[Talk-us] Excess TIGER nodes in a way

[Alan Millar]

> Now the question.  Should I 1) delete the (what I believe are) extra
> TIGER nodes from the northbound way, 2) add a bunch of nodes to the
> southbound way to make it match northbound, or 3) call it done and learn
> to be happy?

Choice 3 is always a legitimate option; if the map looks right then be
satisfied :-)

Choice 2, as such, is not worth doing unless you have a specific reason
for making the ways match, more than just "they should match".  The new
nodes should serve a pupose, either in road shape, connectivity, or
information.

Choice 1 is the most likely candidate, although it may not be worth
bothering with.

The unasked question underneath this is: why would the TIGER way have more
nodes than appears necessary?  There are a few possibilities.  The TIGER
data is an amalgam of other sources, so the Census Bureau may have simply
received it that way from the county, for example.  TIGER also contains
nodes for various purposes, indicating changes in street address ranges
(not likely needed for freeways) or feature classes (sort of their version
of our "highway" tag).  Since we don't use all such various aspects of the
original data, and we may not agree with the accuracy or classification of
the original, then it is not important to us to keep a node-for-node match
to the original.

Since our current working stance is that TIGER was a one-time import and
there are no working plans to try to maintain synchronization, feel free
to edit it and "fold, spindle and mutilate" as you see fit :-)

- Alan