Suggested enhancement to the routing map:
When the user hovers the mouse pointer over the route line a small black ringed white circle appears. When this is right clicked a context menu appears that has various options including "Add via point". It would be useful to include a new option "Avoid". On selecting this option the route would be recalculated, avoiding the point just added.
Use case: On reviewing a calculated route the user decides they want to avoid a particular way (e.g. some unpaved section known to be muddy).
Currently, the only option (that I'm aware of) is to add one or more 'via' points to steer the routing around the area to be avoided but this doesn't capture the true intent. It also requires further work from the user in deciding _how_ the point should be avoided, e.g. to what side.
Alternative idea (but I imagine more work): MS AutoRoute had a feature that allowed the user to create (by click & drag) a rectangular area to be avoided. Multiple (possibly overlapping) rectangles could be added, thus making it relatively easy to define a complex region to be avoided. The simpler use case of just wanting to avoid a particular section of muddy track would then be achieved quite intuitively by creating a small rectangle intersecting the way.
Comments
That’s a great idea and thanks for the interesting suggestion. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really work with the algorithm used by cycle.travel’s routing engine (Contraction Hierarchies) - essentially it precalculates all the point-to-point routes.
If it’s an unpaved section you’re trying to avoid, you can click on the via point before it, and select ‘Paved’ - that will force a paved route as far as the next via point. On a whole-route level, the ‘Find alternative’ button could also help.
> If it’s an unpaved section you’re trying to avoid, you can click on the via point before it, and select ‘Paved’ - that will force a paved route as far as the next via point.
Useful tip, thanks! That will take care of the unpaved sections that are known to be too muddy. I'd love some means of avoiding canal tow paths, which I have an aversion to (even when paved).
Currently in France and would _not_ want to avoid canal paths here!