OpenStreetMaps

[admin]

Yesterday, we added a World Topo map layer. Today we updated the US Satellite layer to also display street labels. The number of streets labelled on the US Satellite layer depends on the mapped area and zoom level. Not all streets will have labels.

Really missing the satellite layer with the streets labeled on Open maps.

[theraccoonbear]

Fantastic, thanks so much for getting this in there.

We have added a few new map layers for US visitors. US Satellite, US Topo Maps, and US Topo Satellite map layers are all now available on the home page map. The map layer control is on the top right of the map. Click the layer control to select any map layer. In the future, we will be adding more layers and refining the existing layers to provide better geographical coverage and resolution levels.

We had a deadline to convert over to Open Street Maps and could not include a satellite layer in the initial release. We do plan on adding a satellite layer. Thank you for your patience while we continue to make changes to Map Pedometer.

Is there any way to get satellite photo layers? I didn't see an option. I run a lot of trails that aren't official/mapped and I really need to go off of visuals of the trails to measure my routes.

[twil4754]

Hi, I understand the reason for this change, thanks for taking the time to explain. I appreciate that the shift to open street maps was necessary to keep the site free. Unfortunately, it seems to have seriously degraded the site's functionality since paths which are shown on the map are not clickable, or are shown connecting but don't. A couple examples:

Here's a nice 4.5 mile run in NJ:
http://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=654148
Here it is mapped with the new software:
http://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=717075

The attachment is a second example: my attempt to map a very short segment (<.2 miles) of a run (inset image as mapped on mapitnow), which ends up being 5x longer.

I guess mappedometer doesn't have direct control over this, since it seems to be caused by problems with the underlying map data, but… Any advice?

[admin]

Thank you for the detailed post. It helps us give better answers when we receive detail like you have provided. We have a solution for you and recommendations for anyone that encounters this kind of issue:

1) For your particular issue with routes 654148 and 717075, it appears that the automatic routing mechanism does not allow walking on the last portion of your route. To solve the problem you encountered, we switched from the default "Run/Walk" routing mechanism to the "Cycle" routing mechanism (by clicking on the radio button labelled "Cycle" on the upper left above the map). The automatic routing mechanism successfully followed the trail that you wanted to traverse. There is also a "Straight line" mapping mode which allows you to go directly from one point to the next point rather than following known roads and paths. The "Straight line" mapping mode allows you to create a route segment regardless of the availability of roads or paths. You can freely switch between the routing modes "Straight line", "Run/Walk", and "Cycle" while creating a route if the automatic routing will not follow the map path that you would like to traverse. By changing routing modes, you can always overcome any automatic map routing issues.

2) For the second issue, we recommend using the "Straight line" routing mode to make this short segment. Zoom the map in before making your straight line so that you can follow trails/paths as you make your route. Please also consider helping the mapping community by editing the OpenStreetMap as described below.

3) We are now using Open Street Map data (and others) on Map Pedometer. The data for the map is "open source" and individuals are able (and encouraged) to update the maps whenever any map errors are found. Any user can edit the OpenStreetMap map by visiting https://www.openstreetmap.org, creating a free account, and then editing the map. There is a detailed walk-through on the site that shows up to make updates and it has a test area where you can learn how to make map changes. You could then add the missing or mislabeled off-road pathways and trails to the map. Please note that you will not immediately see your changes on our site. Both the maps and routing engine will need to be updated before you see the changes.

Hi, I understand the reason for this change, thanks for taking the time to explain. I appreciate that the shift to open street maps was necessary to keep the site free. Unfortunately, it seems to have seriously degraded the site's functionality since paths which are shown on the map are not clickable, or are shown connecting but don't. A couple examples:

Here's a nice 4.5 mile run in NJ:
http://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=654148
Here it is mapped with the new software:
http://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=717075

The attachment is a second example: my attempt to map a very short segment (<.2 miles) of a run (inset image as mapped on mapitnow), which ends up being 5x longer.

I guess mappedometer doesn't have direct control over this, since it seems to be caused by problems with the underlying map data, but… Any advice?

[twil4754]

Thank you for the advice!

[admin]

We have added a "World map & sat" layer option. This layer combines both regular map images and hybrid satellite images. When you select this layer, you will see the normal street map when the map is zoomed out. At higher zoom levels, you will see hybrid satellite images.