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google maps fails to distinguish between dirt tracks & roads

ben-----ben----- Posts: 573
edited April 2014 in Commuting chat
On Google maps, therefore the map which Strava uses, there's a failure to distinguish between non-public dirt track roads (ones unsuitable for cycling on for trespassing and/or road surface reasons) and normal (small) roads. Except, when you click and drag the little orange bloke, in preparation for dropping him in order to see street view where you drop him, at that point when you're in mid drag, a nice clear bright blue set of lines are superimposed over the roads you can drive/cycle along and not the dirt track / non-public roads.

The blue lines are where there are street view photos available. Because that's where Google's camera car has gone. And that corresponds exactly to where you can drive/cycle. Why on earth don't Google make that info easier to get?; part of the standard map? It's bad design to have to drag the orange bloke just to get the info you're after. (Tip for Mac users at least: you can take a screen shot while in mid drag, therefore get the blue lines for printing for example, by pressing CMD + shift + 3.)

Does anyone know of a way to get Google maps to show the info I'm talking about in a better way maybe?

Posts

  • Kieran_BurnsKieran_Burns Posts: 10,052
    Well, Google maps got their van up here: http://youtu.be/16IgI6IF748, so we decided to try it out.

    Where's your sense of adventure man?
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
    2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
    2011 Trek Madone 4.5
    2012 Felt F65X
    Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
  • arran77arran77 Posts: 9,260
    I see what you're saying, you do have to take it steady when riding a dirt track but like KB says you gotta try these things.

    Just take a nice steady ride up one and see what you think.
    "Arran, you are like the Tony Benn of smut. You have never diluted your depravity and always stand by your beliefs. You have my respect sir and your wife my pity" :lol:

    seanoconn
  • martincroxallmartincroxall Posts: 558
    I've always wondered what the Google van was thinking when they covered the road KB is on about. It's about a mile from my house and is tricky enough running along it let alone cycling. Maybe they do some of the tracks for a dare?
    You hear that? He's up there... mewing in the nerve centre of his evil empire. A ground rent increase here, a tax dodge there? he sticks his leg in the air, laughs his cat laugh... and dives back down to grooming his balls!
  • ben-----ben----- Posts: 573
    I'm talking about no through roads. Eg this one, I came across, on the map looks like a through OK road. But it ain't (and the blue lines tally with the fact it ain't):
  • chedabobchedabob Posts: 1,133
    The blue lines have no legal basis, they just mean they have coverage there. My road is a perfectly normal road, but it doesn't have streetview coverage. The bridleways around me have no coverage, but it's perfectly legal to ride a bike on them.

    You can edit the map with Map Maker: https://www.google.co.uk/mapmaker , so you could flag the private roads and next time the map updates, Strava will route around them.
  • deadeyedjacksdeadeyedjacks Posts: 7
    Yep, definitely don't use Google Maps as the basis for any sort of route planning. It has no comprehension of public rights of way. Don't know the whys and wherefores as to why some tracks show on Google maps and others don't at all.

    Around my way there are Byways open to all traffic (in theory) but not shown on Google at all, wheres distinctly private farm tracks are...

    For route planning systems based on Open Street Maps tend to work better and find more appropriate routes for road bikes. i.e. CycleStreets. Still haven't found an ideal route planning website or app for cross country cycling which will follow bridleways, byways, public rights of ways.
  • Mikey23Mikey23 Posts: 5,028
    What little orange bloke?
  • wongataawongataa Posts: 898
    Mikey23 wrote:
    What little orange bloke?
    Pegman. The thing you drag onto the map to get streetview.
  • EKE_38BPMEKE_38BPM Posts: 5,980
    Joe Public can contact Google to have images of their property removed from Streetview which would result in no blue line for (at least a bit of) that road.
    If more people knew they could do this, I sure Streetview would have died a death.
    FCN 3: Raleigh Record Ace fixie-to be resurrected sometime in the future
    FCN 4: Planet X Schmaffenschmack 2- workhorse
    FCN 9: B Twin Vitamin - winter commuter/loan bike for trainees

    I'm hungry. I'm always hungry!
  • roger_merrimanroger_merriman Posts: 6,154
    Even the ordance survey isn't perfect when plotting routes you do need to check. Strava's routing is fairly useless to be fair almost any thing else is better!
  • rolf_frolf_f Posts: 15,969
    EKE_38BPM wrote:
    Joe Public can contact Google to have images of their property removed from Streetview which would result in no blue line for (at least a bit of) that road.

    It doesn't remove the blue line - you'd just get your property blurred out.
    Faster than a tent.......
  • KajjalKajjal Posts: 3,404
    Kieran_Burns wrote:
    Well, Google maps got their van up here: http://youtu.be/16IgI6IF748, so we decided to try it out.

    Where's your sense of adventure man?

    Looks decent enough for mountain biking :)
  • Kieran_BurnsKieran_Burns Posts: 10,052
    Kajjal wrote:
    Kieran_Burns wrote:
    Well, Google maps got their van up here: http://youtu.be/16IgI6IF748, so we decided to try it out.

    Where's your sense of adventure man?

    Looks decent enough for mountain biking :)

    It is. CX bikes on road slicks when it's been raining non stop for two weeks? Not so good.
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
    2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
    2011 Trek Madone 4.5
    2012 Felt F65X
    Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
  • EKE_38BPMEKE_38BPM Posts: 5,980
    Rolf F wrote:
    EKE_38BPM wrote:
    Joe Public can contact Google to have images of their property removed from Streetview which would result in no blue line for (at least a bit of) that road.

    It doesn't remove the blue line - you'd just get your property blurred out.
    Check out Lancaster Grove in Swiss Cottage or Belsize Grove or Adamson Road or Crossfield Road. All have stretches missing from Streetview. If I can find that many in such a small area in a couple of minutes, there must be loads.
    Have you got any examples of a blurred out property? Genuine question.
    FCN 3: Raleigh Record Ace fixie-to be resurrected sometime in the future
    FCN 4: Planet X Schmaffenschmack 2- workhorse
    FCN 9: B Twin Vitamin - winter commuter/loan bike for trainees

    I'm hungry. I'm always hungry!
  • markhewitt1978markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    Google maps sucks for cycle route planning since they changed the almost perfect colour scheme to one where all the roads look the same and you usually can't see minor roads at all!

    It's always worth double checking a route made using Strava with an OS map on http://maps.bing.com if the road is not white e.g. yellow etc then it's a public road with a sealed surface.
  • davisdavis Posts: 2,566
    Worth also having a look at OpenStreetMap. That map is user-editable, so it should only ever get even better.
    Sometimes parts break. Sometimes you crash. Sometimes it’s your fault.
  • roger_merrimanroger_merriman Posts: 6,154
    davis wrote:
    Worth also having a look at OpenStreetMap. That map is user-editable, so it should only ever get even better.

    Garmin can use them and since I MTB tends to be a better choice than google but its still a way off Ordance survey, it's main problem is unless its somewhere popular you can't be sure it has all of the smaller road, it's useful off road but does have the odd mythical trail that is no where to be seen on the ground, it has in fairness got a lot better, the last few years, so it's quite useable to follow most of the time.
  • davisdavis Posts: 2,566
    roger merriman wrote:
    davis wrote:
    Worth also having a look at OpenStreetMap. That map is user-editable, so it should only ever get even better.

    Garmin can use them and since I MTB tends to be a better choice than google but its still a way off Ordance survey, it's main problem is unless its somewhere popular you can't be sure it has all of the smaller road, it's useful off road but does have the odd mythical trail that is no where to be seen on the ground, it has in fairness got a lot better, the last few years, so it's quite useable to follow most of the time.

    Well, feel free to add stuff to improve it...

    (*runs away)
    Sometimes parts break. Sometimes you crash. Sometimes it’s your fault.
  • hangeronhangeron Posts: 127
    Postby Mikey23 » Sat Apr 12, 2014 9:38 pm

    What little orange bloke?

    Gavin Henson mun
  • rolf_frolf_f Posts: 15,969
    EKE_38BPM wrote:
    Rolf F wrote:
    EKE_38BPM wrote:
    Joe Public can contact Google to have images of their property removed from Streetview which would result in no blue line for (at least a bit of) that road.

    It doesn't remove the blue line - you'd just get your property blurred out.
    Check out Lancaster Grove in Swiss Cottage or Belsize Grove or Adamson Road or Crossfield Road. All have stretches missing from Streetview. If I can find that many in such a small area in a couple of minutes, there must be loads.
    Have you got any examples of a blurred out property? Genuine question.

    Just found one the other day in the centre of Copenhagen - building blurred but streetview otherwise untouched. I'm sure I have seen the odd property up here blurred out but the only actual stretches missing tend to be where the van looks like it couldn't be bothered and just left a bit.

    Perhaps it happens when people both sides of the road complain. I guess this is what comes of living in London - lots of moaning, paranoid whingers about!

    Obviously, the folk in your area have more influence. Sounds like you know the addresses of a few properties well worth burgling! :lol:
    Faster than a tent.......
  • veronese68veronese68 Posts: 23,240 Lives Here
    Rolf F wrote:
    EKE_38BPM wrote:
    Rolf F wrote:
    EKE_38BPM wrote:
    Joe Public can contact Google to have images of their property removed from Streetview which would result in no blue line for (at least a bit of) that road.

    It doesn't remove the blue line - you'd just get your property blurred out.
    Check out Lancaster Grove in Swiss Cottage or Belsize Grove or Adamson Road or Crossfield Road. All have stretches missing from Streetview. If I can find that many in such a small area in a couple of minutes, there must be loads.
    Have you got any examples of a blurred out property? Genuine question.

    Just found one the other day in the centre of Copenhagen - building blurred but streetview otherwise untouched. I'm sure I have seen the odd property up here blurred out but the only actual stretches missing tend to be where the van looks like it couldn't be bothered and just left a bit.

    Perhaps it happens when people both sides of the road complain. I guess this is what comes of living in London - lots of moaning, paranoid whingers about!

    Obviously, the folk in your area have more influence. Sounds like you know the addresses of a few properties well worth burgling! :lol:
    Try this bit, click as if to travel in the direction you're facing and you'll skip past the huge house behing the trees on the right. Come out of street view and look at the satellite image and you'll see how much is missed. The house does belong to a fairly rich and influential family you'll be amazed to hear.
    Kinesis Pro6
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