Eugene bike routes on new Google Maps
EUGENE, Ore. – Want to ride your bike across town, but don’t know the bike paths well? Now you can pop open Google Maps and plan your bike route online.
Wednesday Google added bike lanes and paths to their online mapping program.
The bike directions are available in the Eugene/Springfield area, plus more than 150 other American cities.
KVAL News gave the program a test ride by asking Google to map a biking route from 18th and Chambers to 13th and Agate in Eugene.
For much of the trip, the route avoided roads, instead taking bikers down the Fern Ridge Path. When the route did have to go on roads, it stuck to streets with bike lanes or those designated as bike-friendly routes. The trip then went through the University of Oregon campus, instead of following streets.
Google has been working on the bike service for six months. It finds more than just bike paths, it also maps routes that avoid hills and congested streets.
A blogger on the Web site webikeeugene.org raved about the new feature in a post Wednesday.
“This is really exciting news and will be an amazing asset for people who are new to bike commuting or even for experienced riders maybe venturing to a new part of town for the first time!” the blogger wrote.
On the Web: maps.google.com/biking
The Associated Press contributed to this report
