Thanks. In many ways I agree with you that if a path is on the PROW then it is good to have a record of it in OSM. But as a map user having theoretical/incorrect data on a map can be pretty annoying. I, and many other runners/cyclists in the area, use the map through providers such as Strava/Komoot/MapMyRide etc and having paths added that are impassable makes generating a route a frustrating process. At times that is already a frustrating process as certain of the websites that use OSM for their underlying maps do not necessarily adhere to the allowed access designated on ways (Strava being the current worst culprit as they allow use of private access roads!). A fair number of local people ask me directly about path access as they know I am trying to get as much mapped correctly as possible. One of the reasons I got into the mapping is that I use it via the mentioned apps when I travel - and in areas where I do not have local knowledge if a path exists it is less than helpful when the map does not show reality. From discussion with the local PROW teams I can also tell you that the online definitive maps they provide are in many cases months/years out of date due to lack of staff/money to get all the latest changes fully implemented. I'd assume that this unlikely to be limited only to the local authorities in this area.

Hi corgicity

Please can I ask that you don't keep adding footpaths from (what appears to be) the PROW overlay? Many of the footpaths in SW Wales are not fully passable and require a decent ground survey to ensure routing and viability are correct. In this particular changeset, to which you have just added paths, the majority of the footpaths have recently been legally altered to be considerably different to the PROW overlay. I have explored all of them by foot and been in discussion with the local community council and council PROW team to ensure they are correctly routed. Please can you revert your changes.

Given that I have spent considerable time on mapping the footpaths in the Cilymaenllwyd community recently I am pretty sure which paths are correct/incorrect but I'd also suggest that many of your other additions in the SW Wales may also have similar issues and suggest that you try and verify if the paths you have mapped really exist on the ground for all of those changesets as well.

Thanks
tech_pixie

Yeah, that was mainly why I decided on using the separate method having seen it in other places. But that was before I found the wiki on it and the issues with street names etc when using the separate way. As I keep finding out more about the mapping I keep having to go back and adjust things I thought I'd got right! And there is not always one best way...

Hi @lostmike. Good to see you adding the pavements around Narberth. I personally prefer the sidewalk being mapped as a separate way to the road - but that is driven by my daughter needing a wheelchair and thus it is useful to know where things like the dropped kerbs are. We're starting to add wheelchair tags by doing some exploring together. Now she needs the chair it is amazing how many little things I'd not considered before - both in mapping and reality - that cause problems. It's one thing intellectually knowing things are more difficult to achieve but living it drives it home! Anyway, there's a whole page on the OSM wiki with pros and cons of both techniques for sidewalk mapping.

Thanks for checking that out and updating it

Yes, you are totally correct. Bad wording on my part for the changeset comment - I actually only changed the direction for the short section directly outside the pharmacy and didn't even notice the incorrect one-way in the upper car park. I'll change it now and add the car park areas to the lower part. Out of interest - do you somehow monitor for changes in an area so you know when I/others change things? Or is it just looking at the changesets for nearby users under your profile? If there is a way to be notified I'd be interested as Amazon have a team that are adding driveways etc from their driver data and I sometimes I think their definitions of track/driveway could be improved with local knowledge of a particular area.

Nicely done @lostmike. I have the PDFs from PCC that are their online version of the definitive map to check against. I'm finding quite a few paths that are different in reality to the definitive map when I actually run/walk them. Quite a few are also impassible or non-existent. Even more so for Carmarthenshire. Most of the path mapping on the Preseli's is currently from memory due to lockdown. This is massively helped by the newish Bing aerial images that have much higher definition and the fact that, AFAIK, the whole of that area is open access. The bit around Foel Feddau needs more work but I need a trip up there to check things - especially the official bridleway that is nowhere near the path used in reality.

Thanks @lostmike. Strange times - nice to get to a different area for a bit. Stay safe.