Finally, Mapquest for Cyclists

And when no one uses mapquest anymore.

I got a couple of emails for Ride the City DC which is going through some testing right now, with plans to launch soon very soon. They're looking for comments

Ride the City needs some local feedback for how the website is working and is looking for D.C. area bike riders to test some routes you like to bike and offer some comments about where there can be improvements.   To make these comments from the website, after you've tried a route, then you can go to "Route Options" on the upper right and choose  'rate the route' which is the best way to offer your feedback.

I've put a few routes in and it doesn't do exactly what I do, but it is a very nice start. This is something cyclists have been clamoring for, yes clamoring, for at least a decade. Exciting stuff. What will people on bicycle message boards talk about now that they won't have to give directions?

Comments

[Kevin]

Missing the MBT, though I guess since its not yet finished that makes sense.

[Ron Alford]

From Old Greenbelt to the Convention Center, it routes me along 193 and Kenilworth, but then avoids Rhode Island Ave. in DC like the plague. It's my anti-route!

[crin]

That program failed basic. For Ballston to U Street they sent me the wrong way down a one way street into the jaws of a dangerous intersection; through 8 blocks of apartment building parking lots instead of the Custis Trail, Canal towpath and RCP instead of M or P Street; and ignored the bike lane on New Hampshire. They would have me trade my 30 minute downhill route for a 60 minute meandering roller coaster.

[Washcycle]

It's just a baby now. We have to teach it how to work. This is the kind of thing that gets stronger with use. It's like wikipedia (by the way, did you know there are more Wikipedia articles about places in the Star Trek universe than articles about Africa). Anyway, use it, submit comments and then use it some more. After a while it will make fewer mistakes. All the major mapping programs (and GPSs) make mistakes after all.

[Scott F]

The site's coding is itself buggy, not just the routes it produces. Sometimes the path shown is slightly off, not lining up with the actual roads. And in one case it glitched up and told me a bunch of major roads (all in series) have bike lanes that don't.

I think this is totally rad, though. If they're serious about improving it, it'll be a great tool before too long. I'm gonna send them my feedback with route details.

[Foo]

Try typing "Georgetown" as a location. Looks like someone needs a little work on their website.

[Ron Alford]

I believe they are sourcing their data from OpenStreetMap, so corrections there should make its way upstream.