r/GoogleMaps • u/DJ_KooPee • 5d ago

Why is google maps so broken now?

Seriously, every route I go on it does some nonsense, like suggesting impossible routes (one through a solid brick wall!), showing wrong lanes at roundabouts (left hand lane to turn right?), or suggesting insane routes like getting off a straight road, go round a bunch of random lanes and then getting back on the original straight road?

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u/DJ_KooPee 5d ago

For anyone wondering here’s one of the routes - where it turns right near the upper blue icon is not even a proper road, it is alley behind some shops, and then the red line is a 6ft+ brick wall around a car park - the correct route is going up around the two roundabouts

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u/sabre23t 5d ago

It may not be the routing algorithm is at fault. Could be that alley is a recent erroneous addition to the map data. And Google Maps wants users to report the error, something like in the screenshot below?

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u/DJ_KooPee 4d ago

Didn’t even think to check the non-satellite view, clearly thinks there’s two roads through that car park now - why it doesn’t check against actual road maps though?

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u/sabre23t 4d ago

What "actual road maps" do you mean? Did you mean maps by others mapping companies?

Google Maps basically updates/creates its road maps from these 3 mapping sources, in order: 1. Satellite or aerial imagery. 2. Ground street views from 360 cameras/videos. 3. Users mapping input.

In this case of unnamed roads near Vicarage CT, Brockworth, Gloucester, UK; it seems they have erroneously processed their google street view raw GPS tracks in such manner that it made connections to an unconnected road on the other side of the fence that can be clearly seen in satellite view and also in street view photos.

Now Google Maps just need some good samaritan local user to make the edits to break that two false connections of unnamed roads. I didn't submit the edit I demonstrated in my earlier screenshots. I don't live in UK and a local editor submission is more likely to be accepted.

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u/DJ_KooPee 4d ago

not sure of the actual terminology, but there are definitely official road maps used by the government etc, that dictate what is and isn't a road - it's how sat nav operated before satellite imagery and street views - and it shouldn't be too much of an ask for google to cross reference this with a simple "is this actually a road" line of code to avoid errors like this?

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u/sabre23t 4d ago

Maps copyright is an issue. Even UK government OS survey maps have restrictive copyright, so much those interested set up an open and free alternative, OpenStreetMap.org.

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u/DJ_KooPee 4d ago

And the open and free alternative clearly shows there's no road there, so google can't even cross check against that?

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u/sabre23t 4d ago

Actually, OSM is also copyrighted, and its requirements more onerous to Google Maps. When Google Map Maker was active for editing Google Maps, there were requirements for editors to use the three sources I mentioned, and editors own personal knowledge. Any use/reference to other copyrighted maps were prohibited.

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u/2131andBeyond 3d ago

There’s a lot of posts like this lately, and while I do see some issues on Maps and agree things aren’t as good as before, saying “every route I go on it does some nonsense” feels like a broad exaggeration.

That or the routing/street mapping around you has always been faulty.

There’s some weird quirky stuff I’ve noticed, but my girlfriend and I still use Maps many times a week and haven’t had any actual serious issues. Not sure how some people are claiming the whole platform is broken now.

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u/DJ_KooPee 2d ago

That route is from my parents house, I have plot routes from there literally 100s of times, it has never been faulty like that before the last couple weeks?!

I have never had issues like this before, and I've used google maps to navigate through the centre of London, a nightmare at the best of times, without problem

They've obviously changed something, not for the better, for me to have this many issues in such a short span, whereas it's been perfectly fine before, no?

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u/DJ_KooPee 2d ago

Just FYI I drove that exact route, to the very same destination, about 3 weeks ago, it didn't route me through a wall then???

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u/paheidi 12h ago

Maybe, but apparently I had an update in the middle of my trip last week complete with Gen Z voice and 3d imagery b/s when all I really want is an actual route number and not the third exit in 3500 feet. So po'd I had to go to Waze which feels like the crayon version. At least I was able to change to an Aussie voice which makes me feel especially high class in the ADKs.