Issue 4: Off-road bike paths should be marked as trails not displayed as on-road routes
Summary: Most off-road bike paths that run alongside roads are currently marked up as on-road cycling infrastructure - either incorrectly as Dedicated lanes or confusingly as Trails running within the roadway. This is primarily because Google currently instructs Map Maker editors to mark up parallel trails as on-road features. It's also quicker to do this than manually mark the precise GPS route.The issue is that Google Maps Cycling layer can then only display these routes (which are mostly much safer alternatives) on the roadway itself. Cyclists unfamiliar with the off-road path and precisely where to access it will often end up riding along the road expecting a safe cycling lane and finding only an unsafe road. And Google's Cycling Directions do not ever say exit the road here and join the trail on your left, they misleadingly indicate continuance along the roadway.
The solution is to invest the time to manually mark up all off-road bike paths consistently as Trails with the precise GPS route then being able to be displayed on Google Maps Cycling layer. Importantly, the access points (often only periodic or unobvious) should be clearly marked up too as many parallel trails are only accessible at specific points - once you ride past them you can't just hop on later from any point.
Details:
1. In Google Maps Cycling layer all off-road cycling routes should be consistently marked as Trails and positioned outside the roadway
The Google Maps Cycling layer and legend suggests that off-road cycling routes are called Trails, should be dark green, and the precise GPS-based track - which obviously isn't on the roadway - should be clear and accurate.
And for most off-road Trails this is the case. Cyclists are used to searching out for these dark green Trails as, if going in the desired direction, they are typically the safest and most comfortable cycling routes. They are also typically the routes that have been recommended for cyclists to use. Cyclists are used to seeing these Trails along waterways, in green spaces and in separated reserves alongside roads.
Google's own legend explanation clarifies that Trails don't have auto traffic while Dedicated lanes and Bicycle-friendly roads are on-road routes:
Bizarrely, Google Maps then provides contradictory guidance relating to off-road Trails that are parallel to roads and intended for bicycle use. Unless exception conditions apply these Trails are not to be precisely GPS-plotted as normal but only be indicated by adding the correct feature notation to the relevant road:
This incorrect marking up of cycling routes within the roadway leads to every cyclist unfamiliar with the parallel off-road cycling trail and where to access it being misled into using the roadway expecting it to be safe and recommended for cycling. It also results in a lot of inconsistent route marking with some Trails appearing as Dedicated lanes.
Below I use visual examples (videos and video screenshots) to demonstrate how inaccurate, confusing, unintuitive and dangerous this inconsistency in marking off-road Trails is.
2. Examples of where Google Maps Cycling layer marks up an adjacent off-road path correctly as a Trail
Marking up Trails accurately that are parallel to roads is almost always feasible and some instances in a city are done this way despite Google's official guidance. For example, below you can see the Trail parallel to Punt Rd is marked up accurately in its actual position and not within the roadway.
By marking up parallel Trails properly, there is no confusion for cyclists as to which side of the road the Trail is on, where to access it, where precisely it connects to, whether it is actually separated from traffic, and if one can use it in both directions.
Below you'll find various examples of how not marking up parallel Trails properly leads to all of these issues and adverse safety, comfort and convenience impacts on cyclists.
3. Many parallel off-road bike paths are incorrectly marked as on-road Dedicated lanes with the green line appearing within the roadway
Precisely because of Google's illogical guidance not to draw parallel Trails properly and represent them instead as on-road features, we end up with inconsistent markings that are dangerously misleading. One of the most common is for such off-road Trails to be represented as on-road Dedicated bike lanes.
Below you can see Dynon Rd is represented as having on-road Dedicated bike lanes instead of off-road Trails:
There are literally tens of thousands of such errors in Google Maps Cycling layer worldwide and neither existing QA processes or currently-managed crowdsourced editing is going to fix them. After all, this egregious Dynon Rd error has existed for years despite this cycling route being under continual scrutiny. Indeed, Dynon Rd was the feature example of this recent article on Melbourne cycling blackspots: Is fear of traffic putting too many people in Melbourne off cycling?
Yes, 98% of potential cyclists will never want to mix it in the same road space as trucks going 60-70km/hr. It certainly doesn't help when Google Maps incorrectly indicates you'll find Dedicated bike lane space on such roads.
4. Even when parallel Trails are marked up in dark green on the roadway exactly as Google prefers, this doesn't mean cyclists will understand where to find them
In the Dynon Rd example above, Google could argue that the misrepresentation is a fixable error and that most cyclists encountering such roads will seek out the off-road cycling path if a Trail has been indicated - even if represented on the roadway rather than where it actually resides.
However, there is little basis for this position. Cyclists experienced with the off-road path on the route aren't the ones relying on Google Maps in these instances, it is the cyclists who are unfamiliar with them. In Australian conditions, unfamiliar cyclists may rarely notice the off-road shared paths as these are often indistingushable from footpaths (no bikes permitted) until you are actually riding on them.
Below one can see that Wellington Parade - a busy street in the city centre with no dedicated on-road cycling space - has a very safe, parallel Trail on the park side. However, even if this was represented correctly in dark green as a Trail, placing it in the roadway instead of at the side of the road is pointless. Many cyclists looking out for the safe cycling space promised will consider it a footpath only and be stuck mixing it with traffic on-road.
Almost all bike Trails parallel to roads in Australia are actually shared paths (footpaths converted to allow bike access by simply adding painted symbols and signs). There are often not enough obvious indicators (like other cyclists ahead of you) as to which parallel paths permit cycling. In the below video there are no other cyclists to be seen. Those relying on Google Maps should be able to expect its cycling routes to accurately indicate when they can leave the roadway to take a parallel, safer off-road route.
5. Google's Cycling layer and Directions always fail to advise when to leave the roadway and get onto the off-road parallel Trail
Again, precisely because Google advises against properly marking parallel Trails, its Cycling layer and Directions are unable to provide accurate guidance as to how to access these off-road Trails.
In most countries such parallel Trails are only accessible at intersections or special access points not at any point along the road. Hence, if you miss the access point you are stuck on the road with no safe cycling space.
So even when these Trails are represented correctly in dark green (not lighter green Dedicated lanes) they are still located within the roadway and both the visual route and Google's Cycling Directions can only indicate to continue straight on the roadway.
But, as you can see for the Nicholson St "Segregated parallel lane/trail" marked below, once you miss the access point you are typically stuck on the roadway with a large kerb, other barrier or parked cars preventiing you joining it till the next intersection.
6. A principal goal of Cycling route maps must be to embed the most valuable, hard-to-discover info not just the obvious, simple stuff
One can try to defend Google Maps deficiencies on this issue by claiming that the location of these off-road Trails will become obvious after a few experiences with each road and so it's not that big a deal.
However, the biggest issue with many cycling routes are the occasional pain points. Cycling layer maps have the potential to be used to continually embed more and more value-add info.
Accurate GPS tracks of off-road Trails are a big value add. So too is discovering the existence and access to an unobvious, safer off-road section. Below you can see a perfect example on Mount Alexander Rd where the bike lane suddenly ends and throws the cyclist into 60km/hr traffic.
Google Maps Cycling layer incorrectly advises the on-road bike lane continues here and fails to indicate the off-road diversion onto the shared path. This is straightforward to correct and would help every new cyclist using this road.
7. Marking offroad Trails on the road obscures the presence or absence of actual onroad bike lanes or bicycle-friendly conditions
One of the biggest issues with marking offroad "parallel Trails" on the roadway is that this misplaced offroad infrastructure then obscures the presence or absence of Dedicated bike lanes or whether the road has been marked as Bicycle-friendly (recommended for cycling even without Dedicated lanes).
Below you can see that an offroad "parallel Trail" (actually an inaccessible, narrow shared footpath) obscures the disappearance of the Dedicated bike lanes on Gaffney St. This makes no sense as this offroad facility is useless for cyclists who are following this onroad route:
In areas where Dedicated lanes and offroad parallel Trails exist, the obscuring of the actual onroad facility also causes issues. Many cyclists will want to continue to ride efficient onroad bike lanes where they exist. Those seeking out offroad trails need to know where they actually are (clearly not in the middle of the road) and where the connecting entrances/exits are to the roadway.
8. Even if Google persists with representing parallel Trails as roadway features it can at least ensure it paints them on the correct side of the roadway rather than right down the middle
The miinimum improvement Google Maps can make to its representation of segregated parallel Trails is to stop incorrectly placing them in the middle of the roadway and to put them on the correct outer edge of the roadway. Currently, cyclists have no way of telling from Google Maps on which side of the roadway the safer, parallel Trail is, or figuring out where to ride to access it. Not being able to access a parallel Trail leads to cyclists often being stuck on the wrong side or ending up riding on dangerous roads.
For example, College Crescent is an extremely busy and unsafe road to cycle on but there is a safe, efficient parallel Trail on the northern side. Google paints the Trail right in the middle of the roadway as it doesn't capture data on which side it is. Consequently, any cyclist that misses the crosswalk enabling them to cross over this road to the correct side, is stuck with either cycling on the footpath or mixing it with heavy traffic.
Further Info:
Google Map Maker Help
> See traffic, transit, bicycling, and terrain on the map
> Trails and paths
Official Google Blog
> Biking directions added to Google Maps
Official Google Australia Blog
> Ride on! Cycling comes to Google Maps in Australia
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