CoderTown Blog

Recently Google Maps finally released a new functionality called My Maps - it allows users to create their own maps in terms of putting own markers in locations they need, chose icons for them, add custom description and pictures for each marker bubble. There are also poligon and path tools available, so no you can draw any curve you like and outline a whole area and put your description for it. And finally, once saved, a link to this map can be sent to anybody or published as a regular URL link!
Just go to http://maps.google.com, click on My Maps and create an account for yourself. It requires to hava a Gmail account though. You can use any existing one or create an new one.

Here are some maps I was playing with:

• Skycroft camping
• La Défense - video
• From Laval to Montreal
• Rougemont et Marieville

As of October 20th, 2006, a new Google Maps mashup was launched by CoderTown (i.e. by us ) - MTLmap.com. This is very simple (for now) Montreal interactive map with all metro (subway) lines and stations displayed.

Why? Because it’s very handy to browse the map or search locations by, say, ZIP code and then to find if there is any metro station close by. Surprisingly none of official maps provide such functionality so far.

Why MTL? Because: a) MTL is very well known abbreviation in Great Montréal Area; b) it’s short! c) mtlmap.com domain name was available.

How? MTLmap.com uses, of course, Google Maps API to achieve this functionality. Thanks to free Google Maps service, today almost anyone can create such a map with custom data displayed. A unique thing for this project is a set of metro stations geo coordinates (collected by us manually ) which forms four existing metro lines on the map. JavaScript with OO programming and Ajax are heavily used.

What’s next? Displaying metro system is just a beginning of Montreal Interactive Map adventure. We believe that the city lacks of such a map where a tourist or a visitor could easily find all main transport, cultural and entertainment places. Locations will be grouped by categories allowing to display only what’s required in a given moment.

Here is what we think can be useful on this map:

• permalinks for any existing location on the map;
• permalinks to any user defined location (geo position plus caption);
• permalinks to custom path, defined by user;
• traffic webcams locations and actual pictures;
• city’s webcams locations and actual pictures;
• tourist’s attractions, “must-sees”, historical places with photos;
• would be great to display different entrances for each metro station when it’s selected;
• every location must link to external resources with more info, like official websites, Wikipedia, etc.;

And we plan to do that! Ideally, such a project must be a community effort, geowiki-like project, where everyone can add a location, describe it or correct existing one. But for now it might take too much time to implement. Maybe, some day. (Hey, bad guys - this is just another giveaway idea - go copy it! LOL)