This post describes a service I want from my online-map provider. I’d use it all the time. Summary: When I’m navigating an area I already know about, don’t give me turn-by-turn, just give me a short list of the streets to take.

I’ve been living in Vancouver for decades and, driving or cycling, know how to get almost anywhere. It helps that, like most North American cities, we have a fairly regular north-south-east-west grid. These days, when I’m going any distance by car, I get directions from Google Maps because it knows where the traffic is bad, and the traffic is usually bad somewhere. But it gives me way more directions than I need. Let’s look at a concrete example.

To follow the narrative, you’ll probably have to click to expand, and it’s pretty big. It may be easier just to open the map in another window.
Map credit: OpenStreetMap.

My place is near the bottom edge of this map off to the west, between Cambie and Main streets. I occasionally attend a meetup at New Brighton Park, which is the little splodge of green at the very top right corner of the map, across the highway from Hastings Racecourse. It’s on McGill street. To get there, I have to go quite a distance both east and north. Candidates for north/south travel include Main, Clark, Nanaimo, and Renfrew streets. Candidates for east/west include 12th, Broadway, 1st, and Hastings.

Right now, Google Maps insists on turn-by turn, with three warnings for each turn. It’s dumb and annoying and interrupts whatever music or show I’m listening to.

What I want is to get in the car and say “Short directions to New Brighton Park” and have it say “Take Main to 12th to Nanaimo to 1st to Renfrew to McGill.” Then when I’m driving, I’d get one vocal warning a block out from each turn, like “Next left on Nanaimo” or some such.

Of course, when I’m navigating in a strange place, I’d want the traditional turn-by-turn. Don’t know about you, but the bulk of my navigation is in territory I know and mostly about avoiding traffic.

The OpenStreetMap data is public and good. Traffic data is… a problem. But for anyone who has it, you can have me for a customer. Just learn to be terse.