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Monday, March 23, 2009

Mapping New Paltz Walking Trails

When Google Maps first added the "walking" feature I thought it was a pretty cool idea, but not one that was complete. Sure, I can get walking directions to London (sort of), but look what happens when you ask for walking directions from Stop and Shop to Meadowbrook:

View Larger Map

Obviously the Google Mappers don't know that we preserved the walking path between this condo community and the New Paltz Plaza (no, we really can't call it the Ames Plaza anymore). I know Google is good about fixing things that are wrong if you ask, but understanding the nuances of adding my own maps is a little beyond me.

But now there's WikiWalki, a user-edited database of trails that combines the ease of Wikipedia with the database of Google Maps. I gave it a shot by eyeballing the visible location of the Rail Trail to see how easy it is:

View Trail at wikiwalki.com
Trail Map widget provided by Wikiwalki.com

It's not perfect by any stretch - for one, I stopped mapping because it's 2:30 in the morning and I couldn't follow the line on the satellite photo very clearly, so I was afraid I would map people right into the Wallkill. But since it's a wiki, anyone can come along and improve upon my work and extend the Rail Trail map from Gardiner to Rosendale.

Bicycle-Pedestrian Committee, Senior Task Force, and anyone else interested in pedestrian needs, please take note!

(And did anyone notice that the pedestrian-in-crosswalk signs have returned on Main Street without fanfare? I'd like to know who to credit for that!)

1 comment:

Jane Ann Williams said...

Credit the Bike/Ped Committee, Judy Mage in particular, who kept after the DOT and the Village to get the signs back. Sadly, the one at Oakwood and Main is already down, and a pedestrian has been hurt there - lots more work to be done.