Secret highways marked on Google Maps

[Stephane Dumas]

Since a couple of months, Google maps marked some secrets routes like FL-91 (FL Tpk) and GA-400 secret series who identify an interstate corridor in Georgia. This time they marked another "secret route" number, NJ-444 more well known as Garden State Parkway http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=40.429766,-74.228182&spn=0.043905,0.10952&z=14

[NJRoadfan]

Interesting. They have the Palisades Interstate Parkway marked as 987C (text only)... even on the New Jersey section (its NJ-445 in NJ)

[Duke87]

Yeah, Google Maps seems to have gotten updated recently. Although, still not completely "up to date". I-99 west of State College still isn't shown as complete, and there is some sloppiness to the drawing (get a load of this), although the new US-15 freeway by Lawrenceville is now on there. Strangely enough, the part by Painted Post has been downgraded from freeway orange to local street yellow... and the new interchange with I-86, that was there before, is now gone.

Off of I-99, a new section of road which opened in my city (Stamford, CT) on July 2nd still isn't there... although a previous error which put Howard Road in a place where no pavement does, has, or was ever planned to exist is now corrected.

An interesting cosmetic change: when you zoom out far enough, non-interstate freeways are shown with thinner orange lines than interstates.
Italy, China, India, South Korea, Japan, Argentina, and South Africa also now have their own custom route markers for their national highways.

[wytout]

I see that google is denoting some of our secret routes in CT but in a different way.  They aren't putting the State route marker symbol on the road, but writing it out in text next to the street name.  This link shows both Tunnel Road (Secret route 533) and South Frontage Rd (Secret Route 541) as their Street names PLUS "State Route 533" and "State Route 541" respectively. http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=41.831976,-72.462258&spn=0.00598,0.013937&t=h&z=17

[Stephane Dumas]

A bit off-topic since it's not in the Northeast area, Google maps also marked the secret numbers of the Kentucky parkways (KY-9001, KY-9002....) http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=fr&ie=UTF8&ll=37.387617,-86.888123&spn=1.466479,3.504639&z=9

[Alex]

This is what happens when people working on the maps are not cartographers or roadgeeks...

[kurumi]

The Google Maps update took care of a number of serious CT problems:
CT 173 continuing north to CT 185
US 44A in on Middle Turnpike in Manchester (never was true)
CT 83 in two places in Vernon (the real route and SR 527)
CT 66 and 322 overlap from Southington into Meriden
US 5 and CT 150 overlap into Meriden to I-691
CT 349 in 2 places in Groton

The new map is much better, though the secret route feature includes some interesting mistakes: State Highway 116 in Litchfield (was true before 1961)

[TheStranger]

While unofficial, the freeways that connect the two segments of Route 16 here in Northern California (I-5 and US 50) are shown with the Route 16 shield as well on Google Maps...

However, Business 80 is just marked now as "I-80 BUS" in text (it had previously been marked as I-80, and before that, State Route 80, originally being marked just as Capital City Freeway) north of US 50/Route 99.  No mention of Route 51.

[agentsteel53]

I really like having hidden routes, old alignments, etc all signed.

[Roadgeek Adam]

The cat's out of the bag now. Google Maps made the best error I've seen in a while.

The abandoned Tri-Borough Road in Chatham for the never-finished Eisenhower Parkway is marked in its entire overpass and the diagram for the cloverleaf interchange (unfinished) is marked as well. Tri-Borough Road, which was supposed to be part of the Eisenhower Parkway is marked as "Eisenhower Parkway" for the portions that were constructed.

This is the biggest folly I've seen in a while there. (And I was looking it up just for an aerial)

[Rover_0]

I believe that earlier in the days of Google Maps (not street view), I remember seeing a US-39 shield in the Beaver, UT vicinity (it's still there since I last checked, at I-15 Exit 109, if you zoom in far enough)   .  Other cases where Google Maps is inaccurate is that it shows UT-78 going all the way down from its western end at I-15 almost all the way down to Scipio, and UT-22 at its full UT-62 to Bryce Jct. (UT-12/UT-63) length .

As for a Utah road that has recently been updated, UT-38 was shown duplexed with UT-69.  In case you didn't know, UT-69 once ran from Brigham City to Logan (via Deweyville, near Tremonton), then was cut back to UT-30 (which was officially extended into Logan and east) in the 1970s. However, it was still a mere 15-20 miles from college town Logan, where Utah State University students would often take the time to drive out to UT-69 to steal the signs.  The sign theft became so bad that they had to renumber it UT-38 in the early 1990s.

[algorerhythms]

Apparently in their most recent update, they borrowed a bunch of data from OpenStreetMap. I had a suspicion that was going on when I noticed that a lot of the errors on Google Maps were the same as on OpenStreetMap, though the one that convinced me was the alteration of "Van Vleet Oval" in Norman to "Van Fleet Oval." It appears that OSM had that error first and it worked its way into Google Maps from there. So if you find a bunch of problems with their maps (and you will), that may just be why...

More on the topic of the thread, in Google Maps' most recent update, they also started marking MD-61 (which in the real world is not marked with its number, just its name, "Canal Parkway"). However, they placed the number on the wrong street (Virginia Ave.), and they incorrectly labeled the actual MD-61 as "Wineow Street".

[vdeane]

Take a look at the State College area... Google actually went backwards in time with its data!

[Stephane Dumas]

Another place when Google went backwards in time, it's north of Elmira, before NY-17 was upgraded http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=fr&ie=UTF8&ll=42.153653,-76.810291&spn=0.010563,0.02635&z=16

and US-66 is now only marked in text in Alburquerque 

[wytout]

I really like having hidden routes, old alignments, etc all signed.

well if they're all signed they really aren't secret or hidden now are they 

[PAHighways]

Take a look at the State College area... Google actually went backwards in time with its data!

Ironically, it's data has caught up after a 60 year lapse in other parts of Pennsylvania.

[florida]

I really like having hidden routes, old alignments, etc all signed.

Indeed, but it is nice if Google would be accurate when doing it.

[vdeane]

That's Google's biggest problem with maps: they don't care about accuracy anymore.  The move from NavTeq proved that.  These days the only thing I use google maps for anymore is street view.

They also added lot boundaries to the maps.

[SSOWorld]

I found I-46

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=790+N+4th+St,+Platteville,+Grant,+Wisconsin+53818&ll=43.673832,-92.984676&spn=0.054382,0.154324&z=13

[MikeTheActuary]

CT 540 lives!

CT401 also gets recognized.  However, they are behind MSN Bing maps in recognizing that part of Rainbow Rd has taken on the International Dr. name, or the existence of the International Dr. roundabout at the East Granby town line.

[Roadgeek Adam]

Correction. Google Maps ended using TeleAtlas and now has a problem request form where you can fix their data! Lots of cartography errors are normal again!

[WillWeaverRVA]

Correction. Google Maps ended using TeleAtlas and now has a problem request form where you can fix their data! Lots of cartography errors are normal again!

Seriously? Awesome! I might have to submit a few corrections myself (a few streets in the Richmond area disappeared during the update...).

[Roadgeek Adam]

Yep, I've reported almost 2 dozen errors in NJ and NY already - It is fun

[algorerhythms]

Correction. Google Maps ended using TeleAtlas and now has a problem request form where you can fix their data! Lots of cartography errors are normal again!

I don't think I have the time necessary to point out to Google all of the errors on their map that I've found so far...

[rickmastfan67]

They don't even allow you to report errors in Canada....

EDIT: Ok, I'll take that back.  That option wasn't there last night, but it's there now.... Wierd.....