Issue 13: Google Maps Cycling Directions should allow cyclists to avoid Stairs, Unpaved Trails and Highways
Summary: Google Maps Driving Directions allows motorists to tick Route options boxes to avoid Highways, Tolls and Ferries. However, its Cycling Directions only allows cyclists to avoid Ferries. It is much more useful for cyclists to be able to choose to avoid Stairs/Unbikeable sections, Unpaved Trails and Highways.Google Maps Cycling layer should also enable stairs and other unbikeable obstacles to be listed and represented with clear symbols. Google Maps Traffic layer already includes Driving-specific symbols for Closed Roads and Construction, so it is clear that such symbols can be integrated. But, currently, only motorists are being given this value-add information about routes.
Related Posts:
> Issue 11: Google Maps Cycling Directions should enable avoiding high speed roads
Details:
1. Motorists can already see important driving-related symbols in the Traffic layer. Google simply needs to extend the same service to cyclists in the Cycling layer.
Google Maps Traffic layer already includes useful symbols that are mode-specific. Examples are the Road Closed symbol and Construction Zone symbol you can see below:
Yet, such closed roads and construction zones are only a minor inconvenience to motorists compared to some of the obstacles cyclists commonly encounter when using Google Maps.
These include:
- Having to carry your bike up stairs (often multiple flights) or if your bike is too heavy (e.g. a cargo bike) backtracking and finding another way to go.
- Cycling path or route sections that are temporarily closed for maintenance or due to weather (flooding, snow, etc).
- Unpaved trails or surfaces that may be unbikeable for many cyclists.
- High speed roads that are too unsafe for many cyclists.
- Intersections that aren't feasible or safe for most cyclists to use.
2. Examples of value-add route symbols that would be easy to add to Google Maps Cycling layer
Unavoidable stairs on cycling routes are one of the biggest value-add use of symbols in Google Maps Cycling layer. The aim would not be to include every set of stairs a cyclist might encounter, but when adding cycling routes using Trails, Dedicated lanes or Bicycle-friendly roads to also add the existence of stairs or other major unbikeable obstacles.
Below you can see that in Google Maps current Cycling layer Arden St looks like a quieter, bicycle-friendly route to cross the railway line and river. In reality, there is a lengthy staircase which puts off all cyclists from using this as a regular route.
Arden St and Macaulay Rd east-west route alternatives
Currently, Google's Cycling Directions don't note any stairs or barriers and inaccurately state the typical travel time is 1 minute which is impossible when you need to carry your bike over three flights of stairs. Based on this oversight alone, it's easy to surmise that Google's current Cycling Direction time estimates do not factor in any such cycling obstacles (stairs, other barriers, unbikeable sections).
3. Google Maps Cycling Directions can readily be improved to offer useful Route option checkboxes for avoiding issues
This is what Google Maps Cycling Directions > Route options currently offers. There is only 1 Avoid option (Ferries) and it is irrelevant and useless for most cycling trips (if ferries are part of a cycling route then cyclists will generally want to take them).
A far more useful set of Avoid options are: Highways, Stairs and Unpaved Trails as below:
Firstly, it is trivial for Google Maps to make the Avoid Highways checkbox available in Cycling Directions as it is already available in Driving Directions. Even better for cyclists would be to enable them to enter a maximum road speed limit and filter out all roads that exceed that speed limit. This is such a major issue that I have explored it separately here: Issue 11: Google Maps Cycling Directions should enable avoiding high speed roads
Adding the ability to avoid Stairs would simply mean consistently adding all known Stairs on existing cycling routes in the Cycling layer. This is not a particularly burdensome task. I could do it myself for the entirety of Melbourne within a week.
Avoiding Unpaved Trails should also be trivial for Google to include in its Cycling Directions Route options > Avoid section. Its Cycling layer already distinguishes between Trails (paved) and Dirt/unpaved trails with brown lines used instead.
Currently, the Cycling Directions do not appear to make any distinction between Paved and Dirt/unpaved Trails and provide routes that combine both - which gratuitously assumes that the Dirt/unpaved trails being used are bikeable by most bikes and cyclists. Recently, I cycled the Federation Trail and observed no cyclists continuing on via the Dirt/unpaved section. I tried the start of the unpaved section but considered it too rough and slow to be a useful route unless using wide, low-pressure tyres.
4. Google Maps Cycling layer and directions should enable avoiding ALL surfaces that are likely to be too rough or undesirable to be cycled along by on-road cyclists
The Dirt/unpaved trail classification is a useful start but there are other surfaces that are unsuited and undesirable for most cyclists - a common example being cobblestones. This is a paved surface, but is not suitable or comfortable for most on-road cyclists except where unavoidable and for short sections.
It is not uncommon to find cobblestone road sections marked up as Bicycle-friendly roads by local government or Map Maker contributors who simply don't understand the importance of road surface type and quality (likely because they aren't transport cyclists themselves). Below you can see the cobblestone section of Yarana Rd is marked as a Bicycle-friendly road when it is completely unsuited for cycling unless you have an off-road bike.
Further Info:
Design of Signage
> Graphic Symbols
Bicycle Network
> East: Yarra Trail at Chandler Highway
Open Street Map Wiki
> Key:surface
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