Google Maps getting a more powerful road editing tool on the web

Abner Li | Mar 11 2021 - 9:00 am PT

Crowdsourcing plays a big role in keeping Google Maps accurate and current. Google is introducing a more immersive desktop tool to edit roads in Maps over the coming months.

From maps.google.com, you open the side navigation drawer and click “Edit the map” — towards the bottom of this menu. Today, the “Missing Road” option asks you to “click the map where the missing road should be.” You then enter the name with the ability to leave an optional note.

Add missing roads by drawing lines, quickly rename roads, change road directionality, and realign or delete incorrect roads. You can even let us know if a road is closed with details like dates, reasons and directions. To make sure the suggestions and edits are accurate, we’ll vet contributed road updates before publishing them.

The new tool launches a fullscreen experience that lets you “Add a road” by clicking the FAB in the bottom right corner. You can undo/redo segments from the top-right and specify road type before sending.

This updated way to edit roads in Google Maps will be rolling out over the coming months to over 80 countries where users can already report changes. The company today also announced “photo updates” for Maps on Android and iOS.