Creating a cycle route using footpaths

[Kritou]

This is probably a limitation of the third party routing engine but I do find it frustrating. It seems that only “approved” cycle routes and roads can be used in the construction of a cycle route and not one of the zillions of footpaths

Here is a local example:-

[Kritou]

Sorry about the size of the above .jpg but it shows that there is actally a paved footpath between the start and end points of the route

[GeoMagik]

Yes, you are right, this is a limitation of the 3rd party routing service we use.  It assumes OSM tagged footpaths are illegal to use by bicycle so it isn’t routing through them.  This is probably the correct assumption actually, and if bicycle is allowed, it should be tagged as such.   That said, it would be nice if the routing engine was more configurable in these regards.

[Kritou]

Interestingly, the mulitude of footpaths shown just to the south in my screenshot, are purpose built cycle paths in a leisure biking project!

[GeoMagik]

Sounds like an OSM tagging issue.  If you want to correct them, you can go to openstreetmap.org find the area on the map, and then tap the Edit button.  This link explains the tagging convention for path in detail, but in brief its:

highway=footpath for a dedicated foot path (bicycle=yes may be added if bicycle is permitted on it)

highway=cyclepath for a dedicated cycle path

In case it wasn’t clear:

 • Foot paths are shown in PE as a red dotted line (short dots). 

 • Cycle paths are shown as a blue dotted line (short dots).

 • Fine black dotted lines (long dashes) and dark orange dotted lines (long dots or alternating long and short dots) are various kinds of trails, mainly for hiking. 

 • Purple dotted lines are regional/local admin boundaries. These can be turned off in Settings > Map Layers > Subnational Admin Boundaries in case you find these confusing.

[Kritou]

Thanks for suggestion, will follow it up

I wish there were an iOS app like Pushpin that allowed one to tag or edit such OSM data. I hardly ever turn my PC on these days as smartphones/tablets et al cater much better to the immediacy of tasks like these

Edit – just noted some apps that don’t require Flash for editing ways in OSM – will try one of them

[GeoMagik]

The new HTML based “Id” OSM editor is very cool, and easier to use than Potlach in my opinion.

There is the Go Map! app for editing arbitrary OSM data on the iPhone/iPad, though I have not gotten a chance to try it out yet.

[Kritou]

I have downloaded and had a play with Go Map! but cannot find your first suggested app – do you have a link?

[GeoMagik]

“Id” is a an HTML5 OSM editor that can be used from any browser (hopefully mobile too but not sure).  Just go to OSM website, and click on the side of the Edit link on the arrow right side, it will give you options of Potlach and Id.

 

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