I think it is a great first step. Toss it out to the public and see what sticks. Google will have this humming by summer.

Gosh, maybe San Francisco isn’t an appropriate place to commute by bicycle?

I wonder if the routing problems are more related to the algorithm weighing grades/traffic volumes/bike facilities, or if they are more related to the lack of quality data on what constitutes a busy road. For example, searching for auto directions from 20th/Mission or 20th/Valencia to the Presidio gives identical results, but searching for bike directions gives two different routes – one via Masonic (seems that the traffic volumes aren’t playing into the equation here!), and one via Steiner…neither of which are the preferred route of cyclists i know (who generally take the Wiggle to the Panhandle to Arguello).

As I played around with various routes, I was routed the wrong way on one-way Fell street, so it must not be pulling from the same road info that is used for autos.

Also funny to search for directions from SF to Oakland…”Take the Oakland – San Francisco Ferry Bldg to Oakland” – I feel like I’m in Star Trek!

Luckily they have a handy error reporting tool.

Anyone know who developed this – Google should pay them:
http://amarpai.com/bikemap/

It’s been around for awhile, and I like the feature where you can select if you want a route that is more “bike friendly” or more direct, and also can specify the max grade you are willing to traverse.

It’s almost as if the geniuses behind 511.org (and yes, they want your $$$$ to do schedules, arrival times, and maps, including bicycle maps, far worse than the average high school student in his/her spare time, all courtesy of MTC’s generosity to its special friends) were involved in this marvel of technology.