Allow users to draw GPX on the site, with Landranger background map
Hi,
Mentioned this elsewhere but one barrier at the moment to adding routes is that people may not (sadly) have the time to physically walk all their local routes, but they are likely to have the time to add routes they know well by tracing the route on a map. I could contribute many local routes that way.
Creating GPX files from a map has potential copyright issues (copyright of background map is inherited in the GPX).
Given Slow Ways uses OS mapping, could it provide a background Landranger map for people to trace their routes on?
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I was out walking a route today and came across some surprises.
I don't think there's a substitute for walking the route even if you think you know it.
Personally I would only really trust a route that someone else has recently physically walked.
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True, but there is also the practicality of adding the routes in there, recognising that many people do not have the time to actually go out and do the routes. The routes I have contributed (Dan - I used the 7-day trial of OS maps in the end, I hope this is ok, let me know if not and I can remove the routes) I have walked multiple times in the past 20 years. True, there might be some temporary issue or blockage, but these can always be reported to the council and cleared.
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Yes I think an online route entry facility would be very useful, not only for entirely new routes but also for making edits to suggest changes to existing routes, where there's some obvious problems or issues.
Having to register with other sites, or take out subscriptions or temporary trials to create a map is a hurdle which will deter a lot of people, but an integrated web tool to do it would remove that hurdle.
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There are a number of free tools that you can use to create routes on laptops. The Garmin Basecamp app for Windows and the Viking app for Linux are just two.
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Also, there isn’t yet a process to amend existing routes. We just have to upload new routes for now.
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I used a free tool that I use for much of my own planning. I then uploaded a gpx with route information and once on Slow Ways it became obvious that it should also have had altitude information. Subsequently I have used yet another tool to add altitude before submitting to Slow Ways. However, there is no way for me to correct the route lacking altitudes. I worry that this lack of ability to make corrections to something you have contributed will discourage contribution. I can see that it would be difficult to allow a route to be changed once it has reviews or surveys, but how else can small improvements be made?
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