“less is more” route maps from MapBlast

Not a question, just an observation about a practical system that does a great job of erasing irrelevant ink from maps.

MapBlast has been testing (since March 2001, apparently) a new type of map for driving directions, under the name LineDrive. The maps
don’t include useless features not on your route;
instead you get just the roads you’re supposed to take, distances,
and major cross streets, simplified and with proportional distances
adjusted so that turns are easier to follow.
In contrast, most driving directions just highlight a route on an
traditional road map.
It makes for a vast improvement in the readability of the
direction maps.

The technology is described in a paper by
Maneesh Agrawala and Chris Stolte,

Rendering Effective Route Maps: Improving Usability Through Generalization.
My take-away is that they modeled the maps on how people draw maps by
hand when giving directions.