Highlighting accessible locations through Google’s new Maps feature

Google has announced a much-anticipated feature, which will be rolled out soon on its Maps app. The novel feature includes wheelchair accessibility info, Businesses and points of interest, bathroom information and much more will now be prominently visible once logging on to the app.

Source: Google

Then there are those require the assistance of ramps, automatic doors or simply locating handicapped parking slots to simply get about with their daily tasks. Google has been collecting information over the years and now has finally incorporated that ‘life-saving’ feature.

The company showed off the feature in a blog post for Global Accessibility Awareness Day. To turn it on, users can go to the “Settings” section of the Maps app, then “Accessibility settings,” then toggle on “Accessible places.”

Source: Google

Any locations searched for or tapped on will display a small wheelchair icon if there are accessible facilities. Digging into the details will uncover what exactly is on offer but a note to remember is that the new feature doesn’t indicate the location of those resources.

The information is supposed to be automatically created or sourced from blueprints, like what Google does with its other services. A registered user can note the presence of accessible facilities the way they’d note any other service at a store, pick-up shops etc. Just go to “About” in a location’s description and hit the “Describe this place” button at the bottom.