March 14

Bike Google!

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2  comments

This long skinny map is what Google’s new Bike Directions produces when asked the best way to bike commute from Maple Leaf to downtown Seattle.

The bike-route mapping service, rolled out last week, was developed right here in town at Google’s Fremont office alongside the Burke-Gilman trail, according to our news partners at The Seattle Times.

It’s actually a new layer for Google Maps, and specifically picks routes to avoid hills, which is tough if you live in Maple Leaf  – the third highest hill in Seattle. And it’s not quite ready for prime time. Google is asking for cyclists’ help in fine-tuning the thing.

This 7.9-mile route, down Stone Way North and across the Fremont Bridge, then up Dexter Avenue North, is one of three Google suggestions to get to downtown from our neighborhood, and it’s a good one that’s commonly chosen by cyclists.

Google’s  first choice is to take Eastlake Avenue Northeast around Lake Union, which is another common route for commute cyclists. It’s slightly faster, but arguably has more traffic.  Google’s  third choice, though, goes out of its way (and takes cyclists out of their way) to incorporate about a mile of the Burke-Gilman.

You can try Bike Directions here (you’ll land in San Francisco, but just enter your address to get to the right town).

About the author 

Sara W

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  1. Hi Kevin. I'm the post's author; the map is of my wife's bike route from Maple Leaf (Northeast 89th Street) to The Seattle Public Library downtown. What's your commute time like? Hers is around 35 minutes in and 45 minutes coming back up those sweaty hills!

  2. I noticed that none of the options Google offered were the route I take from Maple Leaf to downtown (2nd and Stewart).

    I like my route because there is just one short hill going into town and the rest is either level or downhill. This is a big help in the warmer seasons. Going home I don't care how sweaty I get!

    I take Roosevelt, then right after the University bridge I go up Harvard then take Roanoke back across the freeway, then Boylston, Lakeview, and Eastlake to Stewart. During rush hour, Stewart is just congested enough to make it easy to keep up on a bike.

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