For over a decade, MapQuest has been one of the most trusted routing programs in North America. Along with Google Earth, MapQuest has found its popularity because it is completely free to use, easily accessible and incredibly reliable. 

Still, with the number of different applications that are now out there helping people get from Point A to Point B, MapQuest has had to adapt and change with the times. One new way the program has decided to adapt is by giving information that is more detailed about certain neighborhoods, including detailing certain amenities.

mqVibe Beta was unveiled as an offshoot site of the original program and in addition to telling you what restaurants, bars and movie theaters are in and around a certain neighborhood, it will rank that neighborhood compared to other parts of the city you are traveling in. The site will also tell you how easy it is to get around the neighborhood on foot. mqVibe uses a constantly updating algorithm to evaluate more than 50,000 neighborhoods in 27,000 US cities. 

That means that even if you live in a relatively small town, mqVibe might be adding your neighborhood in the near future. The site apparently takes neighborhoods and businesses and uses votes by the site’s users, as well as external data and interaction from MapQuest and other services in order to come up with the rankings.

MapQuest says that mqVibe will flag certain hotspots that are trafficked especially frequently and will use some sort of highlighting to show residents of that city where the hottest places in town are. While MapQuest is one of the best services around when you need to get from one place to another, this new offshoot could prove especially handy when you are on the go and just looking for a fun place to hang out. 

Of course, since salons and spas are also reportedly going to be featured this can also be a good service when you simply need to get some errands done. Not surprisingly, MapQuest also said that an iPhone app for mqVibe was already in the works and would available soon.