Google launches Maps biking directions with Bicycle Coalition data

You could say we’ve been welcoming of spring and the onset of the 2010 Grapefruit League. A bike ride down to Citizen’s Bank Park in a few weeks? Count us in. But how best to get there?
Google has launched a beta and buggy version of its new bike-friendly Maps features, including directions that utilize Philly bike paths and landmarks of local biking facilities, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia reported this morning.

The route Google provided in a directional search from Fishtown to CBP, though it’s not quite the route we’d opt to take, may be one we ought to try. The directions provide fairly accurate time estimations based on an 8-10 mile-per-hour jaunt.
As the coalition points out, it’s difficult to map the intricacies of biking a city like Philadelphia�that awfully bumpy ride North on Third street above Chinatown might appeal to riders looking to avoid traffic, or the busy but easy-cruising Columbus Boulevard might attract those who appreciate a bike path with their high-speed vehicles. But Google is tracking faulty recommendations down to individual street intersections.
We’re looking forward to those bike-suitable paths through New Jersey, which are all-but-absent from Google’s maps, yet. Like baseball, we couldn’t be more excited about the Shore, either.