Missing Expressway IS a bigger problem

[sparky672]

Until last weekend I thought that the missing 12.5 miles of I-355 Toll-way in Chicago wouldn't really be a big deal for me. I always know I-355 is there so I'll just drive on it and let TT do its thing.

Letting TT "do its thing" turns out to be a big hassle in reality.

Plan a route, start driving, get on unmapped expressway, & watch your TT go nuts.

The arrow is tracking properly off-road as expected.

Approaching major roads as they pass overhead causes...

1. the arrow to spin in an attempt to snap onto the overpass.
2. recalculation of route while ordering you to turn left or right onto the road passing overhead.

Every single overpass, which is every single mile.... "after 300 yards, turn left", "turn left", *recalculating*, "after 300 yards, turn right", "turn right", *recalculating*, "turn ahead", "turn left", *recalculating*, etc. etc.

So pretty much, you have to delete your planned route, wait until you get back onto a mapped road and re-enter your route.

And if you're on the un-mapped expressway and want to locate a POI so you get off for food or re-fuel, forget about setting a route until after you get back on the mapped roads.

This is not TT's fault. For some mysterious reason, TeleAtlas and Navteq have not yet made the corrections. The State of Illinois was quoted in the Chicago Tribune as having reported the new Expressway to them more than 3 months before the road opened to traffic.

 

[Timon]

Unless they had an effective data for that section of road to open stored in the maps they really can't release the map data until the road is open. It's a no win situation unless...

TomTom could update the roads through MapShare then problem totally goes away. They can wait until that section of road is offically "Open" and then release it to MapShare. TomTom now comes out the winner over all other GPS manufactures.

Another option I guess they could have done would be to release the information but show the road blocked along it's entire route and then release the blocks via MapShare.

Remember the TomTom MapShare ad about the new bridge opening. TomTom is telling us they can do this now but I don't think they really can at least not yet.

 

[sparky672]

Unless they had an effective data for that section of road to open stored in the maps they really can't release the map data until the road is open. It's a no win situation unless...

TomTom could update the roads through MapShare then problem totally goes away. They can wait until that section of road is offically "Open" and then release it to MapShare. TomTom now comes out the winner over all other GPS manufactures.

Another option I guess they could have done would be to release the information but show the road blocked along it's entire route and then release the blocks via MapShare.

Remember the TomTom MapShare ad about the new bridge opening. TomTom is telling us they can do this now but I don't think they really can at least not yet.

I understand certain limitations exist. Changes can't be made overnight. (I'd at least expect Google to take much less than 30 days though)

For two years it was officially scheduled to open in "Fall 2007", for the last year it was scheduled to open in "Nov 2007", then for the last 6 months it was announced and scheduled to open on "Nov 12, 2007". Major events and ceremonies were planned and it opened on November 12, 2007. Point being that it stayed on schedule as announced.

If Illinois officially notified TeleAtlas & Navteq of this MAJOR change 2 months before opening then their map engineers had that extra time to "prepare". The road then opened on schedule and that was about 30 days ago.

I guess I'm not too surprised TT doesn't have the update already but more surprised that TeleAtlas & Navteq aren't showing it yet.

How long could it take to add 12.5 miles of expressway when they had 2 months to prepare? How many major metropolitan expressways sprout up out of nothing in any given month worldwide? Is it so many that it takes more than a month to get these major changes incorporated? This was the first new expressway in Illinois in 20 years.

Of course, Google, Yahoo, Mapquest, etc. are also lacking this update. This is surprising considering that it will directly effect their revenue through the inability to sell targeted Ads for hotels, etc. along the new route.


Note, my first post was wrong in that I thought Illinois notified them 3 months prior. It was three months ago or 2 months prior.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/automotive/chi-gettingaround_19nov19,0,1275540.column


Fun Facts:

By population, Chicago is #24 out of all Metropolitan Areas worldwide. #3 in the U.S.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metropolitan_areas_by_population

 

[Timon]

Does Teleatlas have a way to view their maps as Navteq does? If so what's the URL?

 

[sparky672]

Does Teleatlas have a way to view their maps as Navteq does? If so what's the URL?

http://mapfeedback.teleatlas.com/index.htm

 

[martinp13]

I was going to ask why you had to delete a route, but I see the answer: because you set up a route beforehand. I never bother with that... I just set the destination point and let TomTom do its thing. Yes, for that 12.5 mile stretch it will go bonkers... the major interstate cluster construction here in Fort Worth was finished over a year ago, but the maps had the old roads. Every time you went through it, poor TomTom would be trying to route you back onto the old interstates from your "off-road" course. Once you got back on the old part of the highway, all was good, and TomTom would recalculate fine.

 

[sparky672]

I was going to ask why you had to delete a route, but I see the answer: because you set up a route beforehand. I never bother with that... I just set the destination point and let TomTom do its thing. Yes, for that 12.5 mile stretch it will go bonkers...

Yeah... exactly my point... it goes bonkers and I don't want to hear "turn left", "turn right", "turn right" non-stop for 14 minutes. Sure I can kill the sound but killing the route is just as easy. That way I don't have to be distracted by the screen flashing "re-calculating route" every 30 seconds.

 

[martinp13]

I understand. If it was me, I'd just turn him off for that 12.5 minutes. It's not like you're going to get lost on that one road.

 

[sparky672]

I understand. If it was me, I'd just turn him off for that 12.5 minutes. It's not like you're going to get lost on that one road.

I know and that's what I do. And that also means navigating to a nearby POI is also more difficult while on that road.

I'm just trying to find out more about how TeleAtlas and Navteq typically handles these things. So far, apparently not so great.

 

[boboh630]

Interstate 355

I purchased an XL330-S 10 days ago and I was astonished to find that it didn't show I-355 at all. It also did not have a street in Bloomington, IN when I was trying to add it as a destination but once I arrived there (using a paper map) the 330 did in fact show the street on the display screen.

As of today, the most recently released map (out 2 weeks now) still does NOT show I-355. Ridiculous.

 

[sparky672]

I purchased an XL330-S 10 days ago and I was astonished to find that it didn't show I-355 at all. It also did not have a street in Bloomington, IN when I was trying to add it as a destination but once I arrived there (using a paper map) the 330 did in fact show the street on the display screen.

As of today, the most recently released map (out 2 weeks now) still does NOT show I-355. Ridiculous.

Google managed to get 355 updated within 2 or 3 months of it opening. This I didn't understand either since IL proactively handed over the detailed plans and surveys to the major mappers months before it opened. Even paper maps were printed and on the shelves when it opened.

I agree... almost a year now since it opened in November 2007 and not on the TomTom yet... WTF?

Given these delays, I think the Map Guarantee should extend as long as required to include any roads missing when you purchased your device. If the major road is open and not on the GPS... keep giving you free updates until it is. After all, there isn't really any way you can know it's missing until after you purchase it... and you'd reasonably assume that one update would take care of the issue. If not, shame on them for dragging their feet... give you the next update... repeat until resolved.

Any roads opening after you made the purchase, well that's just your problem, I guess.

Please post the map version on yours for the benefit of others.

 

[Buddharay]

this is a pretty serious - so tele atlas and navteq still don't have it? how does google have it updated, if their map data gets fed in from those two map providers? i wouldn't necessarily put it on tomtom, as there's not really much they can do. that's not something you can correct with mapshare. it's on the map providers - possibly they're making sure that all the data is correct and ready to incorporate routing? not sure.

 

[sparky672]

this is a pretty serious - so tele atlas and navteq still don't have it? how does google have it updated, if their map data gets fed in from those two map providers? i wouldn't necessarily put it on tomtom, as there's not really much they can do. that's not something you can correct with mapshare. it's on the map providers - possibly they're making sure that all the data is correct and ready to incorporate routing? not sure.

I'm fairly certain Teleatlas & Navteq have it correct. (Edit: verified... both have I-355 complete)

From what the other person is saying, it's just still missing from the TomTom's latest map.... therefore yet another TomTom issue.

 

[Buddharay]

I'm fairly certain Teleatlas & Navteq have it correct. (Edit: verified... both have I-355 complete)

From what the other person is saying, it's just still missing from the TomTom's latest map.... therefore yet another TomTom issue.

that's so strange. i feel like i had heard that tomtom had implemented so many changes in this update from mapshare and the like. any idea what tomtom's customer service people say? there's gotta be a reason for that hold-up.

 

[sparky672]

that's so strange. i feel like i had heard that tomtom had implemented so many changes in this update from mapshare and the like. any idea what tomtom's customer service people say? there's gotta be a reason for that hold-up.

What possible excuse could they have for not implementing something that's been in the pipes (validated by Navteq & Teleatlas) for about a year other than "they're backed up" with other updates?

I bought my TomTom just two weeks after the road opened so of course it's not on mine. But the Maps have been updated by TomTom two or three times since then and still nothing according to other poster. I'm not calling customer service without some independent verification of the latest map version though.

 

[pianoCM]

I'm fairly certain Teleatlas & Navteq have it correct. (Edit: verified... both have I-355 complete)

From what the other person is saying, it's just still missing from the TomTom's latest map.... therefore yet another TomTom issue.

AFAIK, I-355 extension running from I-55 to I-80 has been shown in Tomtom v8.10 map.

 

[sparky672]

AFAIK, I-355 extension running from I-55 to I-80 has been shown in Tomtom v8.10 map.

That's good to know. Thanks.


What's this guy talking about, I wonder?

 

[cputrdoc]

I'm fairly certain Teleatlas & Navteq have it correct. (Edit: verified... both have I-355 complete)

From what the other person is saying, it's just still missing from the TomTom's latest map.... therefore yet another TomTom issue.

Request: Can someone with Trip Master or Event Logger living in the I-355 area please upload some traces to the openstreetmap.org project? It might be covered already but if the major map companies only just started carrying it, I doubt it's been posted into the public, copyleft map.