While we're on the subject of walking, this week Google launched a version of Google maps for pedestrians. If you ask for directions to a spot less than 6.2 miles away, Google will now give you the option to select directions for going either by car or walking.
When I tried it, Google gave me a shorter route for walking to the University of Minnesota from my house than for driving, but certainly not a more pleasant one, sending me down a very busy street instead of along the river (which is about a half-mile longer). It looks like even when less-trafficked routes are equally direct, it picks a major street. But at least it won't send you on the freeway.
Meanwhile, here's a Google-maps-based cycling map created for the Vancouver, B.C. area. You can choose whether or not you want to include major streets in your route, and you can select whether you want to take the path with the least elevation gain, the most vegetation, the shortest distance, the least traffic pollution, or if you want to require that your route have no spots along the way that are steeper than a slope of your choice. Once it marks your way, the path is color coded to indicate the hilly parts.
In addition to telling you how far the route is and how long it's likely to take you, the site tells you the amount of greenhouse gases you avoided by biking instead of driving, the mean nitrogen oxide concentration along the route, and how many calories you burned. I want one for the Twin Cities.
There's a push for more tools like this. Here's an AP story with some more info on efforts in other places.
(Image: From Cycle Vancouver)
Hi Jessica, thanks for the link to that AP story -- hadn't seen that before and very interesting to learn about similar initiatives in other places. cheers!
Posted by: Christie Hurrell | August 01, 2008 at 01:53 PM