Google told us last month that they were working on bike directions, but they didn\u2019t make a big deal out of telling us how to help. Well, I could be mistaken, but it looks like the offer to \u2018partner\u2019 on bike directions (and all sorts of \u2018mappy\u2019 features) is just sitting there, waiting for folks to get to it.<\/p>\n
If you speak \u2018nerd\u2019, or know someone who does, then the rest of this could apply to you. There are some high-level FAQs<\/a> about data formats, and a link to a form to fill-out<\/a> if you have some data and you want to partner with Google to get your data integrated into Google Maps. The data we most care about here, of course, is bike-related data \u2014 bike lanes, routes, paths, etc.<\/p>\n Who has bike data? Well, cities and bicycle coalitions, probably \u2014 and\/or the folks who hold the copyrights on maps\/data, if they are copyrighted. [Of course you know how we feel about this type of data — it should be free free free.]<\/p>\n If you are a planner\/GIS-type person in the Bicycle division of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency<\/a>, then maybe you can help Google get us some bike directions \u2014 just fill out the form and see what happens. Could the good folks of our local bike coalition<\/a> (the folks who put out the bike map) possibly work with Google to get this done? Got me \u2014 there\u2019s one way to find out. [SFBC is up to 11,000+ members, now.]<\/p>\n Whatever city or town you live in, do your best to convince someone \u2014 I\u2019d start with your local walk\/bike\/transit advocacy organization, if you have one \u2014 to contact the city\/town\/municipal government and ask them to follow up on this.<\/p>\n What does bike data look like? A lot of it is over my head, but we can look at Google\u2019s \u201cComplete Map Content Specifications<\/a>\u201c. There are lots of details, of course, but the human-understandable parts are very cool. If you\u2019ve wondered what the GTFS format<\/a> for bikes was going to be, we may have our first draft.<\/p>\n Can the data format handle wide curbs vs. bike lanes vs. one-ways vs. two-ways vs. high-speed arterials vs. bike boulevards vs. contraflow lanes vs. buffered bike lanes? I\u2019m not sure, but it looks like it\u2019s pretty flexible and can handle most if not all of the crazy configurations and complexities that occur in road networks.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Google is presently accepted two specific types of network data: new roads, and bicycle and pedestrian paths.<\/p>\n The following fields are useful for roads and bike and pedestrian paths. Fields marked as \u201coptional for BP\u201d are not necessary for bike and pedestrian paths:<\/p>\n We are happy to accept turn restrictions as freeform text to make it easier for people to submit data as turn restriction formats can be very complicated. We can accept turn restrictions in any format. However, to assist, here is a model format that would typically be delivered as a CSV file or a DBF file:<\/p>\n Special thanks to The Tri-State Transportation Campaign<\/a> (TSTC) (wiki, who <\/a>just blogged about our petition<\/a> (thanks, y\u2019all!), and in doing so, they implored us to assist Google<\/a> if our help was requested. The TSTC is sort of a group of transportation\/environmental\/sustainability superheroes and their respective organizations from the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut areas (the \u2018Tri-State Area\u2019). They work on all the sorts of things we care about<\/a>, and it seems like lots of important people have worked with them or for them at one point or another. [Janette Sadik-Khan<\/a> was on their Board of Directors.] It was their blog post that made me re-examine Google\u2019s Data Format\/Submission site.<\/p>\n oldId.20091129222639735<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Google told us last month that they were working on bike directions, but they didn\u2019t make a big deal out of telling us how to help. Well, I could be mistaken, but it looks like the offer to \u2018partner\u2019 on bike directions (and all sorts of \u2018mappy\u2019 features) is just sitting there, waiting for folks … <\/p>\n\n
New roads and bicycle and pedestrian paths<\/h5>\n
\n
\n\n
\n Field<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n Description<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n Example values<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n ID<\/span><\/td>\n A unique and stable identifier for the road segment<\/span><\/td>\n Any alphanumeric string (e.g. \u201c14232514\u2033)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n AR_RT_FR (optional for BP)<\/span><\/td>\n Starting address on right hand side, relative to geometry<\/span><\/td>\n 42<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n AR_RT_TO (optional for BP)<\/span><\/td>\n Ending address on right hand side, relative to geometry<\/span><\/td>\n 58<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n AR_LT_FR (optional for BP)<\/span><\/td>\n Starting address on left hand side, relative to geometry<\/span><\/td>\n 41<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n AR_LT_TO (optional for BP)<\/span><\/td>\n Ending address on left hand side, relative to geometry<\/span><\/td>\n 57<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n ST_NAME<\/span><\/td>\n Street Name and Type (the words <\/span>Street<\/span><\/em>, <\/span>Avenue, <\/span><\/em>etc., can be abbreviated)<\/span><\/td>\n Powell St<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n ST_NM_A1 (optional)<\/span><\/td>\n Alternative Name 1<\/span><\/td>\n U.S. 101<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n ST_NM_A2 (optional)<\/span><\/td>\n Alternative Name 2<\/span><\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n NEIGHBH (optional)<\/span><\/td>\n Neighborhood Name <\/span><\/td>\n Union Square<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n CITY<\/span><\/td>\n City Name<\/span><\/td>\n San Francisco<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n STATE<\/span><\/td>\n State (Two Letter Abbreviation)<\/span><\/td>\n CA<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n ZIP (optional for BP)<\/span><\/td>\n 5-digit zip code<\/span><\/td>\n 94108 <\/span><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n CNT_NAME (optional)<\/span><\/td>\n County Name<\/span><\/td>\n San Francisco<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n CNT_FIPS (optional)<\/span><\/td>\n County code (see here<\/a> and here<\/a>.)<\/span><\/td>\n 06075<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n ONEWAY (optional for BP)<\/span><\/td>\n One-wayness \u2013 relative to the direction of geometry<\/span><\/td>\n \u201cNone\u201d, \u201cTo-From\u201d, and \u201cFrom-To\u201d<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n PRIORITY (optional for BP)<\/span><\/td>\n We would consider the following levels: interstate, federal\/state highway, expressway, minor arterial, local, not intended for public traffic.<\/span><\/td>\n minor arterial<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n LANES (optional)<\/span><\/td>\n Number of lanes<\/span><\/td>\n 2<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n SURFACE (optional)<\/span><\/td>\n Road Surface<\/span><\/td>\n Paved or Unpaved<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n SPEED_LM (optional)<\/span><\/td>\n Speed limit in MPH<\/span><\/td>\n 55<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n AVG_SP (optional)<\/span><\/td>\n Average Speed<\/span><\/td>\n 25 <\/span><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n CAR (optional)<\/span><\/td>\n Cars are allowed on this segment?<\/span><\/td>\n Allowed, Small vehicles only (mopeds etc), None, Disallowed<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n PEDEST (optional)<\/span><\/td>\n Whether the segment allows bikes, and if so, what type it is<\/span><\/td>\n One of: Trail, Walkway, Mall, Sidewalk, Wide Shoulder, None, Disallowed<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n BIKE (optional)<\/span><\/td>\n Whether the segment allows bikes, and if so, what type it is<\/span><\/td>\n One of: Trail, Bike Lane, Wide Shoulder, Recommended, None, Disallowed<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n SEPARATED (optional)<\/span><\/td>\n Whether the road is separated by a barrier in the middle
\n<\/span><\/td>\nY\/N<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n TURN_R (optional)<\/span><\/td>\n Turn Restrictions (or see below for exact format)<\/span><\/td>\n Freeform text<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n ELEVATION (optional)<\/span><\/td>\n If the road is elevated, or a bridge or a tunnel
\n<\/span><\/td>\nOne of: bridge, tunnel, overpass, underpass<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \n\n
\n Field<\/td>\n Description<\/td>\n Example<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n FROM_ID<\/td>\n The ID (see the id column above of a road segment) of the segment where the turn restriction starts<\/td>\n 14232514<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n FROM_END<\/td>\n The end of the segment the turn restriction applies to relative to its geometry.<\/td>\n Either \u201cFROM\u201d or \u201cTO\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n TO_ID<\/td>\n The ID (see the id column of a road segment) of the segment where the turn restriction ends<\/td>\n 14232599<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n TO_END<\/td>\n The end of the segment the turn restriction applies to relative to its geometry<\/td>\n Either \u201cFROM\u201d or \u201cTO\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n MODE<\/td>\n The mode of transportation the limitation applies to.<\/td>\n Either \u201cALL\u201d, \u201cPEDESTRIAN\u201d, \u201cCAR\u201d, \u201cTRUCK\u201d, \u201cBUS\u201d or \u201cNON-HOV\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n START_TM<\/td>\n The start time of the turn restriction, in 24 hour notation. Leave this and END_TM blank for permanent restriction<\/td>\n 06:00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n END_TM<\/td>\n The end time of the turn restriction, in 24 hour notation. Leave this and START_TM blank for permanent restriction<\/td>\n 10:00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n TYPE<\/td>\n Type of turn restriction<\/td>\n Either \u201cNO LEFT TURN\u201d, \u201cNO RIGHT TURN\u201d or \u201cNO U-TURN\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/blockquote>\n