The Bay Bridge is gradually disappearing from Google Maps | Hacker News Reader

The Bay Bridge is gradually disappearing from Google Maps

google.com

67 pointsreedk64 comments

The Bay Bridge is currently closed until Tues at 5am. It's actually two bridges that meet at Treasure Island. The Eastern half is being rerouted this weekend onto a newly completed bridge. (A pretty amazing project, by the way.) This includes a slight change in the connectors at Treasure Island and in Oakland. And since it's an entirely new bridge, the map probably treats it as a new road.

So, quite possibly, the new tiles for the map are in transition or not yet propagated?

Edit: A correction - they meet on Yerba Buena Island technically, not Treasure Island.

Both eastern spans have displayed on Google Maps for the past month or two. The traffic data was even available, just directions didn't tell you to use the new bridge yet.

It's not a bug. This is how you display that there's no road there right now (unless you are working on construction). Likely this is a pretty good representation of the information available for pathfinding as well.

I assume its an intentional modification so that Google Maps doesn't give driving directions that use the bridge.

I clicked on the link from my iPhone. I'm offered to download the Maps app even though I already have it. When I click "no thanks" I'm taken to the homepage.

Fuck you to the PMs and devs at google for such big screw ups all across google priorities.

Take it up with Apple, on android there's an API apps can use to launch themselves for certain web requests. However, there's no way to do this with iOS.

Not being able to tell whether the app is installed is Apple's fault. Redirecting to the homepage rather than the specific link is not.

Being able to tell whether the app is installed sounds like a privacy violation. There is a mechanism for linking to apps in iOS; Google should be using it.

Actually it fires an intent, and if the application is there it will catch it, if not, it won't. No privacy violation needed as IIRC it won't communicate back to the website.

Could be wrong, haven't done much android programming.

It is possible to check if a URL scheme is valid, which helps to know if an app is installed that responds to that URL scheme.

I don't think it's possible to do this from JavaScript. (On the other hand, no real reason Google couldn't use a Smart App Banner, which is uncustomizable but presents an appropriate UI to either install or run the app.)

on android when I click this link I'm taken to my location search history on the web. I don't think this is apple's fault.

BS, web links can launch into apps, plenty already do it.

Is it possible to do any better from mobile Safari? I know the Google native apps can launch each other directly, but is that possible from Safari?

Anything would be better than what they are doing at present. What keeps them from just showing the desktop version of maps? Or the mobile web version?

Oh, I know what you're talking about now. Sometimes, Google Maps URLs will show up on the mobile web version, but sometimes they'll just redirect to a splash page for the mobile app.

Yes, you can use an application URL handler.

On a similar vein, I was very impressed to note that, when the I-5 bridge over the Skagit River in Washington collapsed in May this year, it took roughly 1-2 hours from the news breaking (around 7:00pm PDT) for Google to have removed that section of the I-5 from their maps.

I would be very interested if anyone has insight on how it was done so quickly (particularly as to whether it's some automated process driven by a reliable data feed, or whether human intervention was required). It seemed too quick to be instigated by Map Maker edits, but maybe if enough people submit the same change, updates are pushed through faster?

Though strongly informed by satellite and Street View data, Google Maps are heavily modified by hand.

Then again, it took them about three weeks to add the Isle of Jura back to their maps when it somehow got wiped:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-23331456

I used to work for a map company when the Macarthur Maze fire hit, and we were able to push out a change at about that rapidity. The data files for the maps aren't terribly complicated to parse, so pushing a change isn't difficult at all.

What sort of data files are they (hoping you don't say MID/MIF).

We were using deCarta's DDS software, so their proprietary RMF format.

*For a Google Maps Maker user and a Google Maps Maker moderator to have approved the edit for the section of I-5 to be removed.

Google didn't take proactive action on the collapse of the Skagit River bridge; it was the Map Making community.

BTW, I found this super-cool construction cam page earlier today, where you can look at the construction over the past few years.

http://baybridgeinfo.org/construction-cams

The YBI camera is the most interesting IMO

I don't get why people made so much fun of Apple Maps for showing bridges as weird, collapsed, accordion-looking structures when Google Maps does the exact same thing on the exact same bridges.

The time lapse showing raising a section of roadway is very impressive.

The Bay Bridge is gradually appearing on Google Maps.

Zoom in and you'll see the missing segments with "Planned" on them.

Doc: Don't you see? The bridge will exist in 1985. It's safe and still in use. Therefore, as long as we get the DeLorean up to 88 miles per hour before we hit the edge of the ravine, we'll instantaneously arrive at a point in time where the bridge is completed. We'll have track under us and coast safely across the ravine!

Even more impressive in the 3d satellite view: http://i.imgur.com/J1apYPf.jpg

Probably because it is under construction.

http://baybridgeinfo.org/

What's amusing is that if you do a hard refresh of the page it shows the old bridge routing for a fraction of a second and then reloads new tiles with the truncated new bridge.

Maybe this just says I'm easily amused...

Probably has to do with chrome cacheing

I don't really know the significance of this, it just looks like an error to me and it's certainly not news that errors exist.

A quick Google search and apparently there's a new section of the bridge opening or something? I still don't quite see why this is significant?

It's not an error. If it were, it would be a very big error, as their directions would be completely broken for everyone going to or from San Francisco and Oakland, dis-servicing hundreds of thousands of people.

But the bay bridge is closed this weekend:

http://www.sfmta.com/baybridgelaborday

The reason why this is interesting is that it shows that google is very responsive about updating their maps in real time based on recent events. It's impressive. It is also interesting because the Bay Bridge is a major thoroughfare in the area, and it's odd and unique to see a portion of it cut off in the map.

This is a bridge in Bay Area next to the center of their world. I'm pretty sure african bridges are not updated for road work or even for a long time after completion.

It'd be interesting to see some stats on average update times for various places. Do they update North Dakota road work with the same frequency/speed? Canada? Norway? Italy? Japan? Australia?

I know that I was trying to hike near Mt. St. Helens in Washington, and Google maps gave directions along a road that was gone in a landslide at least 3 years ago. In fact, we never found the way to the trail -- several roads were washed out or blocked with boulders, but Google didn't have the info.

Anyone can update Google maps: http://www.google.com/mapmaker. It takes about a day for changes to propagate through.

I've never seen Google pick up a temporary highway closure in Canada. And while vacationing in Norway I found the built-in maps on the GPS unit of my Norwegian rental car more accurate regarding ferries and tolls.

Ant it's not just in the Bay Area. When the I-5 bridge across the Skagit River collapsed [1], Google Maps showed I-5 as a pair of disconnected segments that night.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-5_Skagit_River_Bridge_collaps...

Perhaps it's how expedient Google Maps is being updated. If you're unfamiliar with what has been going on with the Bay Bridge for the past ~10 years: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_span_replacement_of_the...

The new span opens on Tuesday.

It'll be interesting to see how long it takes other map platforms to make the change(s).

More frustrating is that the "New" google maps doesn't support this link, and it rolls back to "classic maps". The new maps significantly lack parity with the "old" maps. I guess we should be grateful that we can roll back at all.

Another regression: you can't 'add a stop' to directions using the new maps.

"Currently, you can only route between two locations in the new Google Maps. If you'd like to add a destination or waypoint, you can temporarily use the classic Google Maps experience." https://support.google.com/maps/answer/3092447?ctx=c2n_direc...

Seeing the 'classic' Google Maps is like an upgrade. It's like moving from something that's aimed at touch screen devices, to something that's aimed at fully featured computers.

side note: so nice to see the classic maps again - feel the speed!

It's actually the opposite: it's gradually appearing. At least it looks to me like its displaying the new unfinished span and will connect it when the transition is done.

I don't think so. I noticed a slight removal this morning, and the now missing area has grown.

This was Google's optimism test. You passed!

Bay Bridge is undergoing repair works till Sept 3rd, 5am.

http://baybridgeinfo.org

Google Maps never worked well for that bridge anyway...you'd be driving along to go to either end and it would get confused and start giving you directions like you had gotten off on treasure island.

Directions are routed away from the bridge while it's closed, so maybe they removed it for this reason.

I tried navigating from Moraga to Treasure Island, and it flat out says it can't route me there.

And it's probably correct; access to Treasure Island is restricted until the new bridge is opened.

They have a ferry don't they?

Not that I can locate. You may be thinking of Alameda or Angel Island.

I guess I figured it was a logical place to have a ferry. Wikipedia says it was created the same year as the bridge opened (1936), so a totally bridge dependent island does make sense.

Googling for "treasure island ferry" has a lot of results. Apparently some would suggest there is one planned?

It is also showing the new bridge with east and west lanes side by side.

Google sign in is required. I'd appreciate if HN had less posts from the "walled" sources.

Here's a screenshot for the lazy http://f.cl.ly/items/2L0s1j0y3r2b2U1F2d0N/Screen%20Shot%2020...

Huh? I right-clicked the link and opened it in a Chrome incognito window (thus not signed in) and it displayed the map fine.

Weird. I didn't have that issue. I'm on the latest version of chrome, and not signed into my google account

No, it's not required. Try the link in a private mode tab or different browser.

This is one of those evil tricks, if Microsoft or Google know somehow you have an account they'll try to force a sign in ever after.

"evil trick" is pushing it, a bit. If I had to guess, the algorithm is more likely something like "you have a Google auth token in your cookies but it's too old, so you need to log in again"

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