How is GPX Trace vandalism handled?

Is there a method to purge a user’s inaccurate GPX trace? Is it possible to edit the existing GPX traces to remove inaccuracies? Is it possible to remove outdated GPX traces?

Inaccurate or outdated GPX traces are not vandalism.

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There was a previous discussion about this sort of thing previously in the forum - I think those answers are still broadly accurate.

No

From OSM itself, possibly. From the GPX overlay tiles, no.

If you see something “so terrible that it really ought to be removed” then I’d suggest dropping an email to data@openstreetmap.org so that the DWG can have a look at it.

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My all-time favourite:


(paraglider starting from Ebenalb down into the valley)

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I edit the same area as you - Vancouver, Canada. The quality of OSM traces is atrocious. I never use them and would never recommend using them.

Instead I use the Strava heatmap. For Strava, use one of the various web browser plugins to generate a URL that then can be placed into iD or JOSM. Just note that the Strava Heatmap is a rough average and not necessarily completely accurate down to the meter.

https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Strava

If you want to get even more accurate then you can use a combination of the Strava Heatmap, Lidar, and your own GPS/notes.

For Lidar, download lidar (DTM) data either from LidarBC, NRCAN HRDEM, or a regional/municipal government (make sure it’s covered under the Open Government License). My workflow is loading the lidar data into QGIS, using the slope function and then modifying the appearance, sometimes using the clip and contour functions, tracing something like a resource road, path, cliff edge, mountain peak, or waterway centerline, and then exporting that trace to a kml for import into iD or JOSM.

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Be the change that you wish to see in the world :wink: of course, that’s only possible if one physically resides within the region in which they wish to have more GPX traces.

Interesting! I’ll have to check this out in JOSM. I’m glad to see that wiki states that the license permits its usage in OSM.

LIDAR seems great for trails and things like that. I did see that Vancouver has LIDAR data available in their Open Data, but I have yet to check it out.