Google Maps makes it easier to find wheelchair accessible locations

Google Maps has added a new editing feature that crowdsources accessibility details about locations, making it possible to add details on whether or not a specific location is wheelchair accessible.

“When you want to share accessibility information about a place or add details about many places quickly, just open Google Maps on Android,” product managers Shiva Thiagarajan and Rio Akasaka advise on the Google Maps Blog. “Open the main menu, and then tap ‘Your contributions.’ Tap ‘Uncover missing info’ and sort by ‘Accessibility’ to find places around you that are missing this kind of information”. From there users can add information related to whether a spot has a wheelchair accessible entrance, parking and so on.

Google offers four different accessibility options: wheelchair accessible entrances, wheelchair accessible elevators, wheelchair accessible seating and wheelchair accessible parking. This information is extremely important for people who rely on wheelchairs to get around.

According to Google, you can find wheelchair accessible details for a location on Google Maps desktop and mobile, as well as Google search on mobile, by tapping the two-line description under a location's name and scrolling down to the accessibility section. With the help of crowdsourced data, Google has been able to add accessibility information to nearly 7 million places around the world.