Finding Paved Roads

[ericjkelly]

Hey friends!

So I use GR3 and Streets and Trips to chase. How do YOU find paved roads? Both GR and Streets and trips lack in this area for me. I am constantly fooled by them.

Anybody have a better way of finding the paved roads around them???

 

[John Erwin]

GR3 is only going to be as good in this regard as the shapefiles you're using. There's a few options on what files you're using but of course you may still run into this. I still prefer using GR3 since I have it open anyways.. I'm using a custom set of shapefiles for my home area though so that helps.

 

[ericjkelly]

Thanks John!

I have good shapefiles loaded I think....they certainly identify major highways and roads, but not details around paved or not paved in more rural areas

 

[Jeff Duda]

The MAPSWITHME app on Android systems tend to have pretty decent markings for paved roads. Also consider a paper Gazetteer.

 

[ericjkelly]

Thanks Jeff....what are paper maps It is a great idea!

Any other ideas?

 

[Michael Towers]

http://www.meteor.iastate.edu/~slincoln/GRS/shapefiles/

I’m not sure which files you’re using with GR3 but I’ve been using these for over 4 years and have found them a very accurate source for mapping and my primary one for navigation when on a storm. Paved roads are in gold, I’ve never had a gold one turn out to not be paved. White lines are mostly gravel/dirt but some can be paved so it does not effectively identify all paved roads. The only mapping errors I’ve ever had were this Tuesday in South Dakota on the gravel road network near Aberdeen, some roads that existed were not displayed but then again that area has a notorious history for chasers in mapping inaccuracies. Bottom line is you won’t get fooled by a road you expect to be paved but you won’t be able to identify all existing paved roads. For me the integration of the gravel/dirt network with the radar has been extremely useful and a very valuable improvement over the mapping I previously used with the program.

 

[ericjkelly]

Michael,

Hey thanks! I guess I was hoping to figure out which of the dirt roads could be paved. I have no problem finding the paved secondary roads its just the rural dirt roads I wish i had more info on! Some are paved...some certainly not!

 

[Michael Towers]

Very good Eric, when you said you were “constantly fooled by them” I thought you meant roads indicated as paved that turned out to be gravel and not vice-versa. The former has happened to me on more than a few occasions with Delorme but never with the files for GR that I referenced. I can usually guess by the SN traffic patterns which “gravel” roads might be paved but like yourself would certainly welcome something that better identifies all road types.

 

[ericjkelly]

Michael,

I certainly use paved roads that I see on GR3 as often as I can but sometimes they are few and far between. It would just be nice to have a way to see EVERY paved road around me!

 

[Shane Young]

I too would recommend OpenStreetMaps as an potential, as there is the option of marking roads as either paved or unpaved, and it updated continually by people like you and me. Quality will vary by area based upon how many active mappers there are. Perhaps some areas can be updated better at request. But it's a platform that allows direct marking of such features. I don't know if\how well MAPS.ME (as Jeff suggested) shows the designation, but it could. Also I would think the files can be imported into GR reasonably easily?