Cycling in the Netherlands just got that much easier!

Google Maps' driving and public transportation route planners are handy and widely used. Recently, users in the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom also became able to use the website's long-awaited cycling route planner.

Amsterdam's Department of Infrastructure, Traffic and Transport (Dienst Infrastructuur Verkeer en Vervoer, or DIVV) helped Google out by making an inventory of the city's entire cycling network, looking at characteristics such as road surface type, width of the bike lane, the presence of bollards, cycle paths, etc.

The investigators cycled throughout the city, GPS and measurement equipment in hand, to ultimately obtain a complete picture of the most important cycling routes in Amsterdam.

Beyond assisting Google Maps users with route planning, this work will allow DIVV to determine at a glance whether a particular route is as safe as it should be, and where improvements are needed and possible.