Just curious if others have noticed this bug or not.

To reproduce, build a route that includes a freeway. Add a pushpin to a location on the freeway and do a "Route - Add As Stop". On most freeways, 9 times out of 10, it will make some bizarro offroute loop. To see what I am talking about, see this series:

http://ridetoeat.com/st2010_test0.est (plain route, with 1 routestop added, and a pushpin.)

http://ridetoeat.com/st2010_test1.est (turned that pushpin into a route stop, and see what happened!)

These are all 2010, but the problem also appears in 2007 and even before that. I assume it is in '08 and '09 but I don't have them.

The problem only happens on freeways. On other roads it works fine. It doesn't happen on all freeways, just most.

If the pushpin is positioned exactly on top of a freeway exit dot, the problem does not happen.

I have reported it to Microsoft. I sent them the file and they confirmed the symptom and said they would get back with me.

That is because you are not supposed to stop on freeways. It is looking for a safe place to stop off the freeway.

Terry

On the off chance you were being serious, stops are used for many things other than physically stopping the vehicle. Reminders to do something, decision points (e.g. "If it's rush hour take the outer loop", etc.), and many other things.

Also, sometimes it works. So I don't believe it is an intentional feature.

Steve, see if the following helps:

1. Plot a route with your highway stop(s) included
2. Mouse-click on the highway stops which don't route properly, and move them slightly
3. Recalculate the route

I think it should be fine after that. I noticed this behavior in previous versions, too. (I use various points on highways as my destination points sometimes. )

I've been wrestling with this bug for years. With 2007 and below, I have had some small success with that workaround - though on some freeway sections the symptom was quite persistent.

But with 2010 the problem seems both more common and more persistent. For instance, on the freeway section in the the sample file I provided, the workaround you mention doesn't seem to provide any relief. And I chose that freeway section at random... nothing really special about it.

In fact, I just tried a random section in Toronto (that's your neck of the woods, isn't it?) and see the same symptom (http://ridetoeat.com/st2010_test3.est)

Are you able to zoom tight enough to be absolutely certain you are getting the pushpin stuck on the side of the freeway that is the correct direction of travel?

I'll bet you can reproduce a similar problem by simply sticking a pushpin in a one-way street that's headed in the wrong direction for your intended travel.

...ken...

Steve, I opened the last attachment, and if I move the test stop a bit east, or a bit west, I do get the correct routing. I agree that it would be nice if these "user corrections" were not needed, but as a work around it is I guess OK.

I used Garmin Mobile PC to route me to a point on a highway on a couple of occasions, and there were no problems. I used iGuidance literally hundreds of times to navigate me to a destination point in the middle of various highways, and again I experienced not a single issue.

Steve, there is only you and me and I'm afraid not too many other people who will ever be inconvenienced by this "imperfection". I'm not sure if this will ever get the attention of MSFT, but it would be nice...

I tested that Mississauga one with S&T 2005 and 2009. I couldn't even route along that stretch of highway so I guess this an improvement. MapSource (2010.2) does not have an issue so it is definitely still an S&T routing anomaly.

Terry

Attached Images

Miss 2005.jpg (77.0 KB)

Miss 2009.jpg (62.3 KB)

Miss MapSource.jpg (56.9 KB)

Terry, I think in version 2004 and earlier it didn't work no matter what you did, but in later versions, if you use the work-around mentioned above, it should work. Simply set you stops where ever you want, then plot the route, and then go back to the stops that didn't route properly and move them slightly. Then recalculate again.

Attached Images

streets-and-trips-2010-highway-routing-20090924.gif (10.0 KB)

Yep.

You are right Marvin. I had never experienced the problem but usually use an address rather than placing vias on the map. However your solution works fine.

Terry

You are having way more luck than I am with that technique. Are you just moving the stop (which drops the pushpin name and replaces it with "Near Mississauga" or whatever), or are you actually moving the pushpin and recalculating with success? I am not having any luck with the latter. What I need is to have the nice Australian lady in my GPS say what I want her to say when I get to that point... if she says "Near Mississauga" that doesn't fit the need.

Yeah, I know. It is really no more than an inconvenience... but I can't help but think it should be fixable. On the other hand, they must have been aware of it for years and haven't addressed it, so you are probably right.

Overall I like 2010 a lot and consider it a significant improvement over 2007, which is where I came from.

Steve, I didn't touch the one pushpin. I clicked the yellow Stop to select it, and then I moved it about 5 millimeters (1/4 inch?).

So, the name of the stop changed to "Near...", right?

Yes, it changes the name to "Near ...", (but the new Streets and Trips 2010 allows you to then rename the stop to what ever name you prefer).

Argh! That's exactly what I needed... and never noticed! The bug doesn't even matter now... sheesh.

Thanks man!

SpadesFlush noticed the new feature, and then I copied his posting and pasted it to the review. The review has been edited a few times already, and perhaps it may be worth quickly looking at the page one again to check if there is something "new".

This thread became something of a conversation that was a bit hard for me, as an outsider, to follow. However, I think I have another option that may be worth considering, if I understand the issue at hand.

I had difficulty getting S&T to route along the particular roads that I wanted to take. I used the solution of placing the pushpin in the middle of the road and experienced the same problem of being routed off the road in order to pass through the pushpin.

Using S&T 2008
I recently discovered how to add the particular road I wanted to take. Here's how I do it:
1) Put in the starting address and the ending address. Have the program route as it likes.
2) Place the hand icon over the road number icon of the road that you would like to be including in the route and click on it.
3) The route will be "identified" in the find list.
4) Add the road to the route and move it up to the correct position in the route.
5) Recalculate the route. The road desired should now be in the route.
6) I have never scheduled a stop, but one should be able to be added to the new section of the route, using that feature, based on travel time or distance. Or, add a POI or pushpin.

Hope I am addressing your issue and that this helps. Feel free to ask questions, if I have not been clear.

The original post was about being able to force a stop to be named what the user wants rather than what Microsoft wants. Beginning with v2010 there is a rename feature that relieves us of the need to workaround the issue, The bug had to do with the workaround.

The feature you mention is pretty powerful, but even simpler to use than you describe. You don't need to put the cursor over a road number icon... you just put it on the road wherever it is you want the stop to be located. It also works with other selectable elements like cities, even if you are zoomed out far enough that there are no roads visible through that city.

Easier yet is to just use the shortcuts. Place the cursor where you want your new stop, right click, hit the letters R and D, and voila.

Thanks for the clarity regarding the original issue and the short cut tip.
The reason I suggest placing the hand over the Road Identification Icon is to avoid a particular problem. If you just place the hand over the road at any location, the identifier seems to pick up the local address range for that area, or, if a single address, it adds it to the route as a destination. If you use the icon, it identifies the road itself without it being a destination. I think this may help avoid routing problems. Just food for thought.

Thanks, again.

On long, boring freeway/expressway/interstate journeys, I like to insert waypoints (S&T calls them Stops but I don't stop, of course) at significant points along the way to keep me oriented (and amused?) to my progress. It breaks up the trip. For instance, if the interstate I am on crosses another major interstate, I know it will be well-advertised on the highway signs. Therefore, I will place a Stop on "my" interstate route near the exit to the cross interstate and rename it for that interstate. In that way, the Nav pane is giving me up-dated info to that milestone rather than to some abstract point maybe hundreds of miles away.

If you like to save your routes after they are completed but do not want all these waypoints cluttering up your intinerary record, you can just delete them before you make your final Save.

The ability to rename Stops really helps when doing this. This little, little thing makes the up-grade to S&T 2010 worth it on its own.

Wow! I just found this thread, and hope it isn't too late to participate. I was just planning our next trip using the 2008 version of Streets and Trips. For the section of I-40 from Flagstaff, AZ through Amarillo, Texas I entered stops at Route 66 Travel Cente (just west of Albuquerque, NM), Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument (north of Amarillo), Fort Amarillo RV Resort (west end of Amarillo), and Lone Wolf, OK in that order. I had to "drag" the route to exit I-40 where I wanted to, and had no difficulty with that last segment. I also had to spend some time creating a route to and from the stop at Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, but finally got one that was pretty direct. However, S&T did some very strange routing in each of the other three segments, and I never did get it to "stay on I-40". It kept routing through off ramps and on ramps, or reversing direction for a short distance at seemingly random places. Since I know where I want to go, and am familiar with that particular road, it will not cause me a problem. However, listening to verbal commands which need to be ignored is very disconcerting. I tried the "fixes" presented on the previous posts to this thread, but had little success. Since this thread has first been created have any better fixes been found?

Ron

Ron, it sounds to me like you may have dropped Stops, or waypoints, on the 'wrong' side of the Interstate. By that I mean perhaps the Stop is in the East-bound lane when you want it to be in the West-bound lane, or vice versa. You have to be really careful about that or S&T will take you seriously and run you through a loop to get to this misplaced Stop. If you suspect this might be going on, zoom in real tight and check it out, moving it to the other side of the median if appropriate.

Thanks, I check that out with a hypothetical route, and then with the planned route.

Ron