The snow and ice suggest otherwise, but life for the Winnipeg cyclist just became a little easier.

In an announcement at the Sustainable Mobility Conference in Ottawa Monday, Internet search engine giant Google has added Winnipeg to its list of Canadian cities that will have bike routes available online for those looking for the best path to take on two wheels.

With Google Bike Directions, scheduled to be added to Google Maps during the next week, users can pore over city-fed bike maps using the popular web atlas to chart a course for their daily commute.

Comprehensive maps of various bike routes and paths are already available on the city's website, but Winnipeg Trails Association director Janice Lukes was thrilled to find out Google has added the city to its new mapping feature.

"We have all this new infrastructure and many people don't know where it is," she said. "This will encourage those who are looking to get out on the weekends or do a little riding after work."

What has the cycling community excited about the Google Maps addition is the reach it will have to those contemplating ditching their vehicle for a bike.

Jeff Martin, owner of Alter Ego Sports, feels the undecided might finally decide to switch to a two-wheeler permanently, thanks to Google Maps. Not every trail or dedicated bike lane is visible from behind the wheel, he notes, so not everyone is up to speed with the layout of the city's active transportation framework.

"For the serious cyclist, they're going to ride their bikes regardless," he said. "But for the inexperienced rider, this will show them they can get from point A to point B in a safe way, especially for winter riding."

Google Bike Directions works like this: A click on the bicycle icon shows a dark green line indicating a bike-only path. A lighter green line signals a dedicated bike lane and a dotted line shows a city street that doesn't have a dedicated bike lane, but could still be suitable for riding.

The city planned to spend $20.4 million dollars on 36 bike-and-pedestrian projects under a federal stimulus program this year. Cold weather cut six of those projects short, with completion scheduled for 2011.

Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver, Calgary, Gatineau and Waterloo are the other Canadian cities involved in Google's announcement. Bike-trail data for U.S. markets was added to Google Maps earlier this year.

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca

Google Maps With An Eye On Wpg Bike Trails

CJOB News, 2010-11-22

Winnipeg is on the map you might say, as Google Maps moves to expand its routes to include bike trails in major Canadian cities. The project rolls out this week in Ottawa and Gatineau, Quebec. Winnipeg is in the mix, along with Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, and Kelowna. Colour codes will highlight the bike trails as well as roads with designated bike lanes.

Google Maps adds urban bike trails in nine major Canadian cities

CW Media / Canadian Press, 2010-11-22

Cycling enthusiasts across Canada will soon be able to turn to Google for help with their next urban bike expedition.

The online information giant announced Monday that it is introducing a Bike Directions feature to its popular Google Maps site, allowing users to highlight bike-friendly trails and roads in nine major Canadian cities.

The tool will be available in Ottawa and Gatineau, Que. later this week, the company said.

No other release dates were immediately available, but Google said the feature will also be available for maps of Waterloo, Ont., Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Kelowna, B.C.

Bike Directions, which has been available in the United States since March, uses colour coding to flag routes that are safe for cyclists.

A dark green line indicates a bike-only trail, while a light green line represents a dedicated bike lane along a road, Google said. Roads that are not designated biking areas but tend to be suitable for cycling are highlighted with a dotted green line, the company added.

Users also have the option of customizing routes to their preferences, such as finding short cuts or selecting routes that avoid hills.

Google relied on information provided by the cities to compile route data in some regions, the company said, adding it will implement a reporting tool that will allow users to suggest other bike routes for inclusion.

The Association of Commuter Transportation of Canada praised Google for creating a tool that will promote green travel in Canadian urban centres.

"Easy access to information is a powerful resource for supporting and encouraging the choice of sustainable travel options," association chairman Lorenzo Mele said in a statement.

"The introduction of Google Bike routing in Canada will put cycling at the forefront of people's thoughts as they search out the optimum way to get to their destination."

Bike to the Future's comment:

Anders Swanson has been working with the City of Winnipeg and Google to make sure Winnipeg was part of this initiative. It helped that the raw data from Winnipeg Cycling Map 2009 was useful to Google.

Notes:

• Most routes aren't displayed yet. It will also take some time for all of the new 2010 routes to be added. Certain pathways (like the Bois des Esprits, Bishop Grandin Greenway, etc) started showing up a couple weeks ago.
• There will also be a "bike there" feature. You'll see the little bike symbol show up under "directions".
• There may be an integrated feature where users can modify / refine/ suggest alternatives.