The truth lies somewhere between the various maps out there. In some places Google rules, in others OSM rules. Occasionally, neither rules and usually some local mapping does.
I like that there's competition to keep all of them on their toes, and I very much like that one of the contenders is a community project.
I find that even in heavily populated areas in the US, OSM tends to best Google in the case of trails and paths in parks, and biking routes.
I suspect this is a case that is particularly well suited for crowd-sourcing though, since these are the sort of places people who enjoy mapping are likely to enjoy exploring the most.
In a recent trip to Bristol I was staying at a guest house on Exchange Avenue:
Google: https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en...
OSM: http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=51.454096&lon=-2.59397...
The truth lies somewhere between the various maps out there. In some places Google rules, in others OSM rules. Occasionally, neither rules and usually some local mapping does.
I like that there's competition to keep all of them on their toes, and I very much like that one of the contenders is a community project.