Google to add UK waterways to map app

Google says British canals and rivers will be active routes on Google Maps with the addition of 2,000 miles of canal and river paths across England and Wales. The U.S. search giant has teamed up with the Canal and River Trust, a charity taking charge of Britain's water network, to include the waterways that are not currently shown as active routes. "Say, I'm by a canal in Paddington and I want to go to Camden, and I put this information into Google Maps as a walking route -- it wouldn't send me to the canal, even though it's a nice green route to get there, it would send me by road," trust spokesman Jonathan Ludford told the BBC. The trust will work with Google to identify all access points to the waterways, as well as all bridges and tunnels, he said. Once the data is on Google Maps, waterways will become alternative, possibly traffic-free, routes through towns and cities of England and Wales. "Canal towpaths offer green routes through our towns and cities, and by working with the Canal and River Trust we're adding towpaths to Google Maps and encouraging people to discover their local waterway," Ed Parsons, geospatial technologist at Google UK, said.