Comments on: Online maps update

By: Father Geoff

Father Geoff — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:41:31 +0000

I have been using bike metro
http://www.bikemetro.com/route/route.asp
It shows the bike paths and then has a plot of elevation climb.
I would still like to go to a map and select key points so I can use my own “safer” route.

By: Nicolas Marchildon

Nicolas Marchildon — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:31:51 +0000

OpenStreetMap is a free editable map of the whole world. It is made by people like you and me.

It allows you to view, edit and use geographical data in a collaborative way from anywhere on Earth.

If you know of a bike path in your area, you can draw it on the map and submit your changes. The project is still young, so there aren’t many cities fully mapped, but it’s getting there.

I think it has a bright future, especially with requirements not currently met by the existing commercial map routing offers.

http://openstreetmap.org/

By: MikeOnBike

MikeOnBike — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:10:30 +0000

Paul in Minneapolis Says: “I bet the auto industry spends more to suppress bicycles.”

Bicycling Magazine would go out of business if all the car advertisements vanished.

What sort of suppression did you have in mind?

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:02:06 +0000

http://www.cyclevancouver.ubc.ca/

Here’s a site that finds bike routes by mashing together Google Maps and a database of local designated bike routes. It also allows you to select a route based on maximum slope, pollution, green space, and a few others. It’s only for Vancouver, BC, though.

By: Paul in Minneapolis

Paul in Minneapolis — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:43:21 +0000

It would seem that the six billon dollars spent on bicycles in the U.S. would show that the potintial for profits in city maps would be clear. But then again, I bet the auto indistry spends more to surpress bicycles.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:22:44 +0000

http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/gbr/tpl/hme/MaHomePage.htm

site didn’t make it on the first post…

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:22:19 +0000

Check out this site:

Click on options at the bottom of the page and you can toggle the “bike” option.

By: Rob E.

Rob E. — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:44:41 +0000

I don’t know if the other mapping services have this feature or not, but a feature I love on Google Maps is the ability to drag your route around. With “Avoid highways” checked, I drag my route over to roads that I know are better for cycling and let Google adjust the remaining portions for sections I’m not sure about.

By: matthew booth

matthew booth — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:13:19 +0000

I used Google Maps “avoid highways” feature to route my current commute. Although it’s accurate it takes me through steep hilly areas that are hard to avoid.

The best way is to map several different routes and drive them or try biking on a free weekend.

I think the development costs would have to be justified by statistics on how many people would use the feature. Sure it would be awesome for us, but I doubt Google has charity to bike commuters high on their list…

By: Rob E.

Rob E. — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:11:17 +0000

It’s probably worth mentioning that Google Maps also has an “Avoid highways” button.