Finally, to your point about reroutes, we have already implemented route changes on the the digital-only sections that would have required a major overhaul on the paper maps, so this compromise allows us to provide the best routing while not incurring the additional time and overhead it would have taken to implement such a change for a route that is only utilized by a few cyclists every year.
So you are saying that every map you can getting rid of has had route changes? If so, how is this any different than doing the addendum used before the map is reprinted? Additionally, I thought that ACA starting to use GIS was going to make changes easily so this very excuse would not occur.
If there are changes, why not use the aforementioned "trusted users" to do the actual work for ACA? Again, at least two highly experienced users have suggested and volunteered to do it but only crickets have responded.
If there are NO changes, why not do a pdf? Surely, there is very little cost to convert to a pdf. Or for that matter, what costs are there to keep a map? As others have mentioned, if the cost exceeds the income, just increase the cost of the map to the user?
ACA over the past several years has steadily drifted away from its primary purpose, i.e. you were primarily a bicycle route creator. All this other stuff that has been added onto over the years has eroded the true purpose of ACA.
Sincerely, John
John, thank you for your comments. The map sections that we have converted to digital-only so far have had significant route changes. I'm not sure about all of them as they are due for updates in the coming year. The addenda we provide does work to provide updates to changes is services, closures, and very small route changes, but it becomes far more complicated when we actually update a map section. Often the geography itself is a limiting factor when we are updating a print map. A map sheet is 19x25" on many of our routes, map panels are 3.5x6" @ 1:250,000, and they all have to link together with overlaps. If a proposed reroute requires extra panels, we have to determine what can be cut to make room for those panels and how it will all be laid out on the sheet. Sometimes this just isn't possible without creating an additional map section all together. We are pretty good at squeezing things in and making reroutes work, but sometimes the geography itself makes it impossible without creating an entirely new map section. And unless there are 12-15 new panels, then it doesn't make sense to add an entire section.
Creating maps with GIS-driven data is definitely a productivity boost, but going from the data itself to the carefully crafted map panels that you expect on our maps is still a lot of time consuming work. I'm sure you've seen your share of poor maps that have been 'spit out' of a GIS, and how different they are from our route maps. Increasing the cost for the map sections could help, but we commonly get feedback that the current cost is a barrier for some people, so that is a balance we need to reach as well. The real limiting factor is actual staff time. X cartographers x 115 map sections x 52 weeks a year means that we can only address a certain number of map sections in a given year. At this time, those limited hours simply have to be focused on map sections used heavily that are in need of attention. I wish we could implement all of the fantastic routing suggestions that we receive from our members, and we surely do for many of them. I'm sorry that you didn't get feedback about your offer of volunteer work, please reach out to me directly at jrobertson at adventurecycling.org. I'd like to talk with you about that.
Your concern over the direction of ACA is well taken. We do believe that it is important to work comprehensively to improve cycling conditions and to inspire people from all walks of life to experience the transformational power of bicycle travel while still holding true to our commitment to provide maps and routing resources that drive those experiences. I can assure you that this change is limited in scope and we will continue to maintain our maps and routes, both paper and digital, going forward.
Sincerely,
Jamie Robertson
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