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It looks like OSM has two builtin bike routing algorithms you can use, and at least for a few routes I tried they both seem significantly worse than what Google

It looks like OSM has two builtin bike routing algorithms you can use, and at least for a few routes I tried they both seem significantly worse than what Google Maps does (Big fat disclaimer: I work at Google, although not on anything related to this). The OSM directions for biking to my office involve going through a decommissioned oil field (fenced off, so the road isn't actually passable) and a swamp. What's weird is that it looks like OSM knows the road is closed but still tries to route me through it. Google's directions for the same destination aren't perfect either but at least they'd get me to my destination (they include a short jaunt down an eroding hillside where I have to walk my bike because the sand is so loose). That cycle.travel site looks really promising. They give the same route as Google Maps, but do a much better job explaining that part of it is an unpaved dirt trail.

Reason077 7y ago
OSM itself is really just the base map. A huge, editable database of map data. Anyone can build apps that make use of that data - the route planner you used is just one of many. The routing errors you describe could be issues with the particular route planner you used, or they could be issues with the OSM data itself. Some parts of the world are indeed better mapped than others (this is also true of Google Maps), but the great thing about OSM is if you find an error you can fix it yourself in seconds. Just click that “edit” button right there in the OSM interface...
upofadown 7y ago
>...fenced off, so the road isn't actually passable... Is that actually true if you are on a bike? In my city OSM is a good source of unofficial bikeways. What does the cycle layer have to say?
- Rebelgecko 7y ago
  I'd have to toss my bike over a barbed wire fence, or maybe cut the lock. The service road winds between a bunch of natural gas storage tanks so I don't think they'd willingly let me in. There's a "≠" symbol where the service road is fenced off, which I assume means impassible but "≠" isn't on the map legend so I'm not sure. When I hit the cycle layer, the ≠ symbol goes away
  - 43920 7y ago
    ≠ represents a gate [1], which the routing engine probably assumes you can go through; if it's not possible to open the gate, it should have an access=private tag added to it to indicate that it's not passable. If you click on the mouse cursor button on the right and then click on the symbol, it will show you the details for that object. [1] https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:barrier%3Dgate https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:barrier%3Dgate
deleted 7y ago
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Vinnl 7y ago
Yeah, when I was referring to OSM I meant that map data they collect, which has excellent bicycle data. That can then be used by specialised projects for cycling-specific interfaces.

Reason077 7y ago

OSM itself is really just the base map. A huge, editable database of map data. Anyone can build apps that make use of that data - the route planner you used is just one of many. The routing errors you describe could be issues with the particular route planner you used, or they could be issues with the OSM data itself. Some parts of the world are indeed better mapped than others (this is also true of Google Maps), but the great thing about OSM is if you find an error you can fix it yourself in seconds. Just click that “edit” button right there in the OSM interface...

upofadown 7y ago

>...fenced off, so the road isn't actually passable... Is that actually true if you are on a bike? In my city OSM is a good source of unofficial bikeways. What does the cycle layer have to say?

Rebelgecko 7y ago
I'd have to toss my bike over a barbed wire fence, or maybe cut the lock. The service road winds between a bunch of natural gas storage tanks so I don't think they'd willingly let me in. There's a "≠" symbol where the service road is fenced off, which I assume means impassible but "≠" isn't on the map legend so I'm not sure. When I hit the cycle layer, the ≠ symbol goes away
- 43920 7y ago
  ≠ represents a gate [1], which the routing engine probably assumes you can go through; if it's not possible to open the gate, it should have an access=private tag added to it to indicate that it's not passable. If you click on the mouse cursor button on the right and then click on the symbol, it will show you the details for that object. [1] https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:barrier%3Dgate https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:barrier%3Dgate

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

Vinnl 7y ago

Yeah, when I was referring to OSM I meant that map data they collect, which has excellent bicycle data. That can then be used by specialised projects for cycling-specific interfaces.