Announcing the new NJPB Maps

Ben Ruset

Administrator
Site Administrator
Oct 12, 2004
7,616
1,863
Monmouth County
www.benruset.com
Here's some huge news: After four years, NJPB Live Maps has rewritten from the ground up. I took about two weeks and taught myself Javascript and the Google Maps API and am very proud to give you guys a new, modern mapping application.

http://maps.njpinebarrens.com

Here's the rundown of some of the features:
  • Mobile device support - NJPB Maps uses the Google Maps API version 3 which offers support for mobile devices. I have tested the app on an iPhone 5 and is displays perfectly.
  • Support for GPS sensors - By clicking on the "Locate" button at the top right the map will access the GPS data in your browser and center itself on your position. This should also work on desktop browsers provided that your ISP and browser support this. (Now you can be out in the woods and see your location on any of the maps provided you have a data connection.)
  • Cleaner interface with fewer distractions - Map controls can now be accessed by clicking on the "Controls" button in the top left corner.
  • LIDAR imagery - I am now serving the same image tiles that come from the excellent BoydsMaps.com site. (Super huge thanks to Boyd for letting me fetch map tiles from his server as well as providing me with some solid Javascript to stitch them together.) [Note: LIDAR is not available for all areas of the Pines yet.]
  • Jump Menu - There's two drop down menus in the control panel that will let you pick various towns and points of interest. Right now I'm still working on adding more locations to the list.
  • See it in Another Map - Since I can't fetch image tiles from other mapping providers without getting sued, I can send you directly to their maps based on your coordinates. The zoom level that you're on probably won't work (I haven't figured out a way to reconcile Google's zoom level with other people's maps yet.) As of right now you can go to Historic Aerials, Bing, Bing Birdseye (you'll need to zoom in once you get there), and Yahoo! Maps. If you're viewing a road map on NJPB Maps you'll be taken to Bing or Yahoo's road map. If you're on any other type of map (satellite, 1930s, etc.) you'll be taken to their Satellite Hybrid view. Historic Aerials defaults to their 1951 image set.
  • Improved GPX Parser - This now shows waypoint names and coordinates when you click on a waypoint pin.
  • Google Terrain Map is now the default view when you go to the site without specifying the map type in the URL. It looks much nicer than the stupid Google road map.
  • Support for Google Street View - where available.
The URLs for this version are fully backwards compatible with NJPB Live Maps, so any links you may have shared will still work and open up in NJPB Maps. This includes any GPX files you may have uploaded.

The old version of NJPB Live maps is still available at http://maps.njpinebarrens.com/old just in case you run into a problem.
 

Ben Ruset

Administrator
Site Administrator
Oct 12, 2004
7,616
1,863
Monmouth County
www.benruset.com
  • I have not tested this on any other mobile browsers besides the iPhone 5. I'd be interested in hearing your experience with the maps on Android devices.
  • I'm interested in getting more points of interest and locations added to the Jump Menu. If you want to submit some, please send them along to my email (ben.ruset@gmail.com). If you are sending a number of them, please send them along in CSV format, formatted like this: name,url to the spot on the map
  • I am thinking about adding an option to display various hiking trails on the map. If you have a GPX file that shows any of the official hiking trails (Batona, etc.) and would like to send it to me, I'd really appreciate it!
 

Boyd

Administrator
Staff member
Site Administrator
Jul 31, 2004
9,505
2,766
Ben's Branch, Stephen Creek
Very cool Ben - happy to be a part of it. This is what I get on my iPhone 4 - which is running iOS 4.01 (yeah, I know, but everything else works for me). Even if I zoom or scroll the screen, it still only draws half the map.

IMG_1479.PNG


In landscape mode it works properly, but doesn't leave much room for the map and the controls don't fit....


IMG_1480.PNG
 

Spung-Man

Explorer
Jan 5, 2009
976
656
64
Richland, NJ
loki.stockton.edu
Ben,

I truly admire your diligence and dedication to NJPB and its goal to help Pinelands enthusiasts. The suite of new map options takes the cake! Hardly a day goes by without me using NJPB maps, images that are indispensable tools for anyone doing serious study of the local cultural or physical environment. You have done a great service at many levels – amateur to professional. Thank you for tirelessly stimulating the broader interest in this unique and remarkable place.

Let’s all hoist one to the Administrator!
S-M
 

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,602
8,181
And to think you were going to eliminate it in the past and we had to talk you out of it. When I stone search the map site is invaluable, and it is obvious from the posts here many individuals think the same.

Guy
 
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WaretownMike

Explorer
Jul 16, 2013
186
100
52
Waretown
This really makes this site so much more valuable. I wrote a little program to take my coordinates amd turn them into proper links for Boyd's and historic aerials so this is fantastic-
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
Great work Ben & Boyd, thank you. Never realized that some of the maps work country wide, an added bonus when traveling :D
 

Ben Ruset

Administrator
Site Administrator
Oct 12, 2004
7,616
1,863
Monmouth County
www.benruset.com
Huge thanks to Ed Campbell for letting me know that uploading GPX files was broken, and also giving me a nice GPX file of the Batona trail!

http://maps.njpinebarrens.com/#lat=...2664154917&z=11&type=terrain&gpx=batona-trail

I did notice that it takes 10-15 seconds for the map to display the GPX once it loads. I'm going to look and see if it's just a matter of the GPX being complex and taking a while to render or some inefficiencies in the Javascript that does the rendering.
 

Ben Ruset

Administrator
Site Administrator
Oct 12, 2004
7,616
1,863
Monmouth County
www.benruset.com
I just heard that the maps site may not be working right for those of you with Windows 8 and IE 10. If there's anybody out there that has that setup can you take a look and see if the map loads? Works now!

Also, if anybody has an Android phone can you look at the maps site and see if it looks right?
 

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,602
8,181
I did not know there was downtime. I used it recently and it worked. In any event, thanks for the fix and the update.
 
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