Remodelling bits of maps has been a theme in the last week and I decided to go back to one of my earliest areas, Fontjana. This wasn’t awful, but it was a typical Potlach creation with untidy lines and crude over-simple buildings. Now I have started redoing the town starting from its centre and working out. Much of the previous incarnation will remain but with more realistic proportions.
The Old Town, unsurprisingly the oldest part of the city, was first priority:
http://opengeofiction.net/#map=16/50.9028/109.9637
In particular I tried for the first a technique used to great effect in cities in Antharia: using pedestrian area shapes to show the true width of the streets. It gives much better character to this area where there is no separate pavement and roadway (seeing as private motors are not allowed). Finally learned how to use the tag historic=citywalls properly too. Fontjana’s walls are mostly gone on the south and east sides, which allows the single-track tramway to use the gap left between buildings or half of pedestrian streets (somewhat the character of the Helsinki and Dublin LUAS systems). The stop Varashus uses a clever layout to fit two platforms and two tracks into a narrow space (I might make Harjupoorta a single bi-directional platform to better fit the area). As ordinary cars are not allowed (council and some disabled are) and buses do not run in the narrow streets, the tramway is a great asset to tourists and residents, even though it is possibly damaging the old towers and city gates by rumbling so close to them. The tram going through the Harjupoorta actually used to happen in my city: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=bargate%20trams&first=1&cw=1262&ch=631
One thing I’d like to ask you all is how best to show areas in front of restaurants which are used for outside seating. They are not part of public squares (or they may be public property in legal terms but there is a barrier) yet they are not really the same as the ‘beer garden’ tag.
Comment from Myrcia on 30 March 2017 at 17:17
Looking good, I’ll keep an eye on the remap. Glad to see the Bargate trams getting a mention, did you know they were specially built to fit under the arches.
For the front of restaurants I would probably just use a separate area of pedestrian highway. Even though that might not be 100% the correct tagging I think it could be the most aesthetically pleasing. It creates a subtle but visible distinction between the public and private areas of a public square. I had a go here at the Áfon Brasserie in St St Alfæd
Comment from Sarepava on 30 March 2017 at 17:41
‘Glad to see the Bargate trams getting a mention, did you know they were specially built to fit under the arches.’
So, aged six I rode on a Southampton tram at the National Tramway Museum in Derbyshire, and it was explained why the upper deck had a long bench in the middle rather than normal seating. Back in those days the council must have just waved it through that tracks and electric cables needed to be built though a 700-year old city gate.
Fontjäna’s tramways were laid in a similarly, shall we say, archaeologically less sensitive era, hence the track running right through the Harjupoorta and round the Korabaasti to this day. There is little practical way to relocate the track as it will run straight across the S12 to the north, the Harjupoorta maantee is the only road wide enough to accommodate the tracks, and in any case the wires are up now. Unlike Southampton Fontjäna has only ever used single-deck trams…in fact we might like to order some from Philipsson.
St Alfæd looks excellent, with its asymmetric cathedral.
Comment from histor on 30 March 2017 at 18:02
Looks good your detailled city-center in Fontjana. I think, some of us are in the phase, to update the older design.
At the update of Latina [http://opengeofiction.net/#map=18/-13.50878/39.66982] it was a general question for me, to draw the footway beneath the street and the row of trees along the streets or not. But I think, to draw this makes the map unquiet and “overmapped”. Therefore the street itself is the tagged line and between the houses is the gap - normally ca. 20 m (10 m street and at each side 5 m footway). If there is a pub or restaurant, I think it is normal, that there are dishes before the door - so this is not tagged. An other thing are the “beergarden”, where are set trees or a tree_row around the area.
Comment from _zM on 30 March 2017 at 18:35
About trams through gates - that’s still happening here in Potsdam. Here is a picture of it. Turned out slightly blurry, but that’s because of my phone. Google has more, as always.
Comment from Sarepava on 30 March 2017 at 22:20
I’ve been to Potsdam and never saw this. But it is exactly what the place in Fontjäna would look like.
