Embarcadero Center - Google Maps issues and problems

Update: Two Embarcadero Center officially dubbed “Chevy’s Fresh Mex Center”

Update: “Reported a problem” to Google on this item and this too, first in my list.

Previously: Correcting and improving Google maps (Embarcadero, Osha Thai, Waterbar)

For the Embarcadero neighborhood in San Francisco, all “user contributed” edits need to be moderated. That is not the issue. Overall features and UI design are what is at issue here. That includes how markers, labels, and addresses are handled, and what is editable, what is not, and what can reasonably be expected of “user contribution.”

Duplicate entries abound, but aren’t easily corrected. Embarcadero One through Five are not clearly marked. Many visible businesses have the markers in the wrong place. The very definition of where the marker goes is ambiguous — “place the marker at the entrance” — does not mention automobile or pedestrian entrance. I have a big problem with the 5 Embarcadero Center marker that is five blocks North (outside this view), and the difficulty in managing duplicates. I’m certainly done trying to “edit” these issues into submission. I will however point Google at this map, reporting it as “a problem.”

Here is the map overview. I had to remove the lavender polygon on mine because it occludes mouse clicks. Here are screen captures of Google’s and my map, click to go there.

Business (postal) addresses not very useful here. Street view needs a golf-cart size vehicle for the “pedestrian view,” straght down the center pedestrian corridor from One to Four. Note that some key improvements were made, and here you can see that Commercial alley is the pedestrian route. Street view doesn’t go inside but it does let you “advance” one block at a time, sort of like a “teleport.” 

View One Embarcadero Center - pedestrian and parking entrance in a larger map

Budget rent-a-car’s “address” is Five Embarcadero Center, which no-one knows is actually the Hyatt. regardless, the “entrance” to Five Embarcadero Center is… the Hyatt front door, isn’t it? That would work for both cars and pedestrians. But no, the Budget marker is on the divider at Sacramento and Drumm, looking toward Three, and no mention of the valet.

On my first visit to Budget Rent-a-car, I was at Justin Herman Plaza and was directed by Google Maps to Mission St. west, then Main to Market to Drumm. That was before “walking directions.” Here I show how walking directions have improved a lot, but the stupid 5 Embarcadero marker has the wrong location but the right zip code. You have to pick the one with the wrong zip code or you will be sorry. There are two of them, one with “5” and one with “Five.” At this point I don’t know if Google Maps searches for Marker titles or addresses, but it seems OK if you have a single “Five Embarcadero Center” marker with the correct information. It’s the bad markers and wrong zip codes and duplicate entries that conspire against finding one’s way to the Budget counter. 

Apparently the Hyatt marker occludes the Five Embarcadero marker, which follows from what I’m seeing: Markers with the exact same address and location hide one another, and there’s only one winner. So, looking at the map you will never see “5 Embarcadero Center.” You have to search for it and select the marker. Side note: I will henceforth call Two Embarcadero Center “Chevy’s Fresh Mex Center” after the long-closed (and demolished) restaurant that prevents the Two Embarcadero Center label from being seen. Even more amusing, this would be fixed by moving the marker for a venue which is long gone. This is the sort of “edit” that I decline to make, since it requires the moderator understand the bigger picture. 

My actual destination, the Budget counter, was in the Hyatt lobby (it is now on the street level just behind the main entrance.) I will probably notify Budget that they also need to direct first-time customers better. Either way, the only good Google Maps solution to these problems is to use the marker position I suggest, or make an exception to the description so first-time visitors don’t drive (or walk) around looking for a sign that doesn’t exist. Why is it so difficult to understand that directions to a rental car company are most useful for people who are picking up a car? In other words, how can one get to the effing COUNTER assuming one does not ALREADY HAVE A CAR, which is why ONE IS GOING TO RENT A CAR. It’s fortunate that there is a solution at all, which is the straight-line vector from the street view closest to the valet drop-off to (approximately) the counter, which passes through the Hyatt front entrance.

I defy anyone to explain to me why the definition of where a Marker goes seems to 1) assume one is driving 2) be completely useless for 99.99% of first-time visitors to the Embarcadero Center. If the definition of “Marker” is the automobile entrance, then almost all the markers will pile up around the parking garage entrances. If “Marker” is “entrance of location” then someone has a lot of ‘splainin to to. And if the address is “One Embarcadero Center” there are many entrances, some for the complex, some for access to elevators, and others are individual doors for businesses giving out onto the street, or inside the center. I don’t believe Google has a good solution for this, mostly because we Americans are car freaks and they (Googlers) are too in love with Street View.

Bing maps does do labels better: Bird’s eye view and map view all have One through Four properly labelled. Bird’s eye view can be rotated. User contributions can be enabled and even “subscribed to.” 

 

Let’s also not forget that The Embarcadero is a divided road just to the east. “5 The Embarcadero Center” is very evil. So is “5 Embarcadero”. Did I mention that there are very few addresses on The Embarcadero? Yes, they are piers mostly, but not consecutive no no no. Odd numbers going North of the Ferry building, even numbers going south. Unfortunately, often “Pier 1, The Embarcadero” gets turned into “1 The Embarcadero” which is perhaps why I’m seeing some usage of “1 Pier.” We don’t make it easy, certainly. Pity the tourists!

View Embarcadero Center - Google Maps issues and problems in a larger map

Google I/O Developer Conference 2010 (May, San Francisco)

May 19-20, 2010 — Moscone Center, San Francisco

Google’s largest developer event returns to San Francisco in 2010. Google I/O brings together thousands of developers for two days of highly technical content, focused on pushing the boundaries of web applications through open web technologies and Google developer products like App Engine, Google Web Toolkit, Android, Chrome, APIs, and more.

Early registration for Google I/O will open in January 2010. Until then, you can check out highlights from Google I/O 2009 below, and follow our updates on Twitter.

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Correcting and improving Google maps (Embarcadero, Osha Thai, Waterbar)

UPDATE: 20100801:

All problems described here have been fixed. One ingenious solution provided by Google is to enable disconnected (non-automotive) “streets” such as that pedestrian corridor by Osha Thai, labeled “Sacramento Street.” 

UPDATE: 20090905:

Tried to “fix” the Ferry building to Osha Thai pedestrian route.

UPDATE: 20090710:

Google is actively improving Google maps, and I think this post outlines why one should consider contributing to the effort, by correcting errors or by adding geo-tagged photographs.

The Official Google Blog - Seeing the world with improved Google Search results

As an avid traveler, I know how helpful it can be to see a map when searching for a location on Google. Using our Universal Search technology, we have provided maps in our search results for more than two years. However, as any traveler could tell you, knowing the geographical location of a place is only part of the story. It’s often just as valuable to get a sense of what the place is like, and there’s no better way to do that than by looking at images of some of its most important sights.

Now, when you search for locations using Google Search, you may see pictures from that place alongside a map. You can click on any of those images to go to the photos layer on Google Maps where you can browse many more geo-tagged photos.

First, Google maps had the wrong address for Osha Thai. It was listed as on “Drumm street.” Also, the placemark was wrong, in the same way. I fixed both errors, then found some Google “user maps” that think the address of this restaurant is the address of the nearest parking garage. I left some comments, but now I think I should have “flagged” it for removal. Confusing Four Embarcadero Center Parking Garage Entrance with Osha Thai Restaurant is absolutely ridiculous… It’s as though someone used GPS once and bang, Drumm street is the address. For all I know, some idiot, or maybe the “street view” car was the source of all the incorrect information.I also decided to create a “user map” to describe how they directed me to the lounge from the restaurant last evening. I’ve done my part to correct the glaring errors, and to provide viscerally correct orientation information. The lounge probably connects to the restaurant via the kitchen. The customer however has a short walk around Four Embarcadero to travel between restaurant and lounge.

Note that the Tulip Flower thing is absolutely key for placing facilities within large complexes like Four Embarcadero center.  The Tulip Flower thing can be seen from space, as well as from the lounge!

The following is not a photo or screen capture. It’s a live embedded “user map” I made after my first visit to the lounge on July 4th,  2009. Lots of people have opinions about one specific 6 dollar happy hour cocktail — and whether or not the appetizers are delicious and a value and compare to some other location in the Tenderloin. Your google searches will find you lots of opinions about a lot of crap.

In contrast, I am trying to correct the record regarding venues, addresses, directions, and the like. This is factual material, and improves on what you can find online. I could really care less if somone gives the “lounge” two stars on Yelp. I can only hope they don’t get stuck in the elevator on their way back to their car, if you take my meaning. It’s a long drive back to the ‘burbs, people. Be careful out there!

View Osha Thai Restaurant & Lounge, 4 Embarcadero Center in a larger map

Osha Thai Lounge

Also, some kind person has submitted his photo of the Tulip Flower thing to Panoramio. Iit was accepted for use in Google Earth (as a photo “bubble” you can enter) and gives me an ideal latitude and longitude which I can use to locate something without a “street address” and invisible to street traffic. Below is a “screen cap” that links to the author’s page — embedding a “user photo” is not permitted.

Embarcadero Four Tulip Flower Thing

I had a serious map failure with the “Waterbar” restaurant… it’s at 399 The Embarcadero… and I was directed from Sansome and Jackson North to Broadway… and then mobile mapping with GPS failed me completely as I walked south asking everyone where the hell 399 was. Finally people started telling me “Waterbar” was “that way.” No-one knew where 399 was - and you could absolutely not orient yourself on the street.

North of Market street, The Embarcadero has no addresses - just odd pier numbers! South of Market it’s a mix of even pier numbers and addresses! Should we institute negative street addresses to denote “negative southward?” This particular address has another problem… it’s quite new. It’s like a new block of addresses added somewhere…. but not to a street, to the middle of park.

This is how I solved the problem: I called the map 399 The Embarcadero @ Folsom, and I use a split-screen with street view and my map, and draw a line showing you how the entrance is positioned relative to The Embarcadero (the road). Did I mention there’s a great view of the Bay Bridge in the background, to remove all doubt as to where the hell this is? Search for “Waterbar SF” in Google maps… mine is the most self-contained combination to overcome these problems - just remember: the Ferry Building is Pier Zero, Even is positive Southward, Odd is negative Southward, if you understand me. Chicago is planned around a “zero” intersection — I think it’s Avenues and Streets with addresses marked East or West and North or South. Of course, this implies the “Waterbar” address should say “399 The Embarcadero South ” and pier numbers should include the redundant South or North signifier — pity the poor tourist who is so foolish as to imagine pier 40 is next to pier 39!

I see I can’t embed the entire split screen, with the little yellow man, the blue line and the “street view” photo…  so I’ll just show you the screen cap of what I can get using Google maps:

Now, I will detour onto problem areas… where you will get lost. I’ll be taking you through GPS, multiple layers of 2D maps that cross, or don’t, much like integrated circuit board wiring designs. There are walking directions that don’t connect 2 points with an almost straight line where they can, and the pedestrian Möbius strip that will trap tourists like fly paper.

Google maps “walking directions” are in beta, they say, and I can confirm this. Worse than routing the pedestrian around a large city block, I suspect Google Maps has a “street view” and “closest address a car can reach” bias.

Walking directions are in beta.
Use caution – This route may be missing sidewalks or pedestrian paths.

We’ll see how long it takes Google to figure out that a straight line from the Ferry building to the restaurant is the “preferred” walking route. I find it disappointing, if not surprising, that they cannot connect the Ferry building with the bottom of Market street, for the pedestrian. Last I checked, no “car ferries” arrive at San Francisco’s Ferry building! Even with the bad address, the pedestrian directions are almost a straight line. On your way to the bad address on Drumm street, the straight line for walking would have taken you right past the restaurant. Unfortunately, these are the walking directions:

View Larger Map

As of Sept. 5  2009, I can “modify” a pedestrian route, but can do nothing about the core problem - missing crosswalks, pedestrian paths and “polygons” that declare whole regions (such as the Justin Herman plaza) limitation-free for the car-less. This route takes 9 minutes, but of course you’d probably be quickly run off the road by an impatient motorist  There is one hopeful improvement below — pedestrians, not cars, can access the Embarcadero via the bottom of Market. Cars have to turn right on Steuart. If you switch to satellite view, you can see that the two missing “crosswalks” are more like “crossblocks” and those big, friendly stripes are visible from space. So, what’s the problem here, map experts?

Anyone? Anyone? Anyone at all?  Bueller?

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All latitude and longitude coordinates inside Four Embarcadero resolve to Drumm street. It is not obvious to realize that One, Two, Three Embarcadero Center is “all the streets” around it… so it’s more apt to imagine it contains the “X hundred block” of four different streets. In the Four case, It’s even more complicated by the fact that The Embarcadero (the road) is two roads in two directions, both bordering Four Embarcadero Center, and there were recent changes to the bottom of Market street. That is apart from the pedestrian alleys all through the Embarcadero. I’d like to see Google maps “walking directions” give you the option of 3 routes from Four Embarcadero to One Embarcadero … I’m certain something would fail reliably, or direct you in a loop, given all the curvy ramps and staircases and escalators, and pedestrian overpasses above the street level.

I also have a practical “pedestrian directions” trick that takes you through the lobby of the Embarcadero Cinema! The “walking directions” for that route need to know what time and date you plan to make that walk.

GPS navigation can’t even handle the problem of Stockton Tunnel… it’s a 2-D+ issue on a mostly 2-D problem space. For example: Stockton street is not contiguous for a car… over the Stockton tunnel, it’s disconnected by 2 staircases, allowing only the pedestrian to choose tunnel or hill. The Stockton street addresses over the Stockton tunnel are all unreachable by GPS navigation, I’m pretty sure. It will keep telling you to “take the tunnel”… and when you arrive at the other side, you will have “overshot” and will be re-directed back through the tunnel…. and when you arrive at the other side, you will have “overshot” and will be re-directed…. My evidence for that prediction is the inability of GPS to direct a friend who ended up over the tunnel by mistake. GPS’s first direction: take the Stockton tunnel. Doh!

This is similar to the problem with all the stuff under the big freeways going through San Francisco. You really can’t tell what’s under the 101, as alleys and streets get blocked, re-opened, disconnected or connected quite regularly.

Walking directions are in beta.
Use caution – This route may be missing sidewalks or pedestrian paths.

Google I/O Developer Conference 2009 (May, San Francisco)

Image via CrunchBase

May 27 - 28, 2009 Moscone Center, San Francisco

UPDATE via Anrdroid Developer’s Blog

Posted by Dan Morrill, Developer Advocate on 30 March 2009 at 4:00 PM

For no particular reason other than to celebrate this particular Monday, I wanted to update developers on two Android-related news items.

If you’re a developer who will be in the San Francisco Bay Area at the end of May, I hope you’ll join us at the 2009 Google I/O developer conference. You might have already seen the sessions we had listed for Android, but today I’m quite pleased to let you know that we’ve added a few more Android-related sessions. You can find the full list plus abstracts on the Google I/O site, but here are the titles:

• Turbo-Charge Your UI: How to Make Your Android UI Fast and Efficient
• Pixel-Perfect Code: How to Marry Interaction and Visual Design the Android Way
• Supporting Multiple Devices with One Binary
• Debugging Arts of the Ninja Masters
• Coding for Life—Battery Life, That Is
• Writing Real-Time Games for Android
• Android Lightning Talks

These sessions don’t even include the “fireside chat” with the Core Technical Team that we have planned. We’re working on still more sessions too; keep an ear to the ground on this blog and the Google I/O site for the latest info. I’m pretty excited about how the Android sessions for Google I/O are coming together. I think it’s going to be a great event, and I hope to meet many of you there.

Early Bird Price (until 5/1)	$300 USD
List Price (starting 5/2)	$400 USD
Academia (Professor, Student, Faculty)	$50 USD

For two days in May, thousands of web developers will come together to learn how to develop web applications with Google and open technologies. Learn from product experts about Android, App Engine, Chrome, Google Web Toolkit, AJAX APIs and more. Engage with a community of excited developers just like you.

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