New on line cycle route planner and maps.

Camden branch of LCC have been putting cycle route maps of London on line for some time now. They use the familiar Google base maps and add cycling specific layers familiar from London Cycle Guides, but also provided by other sources. see http://maps.camdencyclists.org.uk.

Camden LCC wrote recently: "The [cycle route] planner now uses the excellent new OpenStreetMap-based route planner developed and hosted by www.cyclestreets.net. You can plan a route anywhere in London or the UK (though there is currently a limit of 30 km on the length of routes that can be planned).

Many thanks to our Cambridge CC colleagues who did all the hard work to make this possible!

Notes:

- The cyclestreets.net planner is a Beta version. It works pretty well, but there is more work to be done. E.g. route planning does not yet take gradients into account.

- The London coverage of the underlying OpenStreetMap community mapping database is now pretty comprehensive and includes many cycle-specific details that other maps lack, but it relies on feedback and the voluntary effort of the OSM community. Feedback is best provided through the link that will appear at the bottom of each route that you plan.

With the current level of community involvement cyclestreets.net and OpenStreetMap have achieved an amazing result. With further feedback and effort they can be the most effective cycle route planner available."