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OSM Map Data

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If you see something incorrect as you’re planning or navigating a route -- perhaps a gravel road that you know and love is incorrectly labeled as pavement -- you have the power to become an OpenStreetMap contributor and improve the data that drives our routing abilities.

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Ride with GPS uses map data from OpenStreetMap (OSM) to power the RWGPS, OSM, OSM Cycle, and ESRI map types in our route planner and navigation software. OSM is a free and collaborative project to create a detailed map of the entire world — and it is constantly evolving and improving because of a worldwide community of volunteer contributors who regularly update the map to reflect new roads, closed roads, private/public land access, surface type information and more.

 

Contribute Map Data to OSM

The easiest way to help contribute to OpenStreetMap is to submit an edit directly from our Route Planner. To make an edit directly from the Route Planner, follow the steps below:
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  1. Open the Route Planner and right-click on the map near the location you want to edit.
  2. Select Look up in OpenStreetMap from the right-click menu.
  3. Select the Way you want to edit from the side toolbar. This will highlight that location on the map in blue and show the current tags associated with that location.
  4. Select Edit on OSM.
  5. You will be taken to www.openstreetmap.org and prompted to Log In or Sign Up to create a free account. 
  6. Then the iD editor will open which allows you to make edits in your browser. The first time you open the iD editor, you'll be prompted to follow a quick walkthrough to learn the ropes. This is available at any time when logged in by clicking the Help icon in the lower right corner and clicking Start the Walkthrough.

OSM has a large number of tags, which provide information about map data. Ride with GPS deals with a number of these for identifying surface types and determining the best routing options for cycling, walking, or driving. Read on to learn how to contribute specific edits directly to OpenStreetMap.

Editing Surface Types

Ride with GPS draws on surface type tags from OpenStreetMap to assess the surface type of routes in the Route Planner. OpenStreetMap provides some distinctions between Paved and Unpaved surfaces in their wiki here: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:surface. 

  1. Follow the steps outlined in the section above and click the Surface Types option to select a surface type from the dropdown menu. 
  2. Click Save, Input a Changeset comment describing the changes you've made, and click Upload to submit your edits.

 

Editing Other Data

There are a large number of tags that we utilize to determine routing behavior. OpenStreetMap has some information about tagging bike-specific infrastructure here: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Bicycle.

If you're having issues routing along a specific path or trail, you'll want to check to ensure that the access tag is set to yes. Similarly, ensure that the bicycle tag is set to yes, designated, or similar. 

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Leave a Note

Notes are used to communicate to other users and map editors that there's an issue so that editors can verify this issue and make the necessary changes to the map. To add a Note, follow the steps below:
  1. Visit www.openstreetmap.org
  2. Locate the area you want to leave a Note on by panning on the map or using the search bar.
  3. Click the Add Note button on the right-hand side of the page.
  4. Click and drag the blue Note marker to the place you'd like to add a Note, and then add a descriptive comment about the issue with the map data.
  5. Click Add Note to save your note!
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You can learn more about Notes on the OSM Wiki here: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Notes. Notes may take some time to be verified by an editor and updated. If you'd like to make changes that are enacted quicker, follow the steps in the sections above to learn how to contribute directly to OpenStreetMap.

Updates from OSM to Ride with GPS

The edits you make to OpenStreetMap will be visible immediately after you save them. However, edits may take up to a few weeks to appear on Ride with GPS, as it takes time for OSM data to be updated in our software.

Tips & Tricks

  • If you find yourself needing the coordinates of a location, you can right-click on any location in the Route Planner, then click Show Lat/Lng to easily copy the latitude and longitude of that location. From there, you can paste it into the search box on OpenStreetMap. 
  • The Query Features tool on OpenStreetMap's website allows you to right-click on any part of the map to inspect any features that are located in that area. Clicking on the feature from the sidebar will then allow you to easily see all of the feature's tags. ezgif-3-6fdd60b729.gif
  • Need more assistance? OpenStreetMap has a wealth of information on their help page and Wiki.