[OSM-newbies] Turning Circles at the end of cul-de-sacs ??

[Dave F.]

  On 23/08/2010 22:40, Iain Simpson wrote:
> I'm quite happy to go along with agreed methods.
>
> In defence of my original argument - now lost <grin>
>
> as the map
>
> http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=52.7918493747711&lon=-2.12611198425293&zoom=16 
>
>
>  will show
>  - many culs-de-sac in this area are quite short
>     (The longer ones look OK)
>  - they just seemed a bit strange when the head was 1/4 length of the 
> body

Ah, that's a problem for the renderer.
When I first started I thought the same, but it was pointed out to me 
that OSM is primarily a database of information of which is used by many 
different renderers to convey information that is useful for them. A 
prime example is cyclemap (on the right side of the map click the blue 
+) which emphasizes the cycle paths (& also postboxes which seems 
unusual to me - I've never needed to post a letter when out for ride).


> http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=52.7918493747711&lon=-2.12611198425293&zoom=16 
>
> I'm sometimes a bit confused on the amount of data one should record 
> when surveying an area for the first time.
> Stafford has a huge amount of unmapped space and I felt that the most 
> important thing was to record the position of the roads (and footpaths 
> !) accurately. When this has been done the detail can be added.

What I did was so select a small area of my home city that I knew well & 
mapped it to quite fine detail to learn the editor & tagging procedure.
If I made errors they weren't too wide spread.

I suggest you do the same & then post back here asking for someone to 
look at it & suggest any improvements that can be made.

On that note I need to point out that the footpaths you've mapped need 
to join into the roads. As they're drawn at the moment, they're isolated 
& you can't technically get to them. There's software called Routers 
that uses OSM data to calculate the quickest/easiest journey by 
foot/cars etc. That software would be blind to those paths.


Hope that helps

Cheers

Dave F.