Address import from LINZ address - help wanted

[Eliot]

Hi all,

not much time left for my goal of "2017 is the year that OSM will have NZ street addresses" ;)

My generated osmchange files and changeset tag files are now available here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1RXOt5-JEPVvSCv1qnE92DM_VsZwLBZe5?usp=sharing

The 50M zip file contains a file for each of the roughly 3000 places defined in the LINZ address database (ranging from 1 to >10000 addresses)

The list of all the places is here  (editable by anybody with the link)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CpOlt8_MbUqRIQONv4e5qZRzqxvo1fWe2QLIN1EkSNk/edit?usp=sharing

Brief instructions on how to import this data into OSM  using JOSM:

https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/LINZ/Address_Import#Using_JOSM_to_import_a_dataset

(the whole page and its parent contain many more details about the overall import)

I'll be continuing with my import of Christchurch suburbs and places in Canterbury,  bit it will take me a long time to do 3000 imports!

So, please do download the data,  put your name next to a place and start importing. Best to start small, i.e. a rural place with a few addresses.


Constructive feedback welcome.

regards

Eliot

[Rob Alley]

Hi Eliot,

  Just saw this now.  I read through all your linked pages and looks good to me.  I'll try my hand at this as soon as some time frees up.  I'll concentrate on Auckland and Northland where I'm most familiar.

  Thanks for all your efforts on this,

Rob.

[Eliot]

On Tuesday, 28 November 2017 12:57:11 UTC+13, Rob Alley wrote:

Hi Eliot,

  Just saw this now.  I read through all your linked pages and looks good to me.  I'll try my hand at this as soon as some time frees up.  I'll concentrate on Auckland and Northland where I'm most familiar.

Thanks Rob,  your changeset 54156343 looks good.   Good to have someone else taking an interest - the team has doubled in size ;)

After my own experience, I have made some small changes to the instructions.

I have dropped the step of deleting addr:suburb from the upload.  Here in  Christchurch, the suburb boundaries are very complex relations that don't match the LINZ suburbs.  It is a painstaking job to make them consistent.   This is a job I'd like to leave to a separate project.

[Chris Gadd]

Hi Eliot,

I've had a crack at this, changeset 56044654.Look OK? Is there any reason the data can't be uploaded in bulk, through some automation?

cheers,

chris

[Eliot Blennerhassett]

On 04/02/18 16:47, Chris Gadd wrote:
> Hi Eliot,
> I've had a crack at this,

Glad to have another person having a go...

> changeset 56044654
> <https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/56044654>.Look OK?


Looks fine from a cursory look around...

> Is there any
> reason the data can't be uploaded in bulk, through some automation?

I'd say thats the way to get banned from OSM ;)

It seems pretty much mandatory for a human to review all edits of this
scale.

E.g. the osmchange files I generated do contain some problematic nodes,
where the LINZ source data has multiple addresses at exactly the same
location. These need to be fixed before upload either by deleting or
scattering the nodes (sometimes fairly obvious how it should be).

--
Eliot

[Chris Gadd]

I read a bit of the wiki on imports and it seems like full automation is OK so long as you follow some sensible rules around it. Just seems like all these LINZ imports will be out of date soon enough, especially address data as new subdivisions pop up. Or do you think the number of changes will be pretty manageable after the initial upload?

[Chris Gadd]

On another note, JOSM warns about multiple nodes at a single location. Your notes suggest spacing them out a bit, which avoids the warning but potentially introduces some inaccuracy. For example, unless you know if a block of flats runs alongside the road or perpendicular, whatever line you draw could give the wrong impression. JOSM will allow you to upload even with the warnings, so what's the reason for arbitrarily spacing them?

[Eliot Blennerhassett]

Chris,

As I understand it, it is an error in OSM to have multiple nodes a
single location.

Alternatives to spacing them out that I have used are:

1) Delete them all. (Leaving problem cases for a future update).

2) Delete all but one, Delete the linz_id from that one, and remove the
unit number from the address. I.e. create a node with just the street
number for the apartment block.

--
Eliot

[Chris Gadd]

Thanks Eliot,

On alternate 2 there, an option would be to include the addr:flats key
(https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:addr:flats). That seems like a
good way to represent big apartment blocks, like 53 Cook St in Auckland,
which doesn't render very nicely - at lower zoom levels (17-19) you get
a random selection of numbered units which looks pretty cluttered, and
you can't see all of them until you're at a zoom level of 21 or higher
(https://www.openstreetmap.org/edit#map=21/-36.85113/174.75914).

The downside of that approach seems to be that searching for a unit
number doesn't work (in Openstreetmap.org and OsmAnd at least).

I'm leaning towards a mixed approach - show all the nodes (spaced out)
for less than about 10 units (or whatever number fits clearly in the
building footprint at zoom level 18), and a single node with an
addr:flats key for larger apartment blocks. What do you think?