Online Maps and Directions for Pedestrians
posted at 10:38 pm
on Apr. 27, 2005
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My good friend Julie has come up with a cool idea.
She’d like to be able to use a Web site that allows you to get walking directions from one place to another, instead of driving directions.
Currently, if you use MapQuest, it’ll tell you the best way for a car to get from point a to point b. But with FootQuest, or whatever it’ll end up being called, a pedestrian might be able to cut across a park, go the wrong way up a one way street, take a foot bridge, or even head across a campus or a mall. There’s no speed benefit to a pedestrian for following a major street instead of one a block off a major thoroughfare, and the air’s a lot cleaner when you’re not taking the route dominated by cars.
“MapQuest for Pedestrians” would, just by existing, prompt the thought in someone’s mind that, hey, I could go by foot. And, it could encourage healthier habits, point out no-pedestrian zones and in general make it easier for the non-car-bound to get around.
I’m posting it here to set the idea free, in hopes that someone will build it, then she can use it. Everyone wins!
p.s. There should be a bike map site, too.
