[OSM-talk] Nature Trails (was: No_comments=yes)

[Tom Chance]

Ahoy,

On Thu, 08 Feb 2007 01:38:07 +0000, "Ben Robbins" <ben_robbins_ at hotmail.com> wrote:
> All i'm asking is for suggestions as to how to render multple routes next
> to each other, and what would be a suitable tag to use for marking trails. 

I'll pitch in and say that I really like the idea of providing information on nice walks. I've long wanted to do this with the data in Reading, just to encourage people living there to discover that it's not all horrid :-)

In terms of rendering I would have thought it would be best as a separate layer that you overlay on top of the basic OSM map. Draw adjacent lines if there are multiple routes, and make them slightly transparent if possible so they don't completely obscure the ways underneath. This is what bus routes seem to do.

Your data storage schema of route_ref="xyz;abc;jonny-come-lightly" seems OK. Perhaps the start or end of the route, or even just any old segment in between, could also hold something like route_description:xyz="This is a hearty trudge through a wood, for more info see www.doddle.com/wood" for renderers to give a little more information about them. It would help if JOSM made it easy to select multiple segments, and append a string to the route_ref route even if the segments each currently hold different values (i.e. because some segments are already in other routes).

Maybe team up with Freemap, since Nick concentrates on rural walking maps, and do an OSM hack with an overlay layer showing the nice walks data? It would also be nice to generate high-res static maps that could be printed out & made into booklets, or just stuck on a static web site, for local walking groups / enthusiasts; one route per map, with a description and photos/sketches. I don't think it's suitable for the main slippy map.

My only other concern would be route overload, the temptation to add route_ref="quick drive to work" or route_ref="avoid the worst snow".

Regards,
Tom