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Driving or Walking from the streets of Santa Monica to the Beach
Yesterday, Google introduced a new Google Maps feature: directions when on foot. "Starting today, you can tell Google Maps that you want walking directions, and we'll try to find you a route that's direct, flat, and uses pedestrian pathways when we know about them," explained Andy Schwerin, Software Engineer, on Google's blog dedicated to maps. "Just get directions as you normally would. If you're going 10 km or less (some call this 6.2 miles), we'll show you a link that you can click to get 'Walking' directions."
This feature is especially helpful when in places like Downtown where driving directions will take you down one-way street routes. However, as Schwerin noted, they don't always know about pedestrian only paths. "There are still a lot of pedestrian pathways we don't know about, and they might save you some time if you find them. We're working on collecting new data on pedestrian pathways and on more effective ways to solicit your feedback," he wrote.
A quick check around the Los Angeles area and we found that yes, indeed, many well known pedestrian paths are still not mapped for directions (the above map of the pedestrian bridge in Santa Monica does work, however). When near the Baxter Street Stairs in Echo Park, the Fourth Street Steps in Santa Monica or the Hollywoodland Staircases (see a detailed map and LAist report here on them), Google has not registered those in their new walking directions yet.
Driving or Walking from Central Library to Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles
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nobody walks in la
finally!
fuckin a this is great thnk g-d
now if only metro would hurry up and get their shit together with google maps
good catch, Zach. No respect for the many staircases of LA... where's the love, Google?
does it teach you how to walk? i haven't done it in a while so i forgot...
I would love to see this expanded to include a bike system as well. So streets with bike infrastructure are always preferred, bike only pathways are available for routes, and left turns on multilane roads are avoided when possible. It wouldn't be perfect, and cyclists often disagree on the best streets to bike on when infrastructure is not present, but it would be a step in the right direction, especially for the uninitiated.
This is great news, and I'm glad google is expanding options for transit alternatives. I'm waiting for the day when every bus and train is displayed on google maps.
I would love to see it expanded to include public transit. That way it could tell you where to pick up a bus/train that's going where you want to go, explain transfers as necessary, and then how to walk the rest of the way.
I think it's great news too. Despite of the fact that bike lanes and public transit should be mapped out anyways (as they are for some European cities), I would love to see hiking trails too; I always was missing them. Wouldn't it be great to plan a hike with Google maps ?