Brooklyn, NY – A helmet may not be enough to protect cyclists from Google Maps’ latest feature.
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The search engine rolled out a “bicycling directions” option yesterday that is filled with potentially fatal flaws, including routes that cut across Central Park’s treacherous tranverse roads and steer cyclists to truck-riddled thoroughfares.
A Post reporter rented a bike on the Hudson River Greenway at 42nd Street and plotted a course to Hunter College — and quickly discovered the hard way that Google has a lot to learn about the streets of New York.
After a traffic-snarled ride up Eighth Avenue, our intrepid cyclist was sent on a semi-circle around Columbus Circle, and soon found himself holding up a line of 15 angry motorists — many leaning on their horns — on the narrow and frightening 65th Street Transverse, which does not have a bike lane.
Google overlooked the far safer Park Drive that loops through the park.
In Brooklyn, Google steers cyclists into the path of anti-bike Hasidic Jews by designating Bedford Avenue between Division and Flushing avenues in Williamsburg as a legitimate bike route. The city sandblasted away that street’s bike lane last year after protests.
Google mappers owned up to the woes. “The team does know about some of the problems in New York,” said spokeswoman Elaine Filadelfo.
Iy won’t help them anything the bike lane is off
I thought Google maps have to be a few years old for security reasons.
google agrees with reb herzfeld that the bike lane should be put back. there will be lots of fun with jimmy justice and herzfeld in williamsburg this summer over the bike lane.
Clearly Google is anti Chareidy. We must call them nonstop and tell them they’re Nazis.
in the first minute i saw yesterday morning the news of google bike directions i checked if the bedford ave. lane is there & then i sent them a message that its already removed a half year & they sent beck that they gonna fix it
people have to risk their lives cuz a certain group of aren’t allowed to see women wearing tube tops on a bike? If dats the case maybe palestine will let you move there…ohh wait that land was already stolen by this group of ppl, and there trying to do the same here??? It aint happening, try cycling, maybe all the men in this group won’t all b overweight slobs, feel bad for there wives ( they secretly agree) I’m definetely in favor of palestine way!!!!