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I notice there are now OS style gradient chevrons on the map. They point the same direction as OS chevrons, ie downhill, but appear in places where there are no chevrons on the equivalent OS mapping, so they're obviously using different data. So my question is what are the gradient and/or altitude gained and/or distance of road definitions for these chevrons?
Thanks!
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I can't see any chevrons on the C.T default map. See the frightening Blwch y Groes climb below, which has multiple chevrons on the OS map. Can you give an example?
They’re currently only on the vector map used for the mobile apps, not the raster map used for the website. I’ll be moving the website over to the vector map in due course and then it’ll get the chevrons. In the meantime, you can take a quick look at the vector map on a ‘labs’ page here – that link goes to Bwlch y Groes and indeed there are chevrons there!
It’s not a precise calculation and on occasion it misses locations which really ought to have chevrons (e.g. Ditchling Beacon just north of Brighton), but very broadly you will start to see them in the 8%-10% range.
Richard,
Thanks for a preview of the test version of the map.
As you say, Ditching Beacon climb does not have a chevron - it is a maximum of 11%.
A quick check in my area, and none of the steeper hills show a chevron, where they are marked as such on OS. I appreciate that it is difficult to generate these automatically.
I see that the Brighton area has multiple symbols, which is perhaps beginning to be a bit cluttered? As a map person, you will appreciate that sometimes "less is more."
It may just be familiarity with Ordnance Survey maps, but a single chevron for 14-20% and double for over 20% would be my preference.
Getting the balance right at different scales is always a challenge! I have been experimenting with changing the density in urban areas and might explore that a bit more.
Technically the difficulty is that the chevrons are generated from raw (unsmoothed) elevation data, whereas the graph that you see when you plan a route goes through a complex smoothing process to even out some of the anomalies in the raw data. That’s why I’m reluctant to specify a precise %age for the chevrons – the unsmoothed data means it wouldn’t always be accurate.
Thank you.
I was indeed looking at the map on the app, and first noticed them on the hill I happen to live on, which probably maxes out at something like 11% (but feels like more on way home from the supermarket!) for a dozen metres or so.