DESIGN OF THE OPTIMUM CONTENT AND THE SYMBOL CODE OF BIKING MAPS

Transcription

1 DESIGN OF THE OPTIMUM CONTENT AND THE SYMBOL CODE OF BIKING MAPS Emil KUDRNOVSKY 1, Ales LETAL 2, Pavel SEDLAK 1 1 Department of Geoinformatics and 2 Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic ABSTRACT The evaluation and comparing of different aspects resulted in designing the biking map with optimum content with the scale 1 : The design of the optimum content was divided into the design of topohraphic background, tourist and biking contents. The tourist content includes tourist routes and their characteristics, nature protected areas, services, and facilities for sport activities and references to informations found in the text. The biking content includes cycling routes and their additional elements. In biking maps, the cycling routes were divided into marked, local, long-distance, planned, cycling tracks and connecting tracks, forbidden and dangerous tracks. The additional elements of the biking content were divided into the elements charakterising the actual running of biking routes and the elements describing and characterizing the service facilities for biking. The design of optimum content and the symbol code of biking maps contributes to the development and readability of biking maps. 1. INTRODUCTION In the last ten years, the biking in the Czech Republic has noted a great boom and has become a trendy activity for active spending of leisure time and relaxation. The development of biking gave the impulse for creating and publishing new biking maps. But the choice of high quality biking maps on the Czech market is not easy in deluge of new and nearly programmed possibilities of biking maps. The quality of these maps is mainly given by its content and carthographic interpretation. 2. THE SCALE OF BIKING MAPS The design of the optimum content and the amount of map features is related to the scale of a map. Before assignment of the optimum content and the amount of biking features is necessary to select the most suitable scale in a scope of a map konception design. The scale 1 : is usually used and suitable for touring maps, but maps of this scale display too small area for biking. These biking maps are suitable rather for the expression of mountain bike s routes. Conversely the scale 1 : display a relatively large area (for example 60 x 90 km the map Chøiby... [5]), and is suitable rather for the long-distance road cyclists. The most suitable scale of biking maps is 1 : , which is a universal scale for the all groups of cyclists, mainly for the largest group - the recreational cyklists. The map of this scale display area is possible cross by tourist speed in one or two days. The next optimum content is designed for a map scale 1 : The design of optimum content of the biking maps is divided into the design of topographic background and the thematic content, which was further divided into the tourist and biking design.

2 3. THE DESIGN OF TOPOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND The topographic background is created by the elements, which display relief, waters, vegetation and soil covers, settlements, communications and borders (Èapek 1992). According to the cartographic interpretation methods of the content thematic maps the topographic background is divided into elevation, planimetry and description of a map. The content must be high quality, generalized in balance and correct, because the topographic background creates the base of precise display of biking routes. The elevation must be present in every biking map content. It is important to determine the difficulty of a biking route. The most suitable interval of contour lines is the twenty meter-interval, because smaller interval of contour lines raises the amount of a map features (mainly in an intented relief) and reduces its readability. In plains and low uplands, where distances of contour lines are larger, is suitable to use auxiliary and suplementary contour lines. The elevation is further replenished for the height spots of more important peaks and the terrain steps. The communications belong to the most important mandatory elements of a position in the topographic background mainly overground communications, which determine the type of a surface and the course of biking routes. This element must be described in detail and categorized. Overground communications are divided into highways and expressways, roads of I. class, roads of II. class, other roads, metalled ways, rural and forest ways and trails. From other communications railways with stops and stations, cableways and ski tows are displayed. Displays of spaning (bridges and footbridges) and tunnels complement the course of communications. Other position elements of topographic background are displayed for better orientation in a terrain and inform about the character of landscape. Settlements, forests, administrative borders, water surfaces and streams with direction, marshes, peatbogs, springs, sailing canals and dams belong to further basic mandatory position elements of topographic background. The settlements are displayed in case of small settlements by point features of single building. The precinct display is suitable for the continuous development of an intravilan. The important content of background is a display of forests, which provide pleasurable tour mainly in summer months. The display of administrative borders is mandatory, mainly the display of state borders, where the unlapal crossing of state border may be experienced. The optional elements of the topographic background are possible display by the amount of single map features. Landuse is replenished with surface elements for scrub, orchards, vineyards and hop-fields. The character of terrain in biking maps can be replenish with the point features caves, chasms, stalwart formations and isolated boulders. The water streams can be increased by elements of waterfalls, channels, weirs, points of immerse and issue. The suitable optional elements of topographic background, which characterize the human settlements, are churches, chapels, statues, crosses, cementeries, radio and TV transmitters, fortress, power stations, mines (open, close), mills, gamekeeper's lodges and tower's buildings. Some elements of a topographic background can even belong to tourist content in biking maps. Owing to development of system GPS (Global Position System) the coordinate grid WGS-84 is the mandatory and very important supplement of a topographic background, and must be present in biking and tourist maps. The optional grids of a topographic background, which may be displayed only in a frame of a map, are grid of geographic coordinates and grid of orthogonal plane coordinates in system S 1942, which is used in collection of tourist maps published by the Czech Tourists Club.

3 4. DESIGN OF TOURIST CONTENT The tourist content of biking maps is created by the elements of displayed tourist routes and their characteristics, nature conservation areas, service and sport facilities. Displayed elements can be highlighted and noted in a text. Tourist routes are an important mandatory supplement of content in biking maps. Tourist marking is important orientation element in terrain also for biking tourists. The classic colour lines, which are thiner than lines of biking routes, are suitable for display on tourist maps. Also the educational paths are mandatory elements of this content, because are marked in terrain and also used for orientation in biking. The display of other elements, which charakterize attributes of tourist routes (length in kilometers, crossroad directory, information table etc.), must be considered for the amount of map features. Nature conservation areas of the Czech Republic are important elements of content, which must not be missed out in biking maps. Law in areas of high protection often restricts the movement. Conversely these areas are interesting and favourite destinations for bikers. In content of biking maps the borders of large-scale protected areas national parks, landscape protected areas, nature parks are displayed by lines. Small-scale nature protected areas are displayed mainly by points or lines nature reserves. The movement is also restricted in military training areas, which belong to mandatory elements of tourist content. They are displayed using the line grid. Services are the important elements of tourist content. They provide different conditions for the hinterland of tourists. Every living creature need to eat and sleep, therefore among the mandatory elements belong board objects (buffets, pubs,restaurants) and housing (camps, autocamps, pensions and cottages, hotels and other lodging - shelters). The biking is a sport and one can often get injured therefore mandatory elements are displays of health services (hospital, first help, pharmacy, mountain rescue service). Tourist information offices, which offer information about the region, and parking lots, where one can start individual biking routes, are the important elements of biking services. Lido and swimming pools, which are places of agreeable relaxation after strenuous trip in summer months, belong to the mandatory elements. The display of optional elements of services in the tourist content depends on the amount of single map features. The elements of transportation, which do not belong among topographic elements filling station (petrol, gas), bus stops and station, purposed airport belong to the optional elements. Further optional elements content sport facilities (horseriding, paragliding, mountaineering, golf, watersports and swimming pools). Owing to main theme of biking map belong some topographic elements rather in tourist content. It are elements displayed cultural and historic objects or other tourist interesting destinations. Among the mandatory elements are classed the most tourist visit objects castle, ruin, monastery, muzeum, vernacural architecture. By the amount of single map features are displayed a optional elements technical monuments, historic reserve, national cultural monument, jewish monument, archeological monument. Optional characteristic of previous elements is display of their accessibility for public. Biking maps contain also text information about tourist interestings. Bequests in the map on this information in text are the optional content of maps by dependence on quantity of information in text and on the amount of map features. 5. DESIGN OF BIKING CONTENT AND THE SYMBOL CODE The biking content is the main theme of biking maps, therefore it must be readable and point out from the map field. It is created by single biking routes and by their supplementary elements.

4 The biking routes are the main elements of biking content - the biking map without biking routes is not the biking map. The lines of biking routes depict the specific course of these routes in a map. In biking maps the biking routes are divided into marked, long-distance, local, planned, educational biking routes, cycling tracks and connecting tracks, pathways for bikes, forbidden and dangerous tracks. The most suitable display of biking routes is by colour dotlines, because the full lines are usually used for tourist routes and the dotline express better a theme of biking. The lines of biking routes are situated along the communication lines, which is suitable for better display of communications (in maps of scale 1 : ), which inform actually about the surface of biking routes. The biking routes can be displayed in maps of larger scales over the lines of communications. The marked biking routes belong to the basic elements of biking content and are registered. Depending on the marking in a terrain, the marked routes are divided into routes marked by the road (transport) marking and by the strip marking. The biking routes marked by the transport marking (bikeroutes) run on roads, local and aim communications and are marked with similar marking in a terrain as the marking for motor vehicles. In the Czech Republic the registered marked biking routes are divided into I. IV. classes. The bikeroutes (Fig. 1) are displayed by magenta dotlines with full dots (see Náchodsko a Broumovsko [10]). The coloured model CMYK is used in the contemporary printing technology, in which the magenta colour is a basic colour. This colour (expect black colour) is further the most distinguishable on the colour background of a map field. Figure 1. The biking routes marked by the transport marking (magenta colour; enlarged 5x) The biking routes marked by the strip marking (biketourist routes) run mainly on field and forest paths or in a terrain (Fig. 2). They are marked in a terrain by the strip marks with the outside strips of yellow colour and the middle strip is red, blue, green or white. The biketourist routes are displayed by dotlines in colours of the strip marking. The white marked routes (in terrain) are dipslayed with orange colour, which is more visible than yellow colour (see Prùvodce Poodøím [13]). Figure 2. The biking routes marked by the strip marking (colour red, blue, green, orange; enlarged 5x) The most important marked biking routes are the long-distance biking routes (Fig. 3), which may be marked in a terrain by the transport or strip marking. The lines of routes are displayed by colour dotlines, which are replenished with the pale magenta lines in a background and with the magenta names of routes (similarly see Støední Morava [14]). The names of routes are always situated along the lines of routes. Figure 3. The long-distance biking routes (the description and the dotlines by the magenta colour, the background by the pale magenta; enlarged 5x)

5 The local biking routes (Fig. 4) are unmarked or recommended routes of a local importance. When considering the hierarchy of biking routes, their importance is not so big as of the marked routes. Therefore this type of routes is displayed only with the pale colour dotlines (see Mikulovská oblast [9]). The display of the local biking routes is done mostly by one colour - the best colour is the pale magenta. Figure 4. The local biking routes (the pale colour magenta, red, blue, green, orange; enlarged 5x) The planned biking routes (Fig. 5) are not meanwhile builded, are displayed with magenta dotlines, where dots are empty (see Náchodsko a Broumovsko [10]). These routes are divided into the planned biking routes with transport marking and with strip marking. (a) (b) Figure 5. The planned biking routes (a marked by the transport marking (magenta), b marked by the strip marking (red, blue, green, orange); enlarged 5x) The educational biking routes (Fig. 6) have not been developed widely. One of the first is the route in the Krkonoše Mts. (1. Krkonošská cyklistická nauèná stezka [3]), which was displayed by the lines of red squares. The educational biking routes are displayed owing to quantity of displayed lines as a point feature along the routes. This marking is similar to the marking of tourist educational routes in a terrain. Figure 6. The educational biking routes (the point feature along the routes, the colour of an arrow and a middle lane is green, the background is yellow; enlarged 5x) Cycling tracks and connecting tracks are optional information in biking maps, and their display depends on the amount of features found in a map. Their lines of biking routes are usually united or shortened by communications (pertinently lines of tourist routes). Cykling tracks and connecting tracks (Fig. 7) are displayed by the pale magenta dotlines, where dots of lines have smaller size than dots of previous routes (similarly see Èeský ráj [4]). This element is left out in case of impaired readability of a map. Figure 7. Cycling tracks and connecting tracks (the pale magenta; enlarged 5x)

6 Communications, which can be used only by biketourists, are named bikepaths or pathways for bikes (Fig. 8). These communications are determinated only for this usage. The lines of biking routes runing on this pathway are displayed by the feature of cyclist in white colour, which is situated in a blue circle similarly by transport marks in a terrain (see Èeský ráj [4]). The feature is situated on the line of a route. Figure 8. The bikepath (the point feature of cyclist in white colour, situated in a blue circle; enlarged 5x) The biking routes suitable for people with limited mobility (Fig. 9) belong to the special elements of a biking content. These routes are categorized as the routes for electric and mechanic disabled trolleys or only for mechanic disabled trolleys. Their display is optional. Both categories are displayed by a feature of invalid in white colour, which is situated in a magenta square along the lines of biking routes (see Jizerské hory [6]). Figure 9. The biking routes suitable for people with limited mobility (the point feature of people in white colour, situated in a magenta square; enlarged 5x) Some communications are forbidden for biking (Fig. 10), for example in military training areas. These communications are displayed by the lines of magenta sharps, which are situated on the lines of communications (see Èeský ráj [4]). Figure 10. The communications forbidden for biking (magenta colour; enlarged 5x) Some communications have a big frequency of transport, therefore are dangerous for biking. These communications are displayed by lines of magenta exclamation marks, which are situated on the lines of communications. Figure 11. The dangerous communications for biking (magenta colour, enlarged 5x) The supplementary elements of a biking content belong to its important part. They describe and characterize minutely the course of each biking route numbering of biking routes, the length in kilometers and the marking of individual laps, the dangerous laps, the big gradient, the biking prohibition sign, the changes of a marking system and the information thematic tables. Figure 12. The official numbering of routes (the black number, the dunkle yellow background; enlarged 5x)

7 The numbering of biking routes is a mandatory part of a content and is divided into the official numbering (registered by the Club of Czech Tourists) and the unofficial the local (the local numbering of supported routes and circuits). The official numbering (Fig. 12) refers to the marked registered routes and is displayed by a black number in a rectangle with a dunkle yellow filling on the lines of biking routes it means in a colour of the registered transport marking in a terrain. The unofficial (local) numbering of routes (circuit) is displayed by magenta number (letter) in a circle with pale magenta filling (Fig. 13) and can also contain the arrow for the display a direction of a route or a circuit (see Povodí Støely [12]). Figure 13. The unofficial (local) numbering of routes (the number, the arrow and the border magenta colour, the pale magenta background; enlarged 5x) The length of a single lap of a biking route (Fig. 14) is displayed in the map field in kilometers and it is the mandatory element of content. The values of lap lenghts are displayed by a magenta number in the middle of the laps, which are situated along the lines of biking routes. The laps of routes are demarcated by sigh-post features or by the supplementary features in the form of a pin all in magenta colour. The distance is given in kilometers with one decimal position. Figure 14. The lenght of routes (the number and the supplementary features - magenta colour; enlarged 5x) The feature for dangerous laps (Fig. 15) displays the part of a route with dangerous slope or the frequency part of communications. This element must be displayed distinctly in a map, therefore is displayed by a red triangle with white filling and the black exclamation mark for example - the feature in the map Ladùv kraj [7]. Figure 15. The feature for dangerous laps (the red border, white filling and the black exclamation point; enlarged 5x) The element of a big gradient (Fig. 16; the three arrows) depicts the slope, which is bigger than 10 %. The direction of arrows informs about the direction of a fall (see Maloskalsko [8]). The increase or the decrease in a gradient on biking routes may be displayed by the altitude profile, which belongs to the additional information found in biking maps. Figure 16. The big gradient of a slope (the magenta dotline, the black arrows; enlarged 5x)

8 The feature for biking prohibition (Fig. 17) must be diplayed in all of biking maps with respect on safety in road traffic. The element is displayed by the feature of a black cyklist in a red circle with white filling, the feature is situated on the line of communication. Figure 17. The feature for biking prohibition (the red border, the white filling and the black cyclist; enlarged 5x) The feature for changing of a marking system (Fig. 18) marks the end or beginning of a strip marking and is not mandatory, because the change of marking is possible deduced from colour display of biking routes. This element is displayed similarly as in a tourist marking by the feature for the end of marking the feature of concentric squares with filling in a colour of ending and begining biking route. Figure 18. The changing of a marking system (the yellow border of a square, the filling rec, blue, green, orange; enlarged 5x) The feature for information thematic table (Fig. 19) is displayed in the form of letters i in the square with yellow filling, which is situated along the line of a biking route (similarly see 1. Krkonošská cyklistická nauèná stezka [3]). Figure 19. The information thematic table (the black letter, the black border and the yellow filling; enlarged 5x) The supplementary elements of biking content (Fig. 20), which describe and characterize the services for biking, are well known as bikeservices. The bike repair services, the bike shops, the bike rent services, the depositories of bikes and the railway stations supported as connections to biking routes belong to the bikeservices. These elements are mandatory in a map. The suitable feature for bike repair services is a black reversed bike in the background form of yellow pentagon (similarly see Okres Tachov [11]). The bikes are possible to buy in the bike shops for money, therefore it is displayed as the black feature of a bike in the form of yellow coin. The bike rent services are usually situated in tourist favourite areas and are displayed in the form of a clock, which characterize a rent period. The depositories of bikes are possible to found in railway stations and are displayed as the black feature of a bike with a roof (similarly see Prùvodce Poodøím [13]). The railway stations (Fig. 21) supported as connections to biking routes are displayed as the feature of a locomotive in a yellow rectangle. (a) (b) (c) (d) Figure 20. The bikeservices (a the bike repair services (black feature and yellow filling; enlarged 6x), b the bike shops (black feature and yellow filling; enlarged 6x), c the bike rent services (black feature with white filling, yellow background; enlarged 6x), d - the depositories of bikes (black feature and yellow filling; enlarged 6x)

9 The line elements of biking routes are depicted at the first place in a legend of a biking content. The point elements inform about the attributes of routes and bikeservices and are at the second place in a legend. The elements of legend are further alligned by the priority of displayed phenomenons. Figure 21. The railway stations supported as connections to biking routes (the black feature of a locomotive in a yellow rectangle; enlarged 6x) 5. CONCLUSION The evaluation and comparing of different aspects resulted in designing the biking map with optimum content with the scale 1 : The design of the optimum content was divided into the design of topohraphic background, tourist and biking contents. The most important elements of topohraphic basis tend to be the elements of hypsometry and some elements of planimetry - terrestrial communications, railways, settlements, forests, administrative boundaries, waterbodies streams and ponds. The important part of the topographic basis, with a regard to today's development of the position system GPS, is a co-ordinated grid WGS-84. The tourist content includes tourist routes and their characteristics, nature protected areas, services, and facilities for sport activities and references to informations found in the text. The biking content includes cycling routes and their additional elements. In biking maps, the cycling routes were divided into marked, local, long-distance, planned, cycling tracks and connecting tracks, forbidden and dangerous tracks. The additional elements of the biking content were divided into the elements charakterising the actual running of biking routes and the elements describing and characterizing the service facilities for biking. REFERENCES [1] Èapek, R. a kol.: Geografická kartografie. Praha, SPN, 1992, 373 s. [2] Voženílek, V.: Aplikovaná kartografie I tematické mapy. Olomouc, UP, 2001, 137 s. Used maps: [3] 1. Krkonošská cyklistická nauèná stezka. Praha, Geodézie ÈS, 2001 [4] Èeský ráj - velká cykloturistická mapa, 1 : Zádveøice, SHOCart, 2001 [5] Chøiby, Bílé Karpaty a Vizovické vrchy - cykloturistická mapa, 1 : Praha, Klub èeských turistù, 2001 [6] Jizerské hory - turistická mapa, 1 : Praha, Geodézie ÈS, 2001 [7] Ladùv kraj - cyklotrasy. Mladá Boleslav, Regionální rozvojová agentura Støední Èechy, - [8] Maloskalsko - cyklotrasy v Èeském ráji. Turnov, Mìstské informaèní støedisko Turnov, - [9] Mikulovská oblast - moravské vinaøské stezky, 1 : Lichnov, DOMOVINA, 2000 [10] Náchodsko a Broumovsko na kole, 1 : Náchod, GATE Náchod & BRANKA Náchod, 2000 [11] Okres Tachov - turistická mapa, 1 : Plzeò, Euroverlag, - [12] Povodí Støely - turistická mapa, 1 : Praha, ŽAKET, 2001 [13] Prùvodce Poodøím. Nový Jièín, OkÚ Nový Jièín, 2000 [14] Støední Morava - cyklistické znaèené trasy, 1 : Olomouc, Okresní a mìstské úøady okresu Olomouc, Kromìøíž, Prostìjov, 2001 Emil Kudrnovsky Lecturer; Department of Geoinformatics, Faculty of Science, Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic; kudrnov@prfnw.upol.cz, kudrnove@seznam.cz

10 Ales Letal Lecturer; Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic; Pavel Sedlak Lecturer; Department of Geoinformatics, Faculty of Science, Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic;