Keir Clarke joins Google Maps Mania!

Blogger, Google Maps developer, and Street View enthusiast Keir Clarke has joined the Google Maps Mania team as a regular writer! He'll be posting from London, UK and brings a great interest in the world of Google Maps! Some of Keir's past Google Maps projects have included the Star Viewer and Street Viewer. Keir is an ex teacher and professional who is trying to make a go in the crowded world of freelance web design. Since giving up his teaching career two years ago he says that while he has become a lot poorer he does have more time to indulge in his love of traveling. This love is apparent in a Google Maps video blog he maintains called Virtual Tourism that you may have seen me blog about in the past. Welcome to Keir!

6 Cool new US Google Maps mashups!

WashingtonPost.com Taxi Fare Estimator - Directions Magazine points us to this new Google Maps tool created by WashingtonPost.com. It aims to help those in Washington DC who are coping with the switch from zone to metered fares. The tool provides basic saved or custom routes, along with advanced settings that let you fine tune the route you're plotting. Just out of curiosity I also ran a search on Google Maps for "Washington DC taxi map" and found this great Community Map result called the DC Taxi Zone Map which will help you better map the zones. If you're fed up with the new fare system, you can always use the Washington DC Metro! (Related: TaxiWiz will help with fare estimates for other cities)

Find a Theatre and Restaurant in Chicago - Mark Meyer's TheatreInChicago.com will help you find a play in and around the city with the new Google Maps mashup within his site. Local restaurants that cater to play-goers for each theatre are also plotted to make it a great resource to plan the entire evening out!

RoomApes.com - This new site's goal is to "..build a resource that people can use in order to help them make informed choices about prospective roommates." Search the map or post yourself. [More info]

• Philip Habel's Atlas of Wisconsin Cheesemakers
• Read about how GeoNews is coming to life!

RoadlessLand.org - In the US there are groups of forest service lands (approximately 60 million acres) called "Inventoried Roadless Areas". This Google Maps mashup created by Nelson Guda maps all of the roadless areas covered by the roadlessroadless rule. The site also contains a database of information about many of these areas and a place where anyone can upload photos and comments about the areas. The mashupUSGS Topo maps, Panoramio photos, Recreation.Gov POI's and a nifty print function that lets you set your printing to vertical or horizontal.
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