Frequently Asked Questions
From Cyclopath
This page lists frequently asked questions (and answers!) regarding Cyclopath.
Edit this page only if you have a (frequently asked) question and its answer. If all you have is a question, and you want an answer, see Geowiki Help. Note that many of these reflect bugs in the software; as these are fixed, the corresponding questions will be removed.
[edit] You are missing a bike path / the map is incorrect.
Cyclopath is a wiki; it is up to the community to make these corrections. In fact, no one else has built a bikeways data set that's more correct or complete than we already use, so this is the only way to gather this information. See Editing How-To for more information.
[edit] "Printer friendly" button on routes panel does nothing
Configure your pop-up blocker to allow popups for magic.cyclopath.org.
[edit] How do I add a note to a segment or point
Select the segment or point and click on "Add note". A box will open with the text "New note". Replace the "New note" text with your note. Click "Close", then save your changes.
[edit] How do I add the same note or rating to the whole bike path, or stretch of road?
Select multiple segments by holding the Shift or Control (Command on Macs) keys while clicking with the mouse. See Selecting Objects for more information. Once the blocks are selected, add the note (click on Add note), or pick the desired rating. Make sure the blocks get unselected before editing information that do not apply to all the selected blocks.
If you wish to add or remove blocks from an existing note, click the more button next to the note, click the Add to or Remove from buttons, then select the relevant blocks and click the appropriate button.
[edit] How do I designate a road or trail temporarily closed for construction?
Select the blocks affected (see Selecting Objects for details), and add the tag "closed". It would also be helpful to add a note telling what you know about the closure (dates if possible). Try to remember to remove the tag when you notice it reopened.
[edit] How can I tell when two lines cross or meet whether it's an actual intersection?
It's important to know that in Cyclopath, when two lines (representing blocks) are crossed or run together, an intersection isn't necessarily formed on the map. To see if Cyclopath thinks it's an intersection, check the "Connectivity" checkbox in the tool section in the upper right corner. Hover the mouse cursor over one of the blocks. You will see a green line though that block (with two green squares at each end), in addition, every block directly connected to that block will also light up. If the cross block(s) lights up green, Cyclopath thinks it is an intersection, otherwise it's not (make sure you are not being misled in cases where the two blocks in question are actually connected somewhere else on the map).
If there is an actual intersection there, and the map thinks it's not, it should be fixed. See "Splitting blocks (adding a new intersection)" in Editing How-To#Geometric editing for instructions on creating a new intersection.
[edit] How do I designate a bridge?
To create a bridge or tunnel, first make sure the two blocks haven't been mistakenly made into an intersection, if so, remove the intersection so there are two blocks that cross without forming an intersection. Click on the advanced tab, and click both blocks in succession to see the current bridge levels of the two. Increase or decrease the bridge level of one of the blocks until the two are drawn properly as passing over/under.
Which block to adjust depends on other bridges that may need bridge level adjustment for these blocks.
[edit] Why are suggested routes telling me to use freeways?
Blocks with a rating of "impassable" are excluded from routes. The estimated rating of everything we could identify automatically as a freeway is seeded as "impassable", but the data we got from MNDOT is not very clear on this matter, so a number of freeways were missed.
You can improve this situation by changing the offending blocks' type to "Expressway" and/or rating it "impassable". See Rating Objects for more about bikeability ratings.
[edit] I made a mistake. Is there anything I can do?
Yes.
If you haven't yet saved: for just a few errors, click Undo until the mistakes are undone; for a more complex error, click on Discard changes.
If you have already saved, click on Recent changes. Find the most recent (from the top) revision with your user login on it. Click on it to select it. Make sure no one else's revision is selected. (A green outline may appear on the map to indicate the area this revision applied to.) Click Undo revisions.
[edit] Some bike trails are not quite aligned with the aerial photos. Should I fix this, so they match the aerial photos?
In general, this is not necessary. The photos are simply to aid in building of the map, by providing information such as where trail and roads are in relation to one another, the general shape of the blocks, whether there is an intersection or a bridge, etc. The map should be optimized for readability by itself, at different zoom levels, rather than exactly aligned to the aerial photos.
Also, keep in mind that the photos are several years out of date.
However, in some areas the map is systematically out of alignment with the photos. If this annoys you, feel free to fix it, keeping in mind the above.
[edit] I want to set up a Cyclopath in another city.
This is a request we've gotten a few times. Basically, the procedure would be to install our software and seed it with appropriate local data. We have made the source available for open source. See Tech:Source Code.
There are a few caveats:
- This is not easy, requiring expertise in UNIX/Linux, Apache, PostgreSQL/PostGIS, all of our programming languages, and GIS. I'd estimate it would probably take a few weeks to a month for a qualified person to bring up a new instance.
- You need a geocoding service (address-to-point translation). This can be tricky, because you need one that fits your budget, works well, and you are allowed to use.
- Since we've only installed the software once, along with one open source installation, there are also unknown unknowns to identify and deal with.
Also, since it'd be a significant amount of labor on our part to provide support and help, we'd need demonstration that the person has the skills and financial backing for success, though anyone can try installing the open source; go to Tech:Source Code for more info.
If you're interested, e-mail info@cyclopath.org and we'll talk.
