Map of Obscure Somerville stairways, ramps, paths, and shortcuts

[ron_newman]

Now that the weather is finally becoming pleasant for walking and biking around town, you may be interested in my Google Map of stairways, ramps, shortcuts, and pedestrian paths in and near Somerville. Since Google Map URLs are quite long, I gave it a shorter one that's easy to remember:

http://TinyURL.com/ObscureSomerville

The map started modestly last spring with a few stairways on Winter Hill; with help from DSLJ readers and others, it has now grown to 122 marked places.

Please look at the map and let me know of anything you think should be added to, removed from, or changed on this map. You can comment here or send e-mail to the address on my LJ profile page.

(Last year's posts about the map are here and here.)

Comments

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

There's a new foot/bike bridge under construction at Alewife which will connect the Fitchburg Cutoff path directly to the end of the Minuteman. Right now it detours behind the helix on a narrow dirt trail. But once it opens, it won't be very obscure.

And it might be out of range, but some of the streets on the southwest side of Mystic Lake in Arlington have short but rough paved paths down to Mystic Valley Parkway.

[ron_newman]

There are three separate path-related construction projects going on around Alewife right now. Besides the bridge you named, they are also widening the path alongside the one-way road that runs along the north side of the station, and building a connector from the Minuteman to a new path just north of Route 2 in Arlington. When that work is all done, I'll add it to my map.

Mystic Lake is too far away from Somerville for me to want to add it to this map.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

There's yet another new path at Alewife, which is finished: a lighted gravel path south of Route 2 and north of the brook, which connects the Route 2 exit ramp to the new office building behind the bowling alley. It's on Google Maps.

Where will the path on the north side of Route 2 go? All the way to Lake Street?

[ron_newman]

No, the other way, to Mass. Ave. alongside Alewife Brook. The part alongside Boulevard Rd. and Lafayette Street is already graveled (and I think will stay that way), but it's not yet connected through a wet area near Thorndike Field to the Minuteman.

See this map for some clarification.

ETA 3/29/2012: The boardwalk connection is now open across the wetland.

OSM

[tim mccormack (from livejournal.com)]

I don't know if you saw my reply on OpenStreetMap, but just wanted to assure you that your map cannot be imported wholesale under the rules of OSM, which takes somewhat of a cleanroom approach. Any data that you've collected would have to re-marked by someone who visits each location with a GPS receiver and takes down a tracklog or waypoint.

I don't think there's a mechanism for attribution since there are so many contributors.

Re: OSM

[ron_newman]

I don't know much about Open Street Map. I do not have a GPS, but everything on my map is the result of my direct observation, on foot or bicycle. If someone else suggested a feature, I visited it before putting it on the map.

If anyone wants to re-visit any or all of these places with a GPS, that's fine with me.

Re: OSM

[tim mccormack (from livejournal.com)]

Basically, they're trying to build up a free-licensed dataset that can be used instead of Google Maps, etc. So, since you used Google Maps satellite imagery to make your map (by choosing where to drop your markers) the raw data from your map is tangled with GMaps copyrights. Legally, the OSM people *can't* import your stuff directly, even if you gave them permission. That's what I meant by them having to revisit everything. (It's more work than I'm interested in putting in, but there are some really dedicated people out there. :-P)

Re: OSM

[vonelftinhaus.livejournal.com]

what if many people visited the various locations again so that it could be imported properly, without infringing copyright?

Re: OSM

[ron_newman]

Anything you do with Open Street Map is OK with me. I put this map out for the public to use in any way they see fit. If OSM requires GPS coordinates, then you're going to have to re-visit all the locations anyway since I didn't use GPS.

Re: OSM

[tim mccormack (from livejournal.com)]

That's exactly what has to happen, actually.

[ron_newman]

I've added all of the current and under-construction paths around Alewife. Let me know if it looks correct to you now.