Batangas City’s map is slowly growing and updated, thanks to having MAPS.ME and imagery by DigitalGlobe through their API. Much efforts are on local updates, and an ongoing effort to map Meralco’s power network and public transport is being followed up, but most mapping is related to the local vicinity, especially POI’s

Local updates

Thanks for having Maps.Me, many POIs, particularly those in the Poblacion, can be added now while on the ground, and notes can be created at the same time, with uploading to the OSM database done when now connected to the Internet through WiFi, such as at home, on Plaza Mabini (which has public WiFi provided by Globe Telecom’s GoWiFi), or at the malls with free WiFi (such as SM City Batangas and Bay Mall, though the former has time-limited WiFi service).

Upon hearing of an area around Calicanto called “Lawas”, I soon added a note for it around the area called as such.

One latest update is a future bridge between Ferry, Kumintang Ibaba, and Gulod Labac, which I added to OSM after hearing the news of such construction during the All Saints’ Day vacation. The bridge is now mapped here as this

Being least detailed over the area along Route 436, I made some mapping of Lourdes Subdivision in Bolbok after attending a funeral service in Mt. Zion Memorial Park. I added a school (Princeton Science School), a home-based ‘‘lomi’’ restaurant, and a small Christian church, which is shown in this changeset. Further changes, like naming a street on the same area, adding an annex campus of a public school (Bolbok Elementary School), and correction the location of Princeton Science School, are done after returning back to Batangas City for Christmas.

Updates on the Kumintang Ibaba area are done through notes created by Maps.Me, after a ground survey, then mapping. After finding street names while on a tricycle ride through the back of Lyceum of the Philippines University Batangas, I added notes through the app, and made the changes on iD back home (see changeset 54641045).

With time to see the inside of University of Batangas - Elementary Department on December 15, I took time to see the building names, and made the changes after (see this).

Being the priority area, the Poblacion area (particularly on the commercialized areas along the major streets: P. Burgos, D. Silang, Rizal Avenue, and A. Evangelista) is one major part of the latest mapping effort. On the last day pf classes in the city, I added many POI’s along Rizal Avenue, A. Evangelista, and the Lumang Palengke site, via Maps.Me, which allowed adding POIs upon sight, and creating notes at the same time, and uploading the changes when now connected on the Net. These changes can be seen here and here.

On a trip back to San Pedro, Laguna, I took time to add one several POI’s and create notes for missing building names while on a jeepney to Batangas Central Terminal. The POI’s added can be seen at changesets 54702550 and 54702518. On that trip also, I marked and added the name of a street beside Lyceum of the Philippines University Batangas (see this changeset).

For the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (reopened at December 5 after restoration following damage caused by the April 2017 earthquake swarm that rocked Batangas), many changes are done after on-the-ground observation of its grounds after attending a Mass on the 2nd Sunday of Advent (December 17). I added the whole grounds of the church, referred commonly as “Basilica Site”, chapels within it, statues of the Virgin Mary, Immaculate Conception, and the Sacred , and a walkway behind the main church. The additions and modifications can be seen at this changeset and this following one

With the Batangas Central Terminal being slowly developed, update is needed already. So, through on the ground survey and new imagery (via DigitalGlobe API), I updated the vicinity of the terminal, added access roads, bus shelters, toll booths at entrance and exit points, and some POIs, and redrawn a Meralco 13.8 kV line connecting to a guyed post with three 75 kVA transformers supplying 240/415 V power to the terminal facilities and concessionares. The nearby Isuzu dealer is set for remapping, but being out of scope of the intended mapping work, I will create changes later.

With expansion work not yet reflected on the map, Batangas Port is also part of my latest mapping for Batangas City. I added now the expansion area, including its grounds, roads, and warehouse buildings.

Coming back to Batangas City, I took time to find missing POIs, and soon adding them to OSM. I made a small number of edits to add POIs sighted on a bus trip between Alabang and Batangas City, and add subdivision grounds around Alangilan on the jeepney trip to Poblacion.

Power

Power line mapping, particularly of the 69 kV networks by National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and Batangas II Electric Cooperative (BATELEC-II), was the principal mapping work on Batangas City when not yet in Batangas City for a vacation. And on a few days, I took time to map the 69 kV subtransmission lines running along the future Calamba-Batangas Railway right of way, thanks to DigitalGlobe imagery through their API.

Being not updated since a number of 69 kV lines are relocated to a new switchyard constructed by NGCP originally to accommodate Meralco’s 69 kV lines connecting its substations in Bolbok and providing power to JG Summit in Simlong, I eventually redrawn the mix of NGCP and BATELEC-II 69 kV lines to connect to the new switchyard connecting to a pair of 200 MVA transformers (one is active, and the other one is a redundancy or back-up).

Meralco’s 13.8/7.97 kV system did not need any updates, save for correcting lines that form any of the circuits from Bolbok and Batangas City substations, but after arriving to Batangas City last December 9, a new 7.97 kV single wire line, connecting to a new guyed post with a 50 kVA transformer providing 220 volts to a commercial building beside it, is already placed, and I added it immediately, but using Level0, which required 2 changesets to add it (1st adds the posts and transformer, and the 2nd adds the line)

Transport

Much mapping is focused on renaming and adding jeepney stops, and expanding and remapping of the Batangas Central Terminal. Jeepney route mapping are no longer a priority, as the principal routes are already mapped, but mapping another route or modifying an existing one is still possible.

Future mapping prospects

A future railway line connecting Batangas City with Calamba is one among my future mapping prospects, and though no construction has started yet (the project, under the Build! Build! Build! Infrastructure program of President Rodrigo Duterte, is still in planning phases), I already tagged and mapped parts of the possible route, which will connect to Batangas Port instead of the Poblacion (i.e. at the Railroad Station/Maselang area, near Lumang Palengke), to connect with passengers disembarking from RoRo ferries, ships, and boats at Batangas Port, provide an alternate route for freight to Manila, which is primarily transported by trucks through the STAR Tollway and SLEX, and because of the possible right of way of a route to the original terminus at Poblacion being largely residential already, with some segments having roads laid over already.

There are plans for a future expressway which will extend STAR Tollway into Bauan, therefore decongesting Route 436 around San Pascual, but mapping of that road cannot be started yet until right of way has been already marked.

Updated Batangas City mapping page on OpenStreetMap Wiki

With many mapping being done, the Batangas City mapping coordination page on OSM Wiki, also included as part of WikiProject Philippines, has already needed update. With many sitios and subdivisions being mapped slowly, updates are done to reflect this. A list of very important POIs is now included, which is originally blank.