Many thanks Charles,
Re behaviour for pedestrians: I see what you mean, but if we knew
how many exits there were, then we would know which way to go in
order to cross fewer roads. For example, if it said: "Take the
third of four exits, 3 o'clock", then we'd know to cross one road on
the right, rather than two roads on the left.
On a more complex roundabout "Take the sixth of six exits, 4
o'clock", and we'd know not to cross any roads but take the first
one to the right, rather than crossing five roads round the circle.
This still seems the most practical way to deal with a roundabout as
a pedestrian.
All the best,
Peter
At 03:12 PM 11/27/2008, you wrote:
Hi Peter,
Yes I did see this message and we discussed it internally then we
posted it to our Beta List and got additional feedback. We have
added two new feature requests for vehicle routes which cover your
issues you posted concerning roundabouts. During the next round of
development we will consider these but there is no guaranty your
suggestions will make it into the next release but we have entered
these into our bug/feature request system.
As for your new suggestion about pedestrian routes, I am less
willing to change the current behavior as pedestrians won't know
the difference between on ramps and off ramps from a roundabout and
if I say take the 3rd exit 3 O'clock, does this mean you cross 3
streets or 5 streets, which is why the current pedestrian routes
through roundabouts hasn't been changed.
Thank you
Charles LaPierre
CTO Sendero Group
At 06:37 AM 11/27/2008, you wrote:
Hi Charles,
I sent this message to the list a few weeks back, perhaps while
you were on vacation. There were a few replies in support of my
suggestion, and without meaning to pester you, I'd really
appreciate your take on this. I've added one or two
clarifications to my original message, but when you get a moment,
please do let us know what you think.
Original message:
As I was one of those who asked for Sendero to handle roundabouts
in a more usable way, I'd first like to thank Charles and the team
for a terrific job in version 5. I have now done some long car
journeys running Sendero alongside Wayfinder in order to compare
how they dealt with roundabouts, with the emphasis on how useful
the instructions are for the driver, but also taking into account
pedestrian use. Sendero is now definitely usable for this kind
of journey and I know how much work went into this, so a huge thank you.
I do have one suggestion which I think would make for even better results.
At present, for any roundabout at all, besides the message about
which exit to take, (which is working perfectly) you will hear,
either when browsing or with "Approaching ..." either left turn,
ten o'clock turn, or eleven-o'clock turn. This refers to the
actual turn onto the roundabout, and is entirely unhelpful. It's
unhelpful to the driver who does not think of the turn onto the
roundabout as a left turn, and unhelpful to a pedestrian who does
not walk on the roundabout, but rather needs to work out which
intervening roads to cross. Similarly, when on the roundabout, the
exit road will be classed as a left-turn, which is equally unhelpful.
What I am suggesting is what I have always suggested, but it's
hard to put over in an Email, so let me try just once more.
The information about the turning should refer only to the road
you are to take, in relation to the road you are on before you
enter the roundabout. The roundabout itself should not be
treated as a road. For example, let's say you have a simple
four-way roundabout. You are on road A, and the roundabout joins
roads A, B, C and D, going in order clockwise around the
roundabout. If I am to take road B, then that is the first exit,
and a left-turn. If I am to take road C, then that is the second
exit, and an ahead-turn. If I am to take road D, then that is
the third exit, and a right-turn.
This approach could equally well cope with more than four roads,
since, for example, the fourth exit might be a two-o'clock turn,
the fifth exit a four-o'clock turn and so-on, so in this case,
it would say "approaching four-o'clock turn ..." and "turn
four-o'clock taking fifth exit." . The crucial point is to give
information about the road you are to take relative to the road
you're on, and never to count the roundabout itself as a road.
Charles: if you don't agree with this as a possible improvement,
please could you say why not because it seems such a clear-cut
simplification for both vehicle and pedestrian use, but maybe I
still haven't managed to explain it, or am missing something important.
In any case, I'm still absolutely delighted with version 5 so this
is a refinement request, albeit an important one for those
countries where roundabouts really are a big deal.
All the best,
Peter
--
*******
Peter Bosher,
Email: peter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.soundlinks.com/
Tel': (+44) (0) 1494 794 797
Fax: (+44) (0) 1494 583 146
snail://
SoundLinks Limited,
43 Broadlands Avenue,
Chesham,
Bucks.
HP5 1AL
England.
__________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus
signature database 3645 (20081127) __________
The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.
http://www.eset.com
Charles M. La Pierre
CTO Sendero Group
"The GPS company:" Featuring Sendero GPS on the BrailleNote as well
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--
*******
Peter Bosher,
Email: peter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.soundlinks.com/
Tel': (+44) (0) 1494 794 797
Fax: (+44) (0) 1494 583 146
snail://
SoundLinks Limited,
43 Broadlands Avenue,
Chesham,
Bucks.
HP5 1AL
England.
__________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus
signature database 3648 (20081128) __________
The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.
http://www.eset.com
