'round the bend to upstate Schenectady
By MAURA YATES
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- If you're planning a drive from Port Richmond to Great Kills and you're relying on Google Maps as your guide, better pack some trail mix and an iPod and plot out some rest stops. It's going to be a long ride.
Ask the all-knowing search engine how to get between the Island ZIP codes of 10302 and 10308, about a 20-minute drive apart, and the map and directions it w
ill spit out involve hopping on the New Jersey Turnpike and the New York State Thruway to Schenectady!A software error is blamed for the incongruity, which estimates the 176-mile drive as taking three hours and six minutes. The route plotted by the computer includes a scenic road trip including the Catskill Mountains, the town of Woodstock and SUNY Albany.
The mistake was first reported on the Search Engine Roundtable blog at www.seroundtable.com.
Meanwhile, MapQuest, another mapping site, correctly plots the trip between ZIP codes 10302 and 10308 at 7.81 miles, with an estimated travel time of 19 minutes.
Google gurus addressed the issue in an online support forum, writing that the bug is a known problem the company is working to resolve.
In the meantime, Google Maps warns drivers that the maps and directions available on the site are for "planning purposes only," and that "construction projects, traffic, weather, or other events may cause conditions to differ from the map results," and advises motorists to "plan your route accordingly."
Maura Yates covers transportation news for the Advance. She may be reached at myates@siadvance.com.
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