[OSM-talk] When images are not calibrated

[Jmapb]

On 8/17/2021 1:52 PM, Mike Thompson wrote:
> The Strava Global Heatmap is a good reference.  It is the average of
> all of their users who have cycled, ran, hiked, etc. on a given street
> or path over the last two years.

Strava is great for helping with alignment, and IMO it's worth jumping
through the hoops to get it to load. The exact permissions granted by
Strava for OSM mappers are unclear at this point, but by my
interpretation there's no problem using it as a reference for alignment.

But when doing so, it's worth bearing in mind the athletic nature of
Strava's traces. If you're looking at a vehicular road that also carries
significant foot or bike traffic, it's very common to find the traces
concentrated towards one side of the carriageway, ie, wherever the
runners or bikers are most comfortable traveling. If you try to align
imagery of such a road to the Strava heatmap, you'll be off. Best to
either find 1) a clear footway/cycleway without vehicle traffic, or 2) a
road that carries very little athletic traffic so the Strava heatmap
mainly represents users who, perhaps inadvertently, uploaded their
automobile trips.

Jason