Google Maps adds ultra-precise street details in 4 cities

Google Maps received a redesign in August of last year that added more color to physical maps to make the varied geography more discernible. At the time, the company revealed that it was also working on adding similar details to street maps, which would clearly show things like sidewalks, crosswalks and pedestrian islands in cities. Last month Google rolled out these changes to a few users, adding match indicators and building numbers in some cities. Now, the functionality is finally deployed to a wider audience in 4 major cities.

According to a recent report by Android Police, detailed street maps are now available to the majority of Google Maps users in the following cities:

• London, United Kingdom (central London)
• New York City, United States
• San Francisco, United States
• Tokyo, Japan (central Tokyo)

As you can see in the attached screenshots, Google Maps now accurately displays details such as road width, rounded corners, and roadside vegetation. It also clearly indicates crosswalks, medians, pedestrian islands and more at the aforementioned locations. The extra details should help both pedestrians and people with disabilities plan their route more effectively.

In addition, parks will display the actual width of trails in dark green, as well as stairs in gray. If you’ve already received the update, you should be able to see these details by zooming in to street level in one of these cities.

The detailed street view is rolling out as a server-side update and is expected to reach most users in the coming days. Google may add more locations in the coming months, but the company has not released any information about them yet. We will update this post as the detailed Google Maps street view becomes available in more locations.