Openstreetmap - Mapping Galway City

tl;dr - Looking for help in mapping all of Galway City on www.openstreetmap.org

This is going be a longer than normal post but please bear with me, I've even included pics to give an at a glance overview of the purpose of this thread.

At present Galway City has some of the highest resoloution satellite imagery in Ireland however its likely that we will be losing that soon as new imagery is rolled out for all of Ireland.

I am working my way around Galway city mapping as much of it as possible at the moment. I have done many hours of driving around getting traces and making notes of road names, estate names and locations of businesses etc.

However, this is a big job so its taking time. To give an illustration of what I am doing see the images below of Merlin Park Hospital which was originally mapped by someone else to show the general road layout


Image #1 - Original Merlin Park layout


Image # 2 - Added missing roads, footpaths and 2 sports fields



Image # 3 - Add outline of all buildings. Green bit on the right is tennis courts, who knew they were ever there


Image # 4 - Added outline for all parking in the hospital


Image # 5 - 90% complete with all green areas marked out, trees, shrubs, walls, hedges etc

If you go to www.openstreetmap.org the above is what you will see

Now, to the purpose of the post. I've gone almost as far as I can go with this. The rest now needs someone who works in Merlin Park. What I'd like is to be able to identify each and every building. This is where OSM comes into its own. the level of detail can get to very accurate levels but only if it comes from people with the general knowledge.

Is there anyone here on boards that can identify the buildings above? I know there's a "Hospital 1" and so on, but havent a clue whats what.

To see other examples of what I have been doing, follow the Dublin road in as far as the Huntsman on OSM, everything in Renmore, I completed over the last 2 weeks or so. Newcastle / Rahoon, I did back in Jan.

I am hoping to have all of Galway done by the end of the summer before the high res imagery is lost but its the details I need help with.

If I have sparked interest from anyone, getting started is actually very easy and I would gladly help anyone starting out, just PM me.

Sponge Bob

Mackerski did a lot of it in recent years. Getting to the stage where mapping buildings and paths and facilities is the next requirement. Meanwhile the county is a tad bare.

aye I know. Im living out in East Galway, about 30 mins outside Galway. I've done a lot of mapping on local roads but gave up in the end. What I spend 4 hours driving around mapping, I can do in 60 mins when the new imagery becomes available.

Don't worry, once the new imagery is available I'll be posting a thread on the Galway County board

dloob

Nice work on Renmore. I noticed a few weeks ago it was missing all the street names.
I was going to add them myself but they went and had their read only maintenance period.

Lapin

Excellent work.

One quibble - Is it really neccessary to have the letter P denoting parking repeated so many times in such close proximity in certain places ?

It gives the map a distracting appearance it doesn't really need, and leaves it looking overcooked.
Merlin Park Hospital and Mervue Industrial Estate are particularly blighted.
Especially as the yellow shaded areas are set out as parking anyway.

One or two P icons is enough to illustrate that parking facilities are available in any given institution.

Dunnes and Tesco on the Headford Rd are perfect examples of where you have achived this.

Just my bit of constructive crit. Well done again, and continued good luck with it.

I noticed that alright. I'll look into it

The reason Tesco / Dunnes look better is they have their parking in one lump.

Mervue & Merlin's parking is spread out all over, hence all the P's as each shows the parking designation.

I'll see if I can tidy it up tomorrow, bed time now

antoobrien

The information for Merlin Park is available on the HSE website. There's also a map (pdf) that tells you which unit is where (but not what each one does). The fucntions of the units are usually on a name plate, whcih you can see from the road. If you want to save yourself a trip out use google maps (ward = unit in merlin park)

It might be worth asking for help/advice the GPS forum on how best to map the rest of town.

JohnCleary

antoobrien wrote: »

(ward = unit in merlin park)

NOT TRUE

Unit = Unit. Individual buildings scattered round the hospital

There are Wards in the main Hospital block, used in the traditional sense, to identify different wings on different floors

antoobrien

JohnCleary wrote: »

NOT TRUE

Why is it that those who are WRONG shout loudest?

Merlin Park is set out in units, which given that it was a TB isolation hospital makes sense.

Here's the "Ward Listing" from the HSE website (I was in unit 4 on a couple of occasions myself years ago)

Merlin Park University Hospital
(091) 524222 Direct Telephone Numbers
Unit 1 (Medical Outpatients/Infusion Service /CAPD) (091) xx
Unit 2 (Orthopaedics/Surgical Out-patients) (091) xx
Unit 3 (Podiatry) (091) xx
Unit 4 (091) xx
Unit 5 (091) xx
Unit 6 (091) xx
Unit 7 (091) xx
Unit 8 (091) xx
Hospital Ground (Nephrology/Rheumatology/Medicine) (091) xx
Hospital 1 (Respiratory/Medicine) (091) xx
Hospital 2 (Orthopaedics) (091) xx
Special Care (091) xx

Don't see any wards there.

JohnCleary

How was I wrong? You stated that Units = Wards, which is completely un-true.

When I was a patient in Merlin, I was in Hospital 2 Day Hall, which was at the end of x Ward - they have obviously changed that in the past few years. Either that or I was giving wrong directions to visitors :pac:

You say 'Here is a listing of the HSE Wards'. Incorrect (read the website again), it clearly says 'Wards & Units'

DaCor - Great idea, well done. I'm partial to the odd mapping project myself. What info exactly are you looking for? Names of the buildings? I know most of them off my head, if you PM me your email i'll screenshot the map and write the names of the buildings. Some of the buildings have multiple uses ie. Admin/Finance/Kitchen are all one building.

I agree about the Parking being a bit too intrusive on the map. Also, some of the P labels are making staff car parks. and could potentially block work areas (up around Maintenance) so wouldn't suggest parking there

fergiesfolly

Op. Quick question. Why are we losing the hd imagery of the city we have now?

antoobrien

JohnCleary wrote: »

How was I wrong? You stated that Units = Wards, which is completely un-true.

So if you are going to, oh say dialysis (when it was in merlin) were you directed to unit 7 or the ward?

It was unit 7 - not the ward.

JohnCleary

antoobrien wrote: »

So if you are going to, oh say dialysis (when it was in merlin) were you directed to unit 7 or the ward?

It was unit 7 - not the ward.

You were directed to Unit 7, because that's what it is called. A ward is a corridor in a building, Units are individual, isolated buildings

Ward != Unit, simple as. If you said to someone 'Go to Ward 7' in Merlin, it would make no sense. But by your logic 'unit' and 'ward' are the same thing.

Stop ruining a perfectly good thread with petty internet arguing - e-mail me at [email]xxxxx[/email] if you want to continue it in private

-EDIT- It was a fake e-mail biko :pac: 'loopback.com' - seriously?!

biko

Anto and John infracted for fighting. You both are here long enough to know it's not on.
You should also already know that no phone numbers nor mails are allowed.

Back on topic, sorry can't help you there OP. I've only been there once.

Sponge Bob

Deleted User wrote: »

At present Galway City has some of the highest resoloution satellite imagery in Ireland however its likely that we will be losing that soon as new imagery is rolled out for all of Ireland.

The Current Bing Imagery ( certainly in the Potlatch editor) is shifted eastwards in Galway by perhaps 10m off true. Not a big issue for driving but certainly one that affects accuracy in mapping buildings and urban paths etc were one to attempt an outline trace off it as is permitted.

I do see that where off image tracing is _possible_ a lot more details are present on OSM between Barna and Oranmore.

But where did you hear about 'new' Bing imagery for Ireland or indeed its resolution. ???

[EDIT] Sorry, it was announced LAST April

http://searchengineland.com/bing-maps-game-changer-hi-res-aerial-imagery-coming-to-entire-us-and-western-europe-75159

It’s called the Global Ortho Project and the goal is to provide consistent, high resolution (30 cms) imagery across every square inch of the United States and Western Europe by June, 2012. Some major cities and landmarks (like Cowboys Stadium above) already have hi-res imagery but, as any experienced online map user can tell you, the photos often get much worse in smaller towns and cities.

That looks like an UPGRADE to me

http://www.forbes.com/sites/quentinhardy/2011/04/27/bing-maps-aerial-victory/

To do it, Microsoft developed its own highly efficient camera, and mounted it in several planes that were also loaded with 13 PCs for image processing. It then flew the planes north/south (for light standardization), in lines about eight kilometers apart, at 17,000 feet, shooting 220 megapixels every 2 seconds.

They’ve been quietly rolling much of this into Bing Maps for several months, and about 25% of the total is up, with more coming on every day. Total miles flown: about 730,000. Cost: about $130 million.

antoobrien

JohnCleary wrote: »

Stop ruining a perfectly good thread with petty internet arguing - e-mail me at [email]xxxxx[/email] if you want to continue it in private

I'm correcting a misconception that you are spreading about the layout of the hospital (due to the disbursed nature of the facilities). If you want to take that as fighting that's your problem.

FTR I'm pming biko about because I think the infractions are unfair (statement, not an invitation to discussion).

antoobrien

biko wrote: »

Anto and John infracted for fighting. You both are here long enough to know it's not on.
You should also already know that no phone numbers nor mails are allowed.

Back on topic, sorry can't help you there OP. I've only been there once.

Sorry about the phone numbers, didn't notice them when I copied the text.

antoobrien

Deleted User wrote: »

Is there anyone here on boards that can identify the buildings above?

Here's a start - I've filled in the buildings I can remember & the ones I can identify from the map.

The main hospital building is the largest building (in the center of the map directly above unit 8)

Sponge Bob

Register with Openstreetmap
Log in , click Edit when you have zoomed onto Merlin...it will launch the Potlatch V2 Editor ( default)
Select Wireframe view from right upper menu.
Select Building outline.
Insert Name on left.
Repeat for other buildings.
Click save.
Sorted.

KevR

I see there is still a roundabout at Briarhill (Lynch roundabout). I must get around to updating it..

antoobrien

antoobrien wrote: »

The information for Merlin Park is available on the HSE website. There's also a map (pdf) that tells you which unit is where (but not what each one does). The fucntions of the units are usually on a name plate, whcih you can see from the road. If you want to save yourself a trip out use google maps (ward = unit in merlin park)

cheers for that, hadn't thought of looking on the HSE site for info.

With regards to pulling info from Google maps, thats a big no-no. Their information is copyrighted. Its one of the 2 rules for OSM:
1. Don't copy from other maps
2. Have fun!

JohnCleary wrote: »

DaCor - Great idea, well done. I'm partial to the odd mapping project myself. What info exactly are you looking for? Names of the buildings? I know most of them off my head, if you PM me your email i'll screenshot the map and write the names of the buildings. Some of the buildings have multiple uses ie. Admin/Finance/Kitchen are all one building.

I agree about the Parking being a bit too intrusive on the map. Also, some of the P labels are making staff car parks. and could potentially block work areas (up around Maintenance) so wouldn't suggest parking there

John - I'm looking for any information which will improve the map, names of buildings, purpose of the buildings, the main enterances etc. Anything can be mapped

I'll sort out the parking in Merlin tonight, should look better in an hour

antoobrien wrote: »

Here's a start - I've filled in the buildings I can remember & the ones I can identify from the map.

The main hospital building is the largest building (in the center of the map directly above unit 8)

awesome! thank you

Lapin wrote:

Excellent work.

One quibble - Is it really neccessary to have the letter P denoting parking repeated so many times in such close proximity in certain places ?

It gives the map a distracting appearance it doesn't really need, and leaves it looking overcooked.
Merlin Park Hospital and Mervue Industrial Estate are particularly blighted.
Especially as the yellow shaded areas are set out as parking anyway.

One or two P icons is enough to illustrate that parking facilities are available in any given institution.

Dunnes and Tesco on the Headford Rd are perfect examples of where you have achived this.

Just my bit of constructive crit. Well done again, and continued good luck with it.

Check out Mervue Ind estate now, should look much better. You may have to ctrl+f5 to force refresh your view

If anyone is interested, I'm working my way across Wellpark/Ballybane this evening, hope to map out the major components tonight. You can view progress by refreshing that area of the map every 30 mins or so

For anyone interested in giving this a go, head over to www.openstreetmap.org and sign up. Start out using potlatch (the editor you can access from directly inside the site). Once you have the hang of it, move on to JOSM which is way more powerful and easier to use in the long run

If you need some real-time help to get you started there's usually ppl online in the irish osm-ie irc channel who'd be more than happy to help.

use this link to connect to irc channel via your web browser

Lapin

Deleted User wrote: »

Check out Mervue Ind estate now, should look much better.

Looking good indeed !

A lot tidier.

Keep up the good work.

Mrs OBumble

KevR wrote: »

I see there is still a roundabout at Briarhill (Lynch roundabout). I must get around to updating it..

Ahh, yeah, and people wonder why I haven't used OpenStreetMaps ...

OP, a thought: maybe stick to Unit names, rather than specific wards or departments. The department that is in a building is likely to change more often than the unit name (esp when they're so very meaningful ), and if you want your info to be valid for a long time, it's often best to stick to "longevious" details and leave out the rest.

JustMary

JustMary wrote: »

Ahh, yeah, and people wonder why I haven't used OpenStreetMaps ...

OP, a thought: maybe stick to Unit names, rather than specific wards or departments. The department that is in a building is likely to change more often than the unit name (esp when they're so very meaningful ), and if you want your info to be valid for a long time, it's often best to stick to "longevious" details and leave out the rest.

probably right about the unit no's

JM, I am curious as to why you haven't used it. The example given, the Briarhill RAB, will be sorted by tomorrow by KevR or myself. Google will be months behind. Not picking, just curious

antoobrien

Deleted User wrote: »

With regards to pulling info from Google maps, thats a big no-no. Their information is copyrighted.

I didn't mean to suggest that, so I'll clarify what I meant. If you use the street view mode, you can see the information written on the walls of the buildings. There shouldn't be any issue with that.

the keen edge

At the risk of appearing ignorant, what is the deal with this project.

Not that I don't approve, is it there to challenge the hold of private companies i.e. google maps.

I may contribute myself. Would doing so devour my broadband data limit?

antoobrien

the keen edge wrote: »

At the risk of appearing ignorant, what is the deal with this project.

Not that I don't approve, is it there to challenge the hold of private companies i.e. google maps.

I may contribute myself. Would doing so devour my broadband data limit?

The "deal" with http://www.openstreetmap.org/ (and the http://openrouteservice.org/) is to provide a free & open source alternative to the likes of google maps et al. This provides a safe harbour in case google et al decide to monetize or limit the mapping services.

For more take a look at the websites in question.

The problem is that they are dependent on user mapping, so coverage of some areas is spotty.

Sponge Bob

Great android app named osmtracker if you wish to help

the keen edge

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Great android app named osmtracker if you wish to help

I'd love to but my auld Nokia 1616 doesn't support android:D

there are some app's for Nokia that you can use from what I recall however from what I can see the Nokia 161 doesnt have GPS

That wont stop you adding to the map though, you can always map based on the imagery currently available and add information where you know it (points of interest, shops, factories, schools etc etc)

I didn't mean to suggest that, so I'll clarify what I meant. If you use the street view mode, you can see the information written on the walls of the buildings. There shouldn't be any issue with that.

It has never been stated either way by Google whether its ok to use without copyright enforcement so I prefer to err on the side of caution

Mrs OBumble

Deleted User wrote: »

JM, I am curious as to why you haven't used it. The example given, the Briarhill RAB, will be sorted by tomorrow by KevR or myself. Google will be months behind. Not picking, just curious

Antobrien said it all "The problem is that they are dependent on user mapping, so coverage of some areas is spotty."

Google may be slow (when I started in 2009, I had to draw in the Corrib by hand!) but it does get there. I don't have a car, and didn't have a GPS (do now, 'cos of that android app that was just recommended), but relying on Joe Public would worry me too much.