Google Maps just fucking SUCKS now

[Roadrunner75]

Agreed, but they're probably more likely to encounter some angry property owner coming out guns a'blazing on that same "road" in the US.

Having grown up in a small town in a very rural part of the country, where I used to be able to name all the paved roads and streets in the entire county from memory, I don't find that statement to match reality.

Did you see the link?  That's basically someone's driveway.

Plenty of dirt roads that are basically just driveways around where I grew up, and I never once encountered a person pulling a gun out if I came up that road by car or by bicycle.  I think you must have a warped view of what this part of the country is like.

I wasn't really commenting on your part of the country.   I think I'd feel a lot better about going down a dirt road in Kansas than some around here.  But the Google driver is probably (maybe?) a bit more apprehensive about rolling through what looks like a typical private drive over here.

[kphoger]

Fair enough, although I'm not really sure why things would be different if the road in question were paved.

I have noticed, back to the point at hand, that Google street view commonly ends where the pavement ends, even if the road keeps going.  For example, what other reason was there for the driver to end GSV coverage at this otherwise random spot along the Highway of Legends scenic byway in Colorado?

[webny99]

Agreed, but they're probably more likely to encounter some angry property owner coming out guns a'blazing on that same "road" in the US.

Having grown up in a small town in a very rural part of the country, where I used to be able to name all the paved roads and streets in the entire county from memory, I don't find that statement to match reality.

Did you see the link?  That's basically someone's driveway.

Plenty of dirt roads that are basically just driveways around where I grew up, and I never once encountered a person pulling a gun out if I came up that road by car or by bicycle.  I think you must have a warped view of what this part of the country is like.

I agree. The Street View coverage probably has a lot to do with the magnitude of the area, and hardly anything to do with the fear of the property owners, most of whom are probably quite friendly and laid back. (There's probably a few hundred roads/driveways like that in the UK, compared to thousands in Kansas alone. The entire UK could fit inside Wyoming or Colorado with room to spare, while most Plains states are only slightly smaller than the UK.)

I wasn't really commenting on your part of the country. I think I'd feel a lot better about going down a dirt road in Kansas than some around here.  But the Google driver is probably (maybe?) a bit more apprehensive about rolling through what looks like a typical private drive over here.

Yeah, I would be much more apprehensive about going down random dirt roads in the South and Northeast than the Midwest. Visibility is much better in the Plains, population density is lower, and there's so many roads that all look similar that you could have got the wrong one, or turned down a driveway that you thought was a through road, and no one would probably even notice, much less care.

[Roadrunner75]

Let's give Google some credit:

https://www.google.com/maps/@68.2243586,-149.4081092,3a,90y,140.46h,91.61t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sVabGlbl2GbHxBCdVU9ZuKw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

https://www.google.com/maps/@65.6354017,-144.4432964,3a,75y,35.65h,89.56t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1slOOxegsfuFltNjhIA03agw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7357178,-74.7125319,3a,49.5y,131.02h,86.33t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sF4FDVmV_5GkIyMwMVn5smQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DF4FDVmV_5GkIyMwMVn5smQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D213.65996%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.8904268,-74.5409342,3a,75y,123.03h,79.19t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sqSaooBWwxdUBaasbIAPnuw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DqSaooBWwxdUBaasbIAPnuw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D50.172806%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en

For the last two - yes, we have dirt roads in NJ.

[kphoger]

yes, we have dirt roads in NJ.

That's what caused my misunderstanding:  when I think of dirt roads, I certainly don't think of New Jersey!

[empirestate]

I wasn't really commenting on your part of the country. I think I'd feel a lot better about going down a dirt road in Kansas than some around here.  But the Google driver is probably (maybe?) a bit more apprehensive about rolling through what looks like a typical private drive over here.

I agree, that feeling is probably more prevalent in suburban/exurban residential areas. I used to live on a dead-end public street in just such a town, and there's definitely an idea that not everyone who might travel that type of street is "supposed" to be there. I would not feel that way in the middle of rural Kansas or Ireland.

(There was an overall confusion among many town resident as to the distinction between a private and a public roadway. A number of residents who lived on private roads started to complain that although they were taxpayers, they weren't receiving the public service of snow plowing on their roads. It lead to the enactment of a new layer of local government, a snow removal district, that is probably the opposite of what they would have preferred!)
Yeah, I would be much more apprehensive about going down random dirt roads in the South and Northeast than the Midwest. Visibility is much better in the Plains, population density is lower, and there's so many roads that all look similar that you could have got the wrong one, or turned down a driveway that you thought was a through road, and no one would probably even notice, much less care.

[J N Winkler]

I've also observed in the past that Google Maps has a tendency to show driveways (or double tracks intended for internal circulation on large farms and ranches) as if they were public roads.  I think this is a result of bad validation of satellite-sourced mapping.

[Stephane Dumas]

I've also observed in the past that Google Maps has a tendency to show driveways (or double tracks intended for internal circulation on large farms and ranches) as if they were public roads.  I think this is a result of bad validation of satellite-sourced mapping.

They also show sometimes some backyard alleys like this one in Calgary. https://goo.gl/maps/H8z1z14zfcswfKew8

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

I've also observed in the past that Google Maps has a tendency to show driveways (or double tracks intended for internal circulation on large farms and ranches) as if they were public roads.  I think this is a result of bad validation of satellite-sourced mapping.

Google isn't the only one that has done this. DeLormes was notorious for doing this, and national topo maps would occasionally show private roads as public roads.

[ftballfan]

More credit for Google (bonus points for this one being recent):
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.9957103,-85.9952178,3a,75y,279.77h,87.91t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sx5A0By7Ao-FBqbRdSAm8Fg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[formulanone]

Agreed, but they're probably more likely to encounter some angry property owner coming out guns a'blazing on that same "road" in the US.

Having grown up in a small town in a very rural part of the country, where I used to be able to name all the paved roads and streets in the entire county from memory, I don't find that statement to match reality.

Did you see the link?  That's basically someone's driveway.

Plenty of dirt roads that are basically just driveways around where I grew up, and I never once encountered a person pulling a gun out if I came up that road by car or by bicycle.  I think you must have a warped view of what this part of the country is like.

I wasn't really commenting on your part of the country.   I think I'd feel a lot better about going down a dirt road in Kansas than some around here.  But the Google driver is probably (maybe?) a bit more apprehensive about rolling through what looks like a typical private drive over here.

I wind up on dirt roads a bunch...if it's not a 2-track road nor had an open gate in front of it, then I've never been bothered or threatened by anyone. If anything, you're more likely to get a wave (smiles are not guaranteed).

[Roadrunner75]

Agreed, but they're probably more likely to encounter some angry property owner coming out guns a'blazing on that same "road" in the US.

Having grown up in a small town in a very rural part of the country, where I used to be able to name all the paved roads and streets in the entire county from memory, I don't find that statement to match reality.

Did you see the link?  That's basically someone's driveway.

Plenty of dirt roads that are basically just driveways around where I grew up, and I never once encountered a person pulling a gun out if I came up that road by car or by bicycle.  I think you must have a warped view of what this part of the country is like.

I wasn't really commenting on your part of the country.   I think I'd feel a lot better about going down a dirt road in Kansas than some around here.  But the Google driver is probably (maybe?) a bit more apprehensive about rolling through what looks like a typical private drive over here.

I wind up on dirt roads a bunch...if it's not a 2-track road nor had an open gate in front of it, then I've never been bothered or threatened by anyone. If anything, you're more likely to get a wave (smiles are not guaranteed).

Out here, a dirt road is more than likely someone's driveway unless you're in the middle of the Pine Barrens, of which two examples are posted above.   

[kphoger]

I've also observed in the past that Google Maps has a tendency to show driveways (or double tracks intended for internal circulation on large farms and ranches) as if they were public roads.  I think this is a result of bad validation of satellite-sourced mapping.

Google isn't the only one that has done this. DeLormes was notorious for doing this, and national topo maps would occasionally show private roads as public roads.

I'm not questioning that it happens (I know it does, at least with Google).  But I do caution that plenty of public roads look like driveways.  Just because something is a two-track overgrown with weeds, that doesn't mean it isn't in the county log books as a public road.  It might just mean there's no longer an active farm for it to lead to anymore.

One example that comes immediately to mind is Corncrib Road near Ridgway, IL.  Just looking at Google Maps and satellite/street view imagery, you'd think they labeled it as a public road in error.  However, it's not an error.  Go back to older street view imagery, and you can even find a street sign at the corner.

[ErmineNotyours]

Gravel road on Google Street View.  This is State Route 165, perhaps the only long gravel state road in Western Washington, and access to part of Mt. Rainier National Park.  The Google car got part way up the road until it got to a turnaround, and gave up.  I've never been up this road.  My family always went to the Carbon River Entrance instead.

[kphoger]

Oh, there are plenty of gravel roads on GSV.  Practically every county road in Sedgwick County (KS) is covered, for example, and the majority of them are gravel or dirt.

Maybe it depends on the driver.  ??

[Roadrunner75]

The Google car gave up here where the pavement ends:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.8926329,-74.3424548,3a,75y,242h,77.25t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s8IsNbeMNAQLffJ_ma6lp5A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Not me though.  My son loves it when we "off-road" through the Pine Barrens.  It's not really that much of a shortcut, but I've used the dirt road beyond to get out to CR 539.  If you look on aerials, you can seen the signs of a development that was planned there including two cul-de-sacs to the south of the main road.   Not far to the north, NJ 70 was blocked by an accident one afternoon not too long ago near 539, and they were turning everyone around to drive miles back west to the 70/72 circle.  I wasn't about to do that, so I turned south onto a dirt road through a cranberry bog and decided to wing it and find a way around the accident.  A bunch of other drivers must have thought I knew what I was doing so they started following me right through the bog.  Eventually they started to disappear in my cloud of dust (they're probably still wandering around the woods to this day).  We found a utility pole easement and turned east and eventually popped out on 539, dodging a lot of huge puddles along the way.  No cell phone coverage or maps needed.  This is off-road excitement in New Jersey.

[kkt]

Gravel road on Google Street View.  This is State Route 165, perhaps the only long gravel state road in Western Washington, and access to part of Mt. Rainier National Park.  The Google car got part way up the road until it got to a turnaround, and gave up.  I've never been up this road.  My family always went to the Carbon River Entrance instead.

I've been up that road once.  The road was fine all the way, good gravel.  The hike up to the fire lookout had some great views, but some of the worst mosquitos I've had the misfortune of encountering in western Washington.

[bm7]

Oh, there are plenty of gravel roads on GSV.  Practically every county road in Sedgwick County (KS) is covered, for example, and the majority of them are gravel or dirt.

Maybe it depends on the driver.  ??

I was exaggerating a little in my original post. There are some parts of the US where they have gone down nearly every road. If you turn on the Street View layer and move around you can see them pretty easily. Some of the more notable ones are around Wichita, KS; Omaha/Lincoln, NE; La Crosse WI; and Springfield, IL.

But outside those sorts of areas it can be quite hard to find gravel roads that have Street View coverage. In fact when looking at my general area in the Street View layer, you can clearly see where many roads change from paved to gravel, because that's where the blue line ends.

[empirestate]

They also show sometimes some backyard alleys like this one in Calgary. https://goo.gl/maps/H8z1z14zfcswfKew8

Shouldn't they?

DeLormes was notorious for doing this, and national topo maps would occasionally show private roads as public roads.

You mean USGS topo maps? I've never known them to make any assertions about whether a road is private, unless perhaps by placing a highway shield or color fill on it.

One example that comes immediately to mind is Corncrib Road near Ridgway, IL.  Just looking at Google Maps and satellite/street view imagery, you'd think they labeled it as a public road in error.  However, it's not an error.  Go back to older street view imagery, and you can even find a street sign at the corner.

And how about them class VI highways in NH? "Subject to gates and bars"...

[BridgesToIdealism]

Not sure if either of these two issues have been brought up previously, but my two biggest pet peeves with Google Maps are the following:

* Inconsistency when defining toll roads. Some toll roads are simply marked with their road name and "(toll road)" appended on the end, while others are marked with a solid black outline around the road which makes it stick out too much

* Google Maps Directions doesn't let you get directions involving roads that are closed, even when the road is only closed temporarily for construction. The one exception seems to be closures due to accidents, where you can force the route onto the road in desktop mode with the route modification drags. However, in cases of construction closures (most recently noted the Murray Baker I-74 Bridge closure in Peoria) it won't even let you drag/modify the route onto the temporarily closed road.

[kphoger]

* Google Maps Directions doesn't let you get directions involving roads that are closed, even when the road is only closed temporarily for construction. The one exception seems to be closures due to accidents, where you can force the route onto the road in desktop mode with the route modification drags. However, in cases of construction closures (most recently noted the Murray Baker I-74 Bridge closure in Peoria) it won't even let you drag/modify the route onto the temporarily closed road.

I don't think this has specifically been discussed yet, maybe so.  But it's certainly one of my biggest frustrations.

[Michael]

Around the end of April or beginning of May (I can't remember exactly), I noticed that Google Maps had started to use all my CPU, even just browsing around the map.  Over the next week or two, I noticed Facebook and Indeed started to use a lot of RAM and CPU.  These sites still use a lot of RAM and CPU, but thankfully within the last 2 or 3 weeks, Maps has stopped using all my CPU.  Sometimes it spikes, but it's mostly usable again.  Since multiple sites started acting up around the same time, I'm wondering if there was some web library like React or Angular that was updated.  For me, websites using React are notoriously resource hungry and/or glitchy.

About three weeks ago, I decided to see if the "force=canvas" switch still worked for Maps even though Lite Mode isn't a thing anymore.  Surprisingly, it worked!  There was even a lightning bolt icon in the corner like Lite mode had.  I tried "force=canvas" in my "too old" version of Chrome since I thought maybe that's why Google was blocking it, and it worked there too!  Later, I tried regular mode in Chrome again and it works!  The only glitches still there are the scroll wheel not working for zoom (that was the case before, I just use the plus and minus keys), and the minimap in Street View not displaying properly.

Between the time that Maps got slow and better again, I decided to try to adapt an embed since I noticed they were still smooth.  Being able to at least use a map smoothly would be somewhat helpful.  I was able to adapt their embed example into a bookmark with HTML in the URL itself to display a working full-screen map.

Lastly, I'll take a moment to complain about Indeed.  Why do you need almost 400 MB of RAM and 50% of my CPU?!  It worked fine before.  I can block the JavaScript that causes the spikes, but it's a polyfill that displays the "Apply Now" button.  That's the whole point of the site, so I can't block it.

[Roadrunner75]

About three weeks ago, I decided to see if the "force=canvas" switch still worked for Maps even though Lite Mode isn't a thing anymore.  Surprisingly, it worked!  There was even a lightning bolt icon in the corner like Lite mode had.  I tried "force=canvas" in my "too old" version of Chrome since I thought maybe that's why Google was blocking it, and it worked there too!  Later, I tried regular mode in Chrome again and it works! 

I always use the "force-canvas" ("lite mode") switch.  Unless I'm clicking on a Maps link in a post, all my Google Maps fun starts out from that bookmark tab in Chrome (at least on the PC where I have an easy choice).  Other than lag, the only glitch I get occasionally is Pegman refusing to jump to Streetview (sometimes he has better things to do...)

[bm7]

While exploring around, I found that the most recent street view imagery in Anchorage from October 2019 is absolutely terrible. Compare it with the 2009 imagery, and it's worse in almost every way.

https://www.google.com/maps/@61.2146283,-149.8996004,3a,78.6y,59.78h,89.95t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s33Ch-9l2_5bvQmQlGjn5PA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

How did they even manage that?

[kphoger]

While exploring around, I found that the most recent street view imagery in Anchorage from October 2019 is absolutely terrible. Compare it with the 2009 imagery, and it's worse in almost every way.

https://www.google.com/maps/@61.2146283,-149.8996004,3a,78.6y,59.78h,89.95t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s33Ch-9l2_5bvQmQlGjn5PA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

How did they even manage that?

To be fair, that's probably the best 2009 imagery I've ever seen on Google.