Route Builder can’t make a path proceed between ways that are linked to the perimeter of a pedestrian area - see example below. First image is the OSM architecture; Second image is arriving at a pedestrian area with route builder; Third image is attempting to pass through the bottom branch off the Ped area using the logic-based button rather than the straight-line button (of course it can be overridden with the latter).
I am guessing the answer is that the Route Builder code can only handle connecting line-based OSM elements and this can’t be addressed without making it more complicated than is feasible, but thought I’d give it a shot anyways as sometimes we don’t know a problem is a problem until someone complains about it.
CityStrides counts nodes of named Pedestrian Areas as runnable and necessary to complete a city, and I agree with that. In fact, I’m in favor of all named foot paths and foot=yes lines being added to CityStrides, but that’s another fight I’ll keep fighting elsewhere.
This is a common problem with routers (I believe OsmAnd’s router does it too). In the Belgian OSM community, the concensus seems to be to add paths connecting through the pedestrian area, so that a router can use those. I do feel like some routers at least manage to use the edge of a pedestrian area, which is better than what seems to be happening here. So perhaps it can be configured on the one Citystrides uses.
Yeah I guess it would be difficult to, for instance, connect two paths linked to the perimeter of an irregularly shaped pedestrian area as a straight line linkage might cut through a physical object. The bigger and more complex the ‘area’, the less facile building a path through it. But for a simple small circle as in my example, it’s just tedious…I guess CS has no way of differentiating them, just as a node is a node.
The weird routing extends beyond pedestrian areas though. Sometimes the auto-route insists on a particular complex routing when a single a->b is defined, but will happily follow the obvious route as long as it’s broken down into many small steps a->x->y->b. Things like one-way streets seem to play a role as well, sometimes I haven’t been able to make sense of the routing choices at all and just end up overriding it.
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I use the plotaroute website if I’m planning a route where there is a lot of back and forth between ‘non-connected’ spaces like this.
