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Vicinity Maps
I am sure this has been cussed and discussed before. I still have not found a good source. I don’t like attaching raster map images. And just freestyle drawing the maps is cumbersome and time consuming. It seems like there would be a nice simple dwg file out there by now that would produce a decent 1:2400 ish scale map in just a few minutes. What is available these days?
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32 Replies
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NCDOT has .dgn linework for every County in the state, includes SR #’s and, generally, common names. I converted the handful of counties I work in and that’s my goto.
If your state doesn’t post something similar on the web, I’d call their local office and see what they could do. I’m guessing it’s part of their inventory process and, being a public entity, should be public info.
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I put the GPS coordinates into google maps & printscreen a section that I think is of suitable scale. I like to put my project site at the middle of the screen and zoom out until I get a lot of intersections & POIs. Save the printscreen as a jpg image from paint or image manager.
I then go to Microstation and open up my title block. My CAD drawing of the titleblock already has a box for the vicinity map section & I just insert the jpg using interactive points.Tip: I use spline instead of lines for the roads. It comes out smooth & looks good when plotted out.
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Ditto Mr back-chain, Florida has similar DGN files of standard county highway maps available from FDOT that are in state plane (nad 83) coordinates, I convert them on an as needed basis to acad and clean them up then save them to use over. I then xref it into my drawing onto a layer reserved for it. I display the necessary portion of the map at 1″ = 4000′. Seems to work well.
Randy
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I downloaded DLG files form USGS for some of my area and converted them to DXF then imported them. They were pretty good. I did one yesterday from Google Earth. I zoomed into my site and saved the image then attached the raster image to my title block and clipped the image. You could also download the 1:24,000 USGS Quad maps in PDF insert them as raster images.
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Like Brad, I don’t like the idea of vicinity maps. They are so 80’s. I have had success convincing the client or entity requiring them that no one looks at them but rather they find the site address some other way. How about providing a hyper-link to the location? Latitude and Longitude?
I just received a request (driven by a checklist) to provide one on a map that is to be recorded. Legibility of the vicinity map will take a considerable amount of work. Not to mention it ruins the overall look of the product and will probably add a page.
Oh, Dan is in a sour mood this morning. -
Daniel Ralph, post: 351007, member: 8817 wrote: Like Brad, I don’t like the idea of vicinity maps. They are so 80’s. I have had success convincing the client or entity requiring them that no one looks at them but rather they find the site address some other way. How about providing a hyper-link to the location? Latitude and Longitude?
I just received a request (driven by a checklist) to provide one on a map that is to be recorded. Legibility of the vicinity map will take a considerable amount of work. Not to mention it ruins the overall look of the product and will probably add a page.
Oh, Dan is in a sour mood this morning.Our clients find vicinity maps invaluable. Addresses are screwed up here and no one wants to learn what LAT and LON mean. We hate producing them and use a number of sources, including TIGER shape files.
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As others have stated, USGS Quad sheets are available for download, though that doesn’t solve your raster issue….
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Bump TTT
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I usually do the Google Earth image thing and then draw enough linework over it to capture the major roads. Annotate the roads, identify the site, delete the image and I’m done. It’s a nuisance, but it gets the job done and doesn’t leave any raster stuff behind.
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I used this nifty tool for today: https://gis.in.gov/apps/dot/mapinsert/
I also sent an e-mail to the INDOT CAD Support team…
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[USER=197]@Brad Ott[/USER]
Wow that’s a nice site.
In the rare instances I have to include a vicinity/location map I just slap a cropped screen shot from Google Maps on it. It makes it less tedious for the “reviewers” to figure out where in hell they are. 😉
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FL/GA PLS., post: 403177, member: 379 wrote: to figure out where in hell
[SARCASM]Are you licensed there?[/SARCASM]
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Bill93, post: 403192, member: 87 wrote: [SARCASM]Are you licensed there?[/SARCASM]
Of course, I already have the whole place mentally mapped including escape routes to heaven, and after a visit to these two human concieved fantasy joints I plan on returning to non existence such as before birth or after death. 😉
Theology and me don’t agree with one another. :scream: -
Just so you know what Google has to say about using their products: copyright
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Peter Hughes-Davies, post: 403205, member: 48 wrote: Just so you know what Google has to say about using their products: copyright
Thanks, didn’t know they even cared. 😎
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Here’s what I usually use:
http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=15/39.2835/-80.3361
If you read their terms of service it’s OK to copy/reproduce – you just have to state that the source was openstreetmap.org
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Brad Ott, post: 350126, member: 197 wrote: I am sure this has been cussed and discussed before. I still have not found a good source. I don’t like attaching raster map images. And just freestyle drawing the maps is cumbersome and time consuming. It seems like there would be a nice simple dwg file out there by now that would produce a decent 1:2400 ish scale map in just a few minutes. What is available these days?
I wonder if this is something you would be willing to pay for?
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imaudigger, post: 403308, member: 7286 wrote: I wonder if this is something you would be willing to pay for?
Maybe?
PM sent…
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ExpertGPS has a button that can import the OSM data of a vicinity based on whatever the display is zoomed to at the moment and export that as a .dxf or a .shp file.
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