Brisbane Bikeways - Mapped by Google

http://ten.com.au/ten-news-brisbane.htm?movideo_m=209939

So the global multinational Google, BQ and Brisbane City Council have joined together to integrate cycling into google maps as can be seen in the above TV news report. For too long cycling has been left off many trip planning tools making it hard for many people to work out what to do when wishing to access an area they are unfamiliar with or to begin riding a bike to as a form of transport.

I have to say I welcome this as something to expose people to another transport option. The first thing I notice when using it is the colours. Bright green is an offroad bikeway, while a faded green is a onroad bikelane. These are very important but unfortunately you have to work this out for yourself as on the screen it does not show this. Next is the green dotted lines I think this is to represent BAZ (bicycle awareness zone) but again I can't see a description. Apart from that it is typical google maps with blue showing you a route.

I have to say I have had a play with it on routes I know I would use and wouldn't use. I have to say on face value it is not the worst I have seen. That said some of the suggested routes I would say are taking you on very busy roads to avoid an extra km or two on a dedicated path or over a steep hill instead around it. My favourite is being told I should ride on Sandgate Road if wishing to access Shorncliffe from Brisbane CBD. Sandgate Road is a heavy arterial road in Brisbane's North and while it does have a onroad bikelane I have to say it is not one I would want to use unless I really have to. Personally I always use the boondal Wetlands instead, it is safe and fast if not just a bit longer. A similar thing happened when I tried the CBD to UQ (university of Queensland) it sent me up Annerley Road instead of along the active transport arterial that is the Bicentennial Bikeway.

That all said the map is dynamic with you being able to pull points of the map over to where you would prefer to ride. In most cases this worked fine except on the Shorncliffe to CBD Route where it would just not give up on me having to use Sandgate Rd.

All in all it is welcome addition and something that I hope will encourage more people to ride as part of there everyday activities.

an additional Brisbane times story can be found here