Openstreetmaps: update your area!

I've access to many GPS and use Google maps too, so one might wonder what the interest is in another mappying system? Well this one is really open and long term could make mapping much cheaper and more community oriented (each contributing new additions/corrections/innovations). Contributing to this free/open mapping data can only be a good thing...

Check out the Floss Weekly podcast http://twit.tv/floss81 for an interview that explains what its about.

Although I'd known about this project for 2-3 years now, I had no easy way o contribute, until I got an iphone...

The village where I live only had a main road recorded. So it was the opportunity to get involved, especially since with the iphone it's become easy to record tracks and upload them.

Viewing maps

http://www.opencyclemap.org/
http://openrouteservice.org
http://www.informationfreeway.org
http://maps.cloudmade.com

Example for Blonay:

http://www.informationfreeway.org/?lat=46.46354859876893&lon=6.890466551...

References for Blonay:

http://www.georiviera.ch/blonay/blonaypublic/

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=blonay&vps=5...

Mapping: edit maps, upload tracks

Editing

http://www.openstreetmap.org/

Understanding
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://forum.openstreetmap.org/viewforum.php?id=30
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/DE:WikiProject_Switzerland
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/index.php/Beginners_Guide_1.3.1

Verification:
http://keepright.ipax.at/report_map.php?error=5631881
http://www.opencyclemap.org/

Swiss examples:
http://www.openstreetmap.ch/?zoom=17&mlat=47.37592&mlon=8.54664&layers=B...

Tools for iphone

Recording tracks, sending via email, viewing opencycle maps: GPS Motion-X app.

Download tiles for offline viewing: Offmaps

Basic navigation: roadee

Tags

To make good maps one needs to add lots of Tags to explain what a street, or point of interest is. The following are tags I've observed in Switzerland and intend using.

Roads (except motorway & national routes):
  highway:secondary|tertiary|residential   maxspeed:50  oneway:yes
  junction=roundabout

Walking tracks  (clarification needed)

  highway:track | motorcar:no|foot:yes|bicycle:yes|tracktype:grade1
  highway: path (in towns, or also for small tracks?)

  highway:footway|path|pedestrian|steps ?
  highway:pedestrian  area:yes  sac_scale:hiking

Address numbering
  addr:housenumber
  addr:street
  http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Proposed_features/House_numbers/Karls...

amenity:pharmacy  dispensing:yes
amenity:bank  name, operator:UBS
amenity:church|place_of_worship  building:Yes religion:christian denomination:evangelical
amenity=hospital      building=hospital
amenity=pub|restaurant|supermarket|public_building|toilets|fountain|school

amenity=park
leisure pitch|playground|sport_centre
sport: soccer             Example for a football ground

BUS/Train
Which:
  amenity:bus_station  TL 1: stop
  highway:bussStop     name,url,TL 1: stop
railway:station
http://openstreetbrowser.org/?lon=7.05&lat=46.62&zoom=13#

Car parks
  http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:amenity%3Dparking
  amenity=parking area=yes
  name=XXXX
  highway=service  service=parking_aisle

Tags to try out

historic=castle
network lwn, route hiking, type route, name:fr Tour de val de Bagne osmc:name Tour de val de Bagne
ele= elevation  natural: peak  mountian_p=pass

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tagwatch/Photos
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/FR:France_roads_tagging

More tools

Conversion: http://www.gpsbabel.org

Mapping http://www.qgis.org/index.php
http://www.oreilly.de/catalog/webmappingger/toc.html
http://mapserver.org/

Josm
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/index.php/Beginners_Guide_1.3.1
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/JOSM/Basic_editing
http://gis.hsr.ch/wiki/HowTo_OpenStreetMap#Schritt_1._Editieren_mit_JOSM...

http://map.stephane-brunner.ch/

Open issues to follow up on...

• How to add (nice) roundabouts, photos
• documenting walking tracks correctly, adds CAS references
• How to select multiple elements and set a new common tag?
• How to get Josm running correctly!
• Errors that happen sometime: "Precondition failed: Way  requires the nodes with id in (-23,-22,-21,-20,-19,-18,-17), which either do not exist, or are not visible."