Google Maps crowdsources info for wheelchair-accessible places
Now you can be sure that hot new restaurant can accommodate you.
It's important to know whether a restaurant or other building is accessible if you use a wheelchair. While Google already added this information to places in its Maps app a while ago, the company has just announced that it will be crowdsourcing a larger set of accessibility options to help those with wheelchairs know if places are accessible or not. Google claims it has added this valuable information to almost seven million places around the world.
According to a Google blog post, you'll now be able to add even more accessibility details to places from Google Maps for Android. You simply open the main menu, tap "Your contributions," then "Uncover missing info." Sort by "Accessibility" to find places missing these details and then fill it in. We were unable to see these options in our own testing, so it's possible the feature may roll out to users over time. Once people have added in this information, though, you'll be able to see whether a place has wheelchair-accessible entrances, elevators, seating and parking using the desktop or mobile versions of Maps, as well as within Google Search on mobile. Google told Engadget that it has no information to share on an iOS or web-based way to add accessibility information, but reiterated that all users can see it via Maps and Search.
