Google Maps received a redesign in August last year, which added more color to physical maps to make the varied geography more discernible. At the time, the company had revealed that it was working to add details similar to street maps, which would clearly show things like sidewalks, pedestrian crossings and pedestrian islands in cities. Last month, Google implemented these changes for some users, adding crosswalk indicators and building numbers in some cities. Now, the feature is finally being launched to a wider audience in 4 major cities.
According to a recent Android Police, detailed street maps are now available to most Google Maps users in the following cities:
- London, United Kingdom (central London)
- New York, USA
- San Francisco, USA
- Tokyo, Japan (Central Tokyo)
As you can see in the attached screenshots, Google Maps now accurately shows details such as road width, rounded corners and roadside vegetation. It also indicates pedestrian crossings, central flowerbeds, pedestrian islands and much more at the locations mentioned. The additional details are expected to help pedestrians and people with disabilities to plan their route more effectively.
-
-
Old view without crosswalks
-
-
Updated view with crosswalks
In addition, the parks will show the actual width of the paths in dark green, along with the stairs in gray. If you have already received the update, you should be able to see these details by expanding the street level in one of these cities.
-
-
Old view with inaccurate park path
-
-
Updated view with precise park path
Detailed Street View is being released as a server-side update and is expected to reach most users in the coming days. Google may add more locations in the coming months, but the company has not released any information about it at the moment. We will update this post as and when detailed Google Maps Street View is available in more locations.