SRTC Transportation Blog: A Smorgasbord Of Bike Happenings

SRTC Transportation Blog: A Smorgasbord Of Bike Happenings: "A Smorgasbord Of Bike Happenings"

posting from the cli

This was posted from the command line of a Ubuntu Linux Virtual Machine that has been saved to a portable hard drive that can fit in my pocket. Awesome.

Google Bike Maps!

This is terrific news! Google has introduced bicycling as a choice when selecting your means of transportation when looking up directions on Google Maps. The map will then show bike lanes, trails, and suggests routes that are not as steep or generally more bike friendly. The video from Google explains that, when selecting the bicycling view, "Dark green lines represent bike trails with no motor vehicles, light green lines show streets with bike lanes, and dashed green lines show other streets recommended for cyclists."

Lucky, there is the option of providing feedback to Google if you find that the suggested routes are incorrect. For example, when looking up directions from my house near Northtown Mall to The Elk Public House in Brown's Addition, Google Maps suggested that I take Division (no thank you) but did also give me the choice of taking Post. Personally, I wouldn't recommend either over my Perry to Mission Park/Centennial Trail route but I suppose it will take some of Spokanes' many riders to fine tune the routes in this area. It's still a great start!



For more information, check out:

http://maps.google.com/biking
http://googlemapsbikethere.org/