell them about that, though.
73, doug