To keep Maps accurate and current, Google is reportedly introducing a more immersive desktop tool to edit roads in the coming months. The tech giant wants to make crowdsourcing easy so that users can update the map data such as missing roads and their names. The feature is coming to the web version of Google Maps, and users can access it from the navigation drawer on maps.google.com.
To be made available on the web, the new road editing tool in Google Maps will allow users to add missing roads, rename roads, remove incorrect roads, and more. To use it, first, go to maps.google.com on your web browser and then open the side navigation drawer. From there, click on the “Edit the map” option at the bottom of this menu. As per a report from 9to5Google, today, there appears a “Missing Road” option that asks users to “click the map where the missing road should be.” Users can then enter the name of the road and leave an optional note for that road.
New Road Editing Tool on Google Maps
Speaking of the things that you will be able to do with this upcoming road editing tool, there will be abilities to add missing roads by drawing lines, change road directionality, quickly rename roads, and realign or delete incorrect roads. According to Google (via 9to5Google), users can even let Maps know if a road is closed by giving details like dates, reasons, and directions. However, the tech giant says that it’ll verify contributed road updates before publishing them to make sure they’re accurate.
Further, the new road editing tool launches a fullscreen experience that lets contributors “Add a road” by clicking the FAB in the bottom-right corner. There’s also the ability to undo/redo segments at the top-right and an option to specify road type before sending. Apart from this, the company has also announced “photo updates for Google Maps on Android and iOS.
The update with the new road editing tool will roll out in the coming months in over 80 countries. Reportedly, users can already report changes in these 80 countries where this updated way to edit roads is releasing in the coming months.
Images courtesy: Google Maps
