Incorrect/missing directions and an unpaved roadFORUMS HOME SEARCH FORUMS

Hi. First off, congratulations on a great app. Just to make you aware of a couple of anomalies that threw me yesterday, in case the underlying causes can be addressed, which may help someone else.

1. My route directions (waypoint 46) told me to look out for a left turn into Niddries Lane. There was a Niddries Lane on my right so I took that, but had a feeling I was heading in the wrong direction because of this.

2. Niddries Lane then turned into a rough unpaved road. Again I thought I must have been in the wrong place. Plotaroute said this was the route so I persevered for 1/4 mile, under a railway bridge, but on the other side it looked even rougher with a steep downhill, ok for mountain bikes maybe, and at this point I decided to just turn around and head back to the main road. I didn't really feel I could trust Plotaroute at this point, so had to use Google Maps to navigate for a while until I knew where I was again, and lost about 10 miles of data in my cycling app.

I tried to replicate 1. this morning, but now it correctly says turn right, but the incorrect instructions can still be seen in the saved route

I have to admit some responsibility in this. I wouldnt normally go somewhere I didnt know without researching it first so I knew where I was going, but was a bit rushed on this occasion. I did some research but probably relied on Plotaroute too much, which was evident when things started to unravel.

It's still a great app, and I'm sure I will continue to use it, so many thanks for all your efforts.

Gareth

Thanks for the nice feeback about the site.

It looks like the left turn along Niddries Lane at 22.091 miles was correct but there was a missing turn instruction (right turn into Niddries Lane) at around 21.7 miles, so this is probably where the confusion came from.  It's hard to say why this turn was missing without know exactly how the route was plotted.  

I'm not sure about the other point aboyt the suitability of this stretch of the route for road bikes.  It looks as thought this bit is a designated cycle route, so I'm surpised the terrain was unpaved.  It's hard for me to comment on this without local knowledge of the path though.

Sorry I can't offer any better explanations but thanks for flagging these up anyway and I hope you continue to enjoy using the site.

John

This is the view as you turn into Niddries Lane (it looks better in the picture than it looked/felt yesterday!)

I thought I would take a screenshot of the exit I didn't get to:

!!!  Clearly I have been stitched up by a fellow cyclist demonstrating there is nothing wrong with the path! Or maybe he started up it and turned around because it was too rough (or maybe I am clutching at straws).

The bit I was on (see above) was definitely not paved, and I'm pretty sure it was a road route I selected. I guess you are at the mercy of the mapping for things like this, but not sure if you can flag up paths that are not designed for road cycling?

Gareth

Yes, we are indeed dependent on the mapping providers for the accuracy of the maps.  I don't think it wouldn't be practical for us to try to maintain alterations or variations to the maps ourselves.  However, if you spot a problem with a map you can contact the mapping provider to report this if you wish.  On the main map and satallite views there is a 'Report a map error' link in the bottom right hand corner.  To comment on the Paths maps, you can add Notes on map on the map on the OpenStreetMap site (the Paths map we use is the OpenStreetMap Cycle Map).  

John