Keeping it real
File under: maps
<day job>In the aftermath of the bypass, Ghuznee St is still a mess of roadworks, but all the actual road changes associated with the bypass construction were completed a while ago. So far, the maps at ZoomIn and Smaps are the only accurate online representations of the new layout, and Wises, Google Maps, Yellow Pages etc still have outdated information.But the world doesn't stand still, and there are plenty of other changes to be incorporated into the next ZoomIn/Smaps update. We (at ProjectX) are working on that now, and while in a perfect world all it would require would be to load in the up-to-date, quality-checked base data from our providers (plus a lot of rendering time), the real world is not perfect. We already have a list of manual changes that we're planning to make to the "official" data update before rendering, but since ZoomIn is all about community involvement, we're asking for your help.
So, if there are any spots on our maps that are out-of-date, inaccurate, or just plain wrong, leave a comment either here or (preferably) on the ProjectX blog. A link to the relevant ZoomIn page (remember that all cities, suburbs, streets and addresses on ZoomIn have their own URL) would be very helpful, but otherwise a thorough description would do. Also, if you want to suggest any changes to the styling of our maps (e.g. should pedestrian streets like Cuba Mall and Woodward St appear the same as walking tracks in the bush, or do they deserve their own style?), please let us know. We can't guarantee that every suggestion will get into the next cut of the maps, but we want to get as much public input as we can.</day job>
posted by Tom @ 9:56 am
10 Comments:
I think they should be a different colour from the surrounding buildings, but should be cross hatched if they are generally carless, ie this would include Cuba mall, Manners mall, woodwards st + large chunks of the waterfront,
Also counldn't see the prince street steps listed as a public path,
The is also a path ( Marked as a council walkwa) from hay street in Oriental Bay , behind the Jernigham apartments up to bayview terrace,
Cheers
what would be really good is to programme in the tiny little pedestrian only alleys that criss cross downtown welly, and also the hills nearby. For instance, the steps off Allenby Tce, the paths off Raroa St up Aro Valley, the pedestrian routes through right of ways etc. And yes, please, make them a different colour to those used by cars, or some plonker in a 4WD will try and drive his jeep down them.... over a number of years, hopefully those pedestrian only paths should increase....
Yes, I've already got a few of those on my list (e.g. behind Holland St), but the more the merrier! In the long run, I'd love to include all of those in a "routing network" that we could use to find the shortest walking path & time between any two places: most of the existing routing services are aimed at drivers.
...cos they're only shown, like Cuba and Manners Malls, with a grey hatched line - doesn't really impart the feeling of the vitality of Cuba Mall at present. A nice pink? Pale purple?
It'd also be good to get the new buildings, laneways, and public spaces on up at Kumutoto, instead of the pale grey mass there is at present.... and presumably the same for Waitangi Park...?
i did try to use Zoomin ? i think? to find out how far it was from my house to my work, and it said 1800km and 48 hours... (ok, my fault, apparently i had selected Cuba St in Dunedin...)
...and yes, i've just checked: the waterfront in Wellington really is out of date, especially at Kumutoto ("unknown st" is cute...) and Waitangi Park (old road layout) , although it appears you have updated Harbour Quays already to include the new roads there.
What it looks like it needs is someone who has an active interest in the whole waterfront process, and knows what buildings are going where.... you could even show the sites for the Transition building etc, so that the public might actually understand what is proposed, and not have another hairy hissy fit....
....waterfront promenades, oriental beach jetty, etc etc, all need a loving touch.... and you just the man to do it.
Still fighting the urge to turn immediately left on exiting the terrace tunnel in the wake of the bypass.
14 years of habit takes some undoing.
One interesting thing about Google Maps is it's inaccuracy around the Northland area. It thinks you can get to Northland shops via Lower Orangi-Kaupapa Rd and an alleyway that's considered part of Military Rd.
http://urltea.com/yij
At one point, Wises used to consider Masons Lane a route you could drive.
as per what black box said, the other day i turned right into victoria from ghuznee in my car and sailed right up the far right lane - ie. the wrong way. had to do a dramatic swerve to get back on course......the one good thing the bypass has done for me is that, as a commuting cyclist from the terrace to brooklyn, i can use the cycle lane alongside the bypass from abel smith to victoria (heading east) and i've actually cut out the need to use ghuznee st at all, and several sets of lights. it explains my unfamiliarity with the layout when actually in a car.
i haven't checked on zoomin yet, but i'd certainly like to see bike lanes marked, cos although most of them were a sop to the anti-lobby, occasionally they have their uses.
Maximus: "...and yes, i've just checked: the waterfront in Wellington really is out of date, especially at Kumutoto ("unknown st" is cute...) and Waitangi Park (old road layout), although it appears you have updated Harbour Quays already to include the new roads there."
Although in this case it's not "us" that's updated Harbour Quays, but Terralink. We made some manual changes around Waitangi Park for the bypass update (I just couldn't stand to see Chaffers St still barrelling through the middle of it!), and the roads are reasonably up to date in the latest version of the data. The park layers are way out of date, though, so I'll have to add Waitangi Park (and some others) by hand.
"What it looks like it needs is someone who has an active interest in the whole waterfront process, and knows what buildings are going where..."
And what would also be helpful is someone with some plans for the waterfront changes (e.g. at Kumutoto), preferably in a GIS format like .SHP, or failing that in DWG, DXF or even high-res TIFF if need be. I wonder where we could find those?
"you could even show the sites for the Transition building etc, so that the public might actually understand what is proposed, and not have another hairy hissy fit...."
Good point, though we could be asking for trouble if we try to anticipate changes too much. If you look at those Real Estate maps that are plastered up in a lot of shops & offices, there was one year where they went ahead and put all the Variation 17 changes in!
"....waterfront promenades, oriental beach jetty, etc etc, all need a loving touch.... and you just the man to do it."
Hmmm, we're supposed to be in the online map services business, not surveying! But yes, we want the maps to be as good as possible, so I'll have a go at all those changes if time allows.
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