Is this just not a good nomination? (Town trail system)

Nomination Support
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Hello!

I am creating this topic to help me better understand why this isn’t a good nomination. My town has a trail system, so I wanted to submit the trails as a POI. This trail doesn’t have any signs, so I provided a URL and a PDF from the town’s parks and recreation page showing it is a part of the town’s official trail system. I selected a junction point where the trail can go in many different directions but is also easily accessible by the public. I included a direction sign so it could be better verified and to have a point of reference when exploring.

My submission image (Trail on the left with the road on the right):

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Here is my Supplemental Information:
From this location visitors can use the Bargersville Trail to access Kephart Park’s wooded nature trail, travel north toward the South Central Soccer Academy, or continue southeast toward downtown Bargersville. The location is publicly accessible, safely positioned near a pedestrian crosswalk, and serves as a well-used community recreation and exercise hub. The Bargersville Trail system has over 8 miles of wide paved walking/biking trails. This link (Parks and Recreation) will take you to the Parks and Recreation webpage and midway down there is a Bargersville Trail System link that will open a PDF showing the official Bargersville Trails. I have added a supporting image of that PDF with a green dot on where I am submitting this nomination. This trail junction near Kephart Park connects multiple popular routes used daily by pedestrians and cyclists.

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The nomination was rejected so I appealed hoping my information I provided would help:

Appeal Notes

This submission is for the walking/biking trail that connects several popular locations in Bargersville from this nomination spot. This junction point has several directions you can take as you exercise and explore the town. You are able to go North then West towards the large soccer academy complex, there is an entrance right beside this nomination to the Kephart Parks wooded nature trails, you are near the town’s most popular park (Kephart Park), or you can continue Southeast towards downtown Bargersville where the end of the trail connects to a town plaza. I wanted to include the downtown sign for a point of reference with the submission image. This spot is also by a lot of parking spaces (Kephart Park), so it is easily accessible by the public, as well as several neighborhoods that can access it by walking/biking. It is also by one of the main crosswalks, with flashing lights, that is used by the community. In my supplemental information I included an image to show this is more than a sidewalk and is a large paved designated walking/biking trail. I also included a PDF (with a green dot where the submission is) to show this is officially part of the Bargersville Trail System. There is also a URL where you can find the PDF from the Bargersville Parks and Recreation website. This spot is also located towards the middle of the entire trail system.

The appeal rejection seemed to really focus on the sign I added for a reference point even though I provided information regarding that and that the focus was on the trail, not the sign:

Niantic Note

Thanks for the appeal, Wayfinder! The nomination in question does not meet the Wayfarer criteria as it is a local direction sign board. If this assessment is not accurate, please resubmit the nomination with additional context. We recommend you review the Wayspot Criteria and Forum Criteria Discussions Library sections before submitting your next Wayspot contribution: Wayfarer — Niantic Technical Support and Help Center and Forum Criteria Discussions Library — Wayfarer Help Center

Is there any more context I need to add for a resubmit or is this just too “generic” of a submission?

Thank you for any help regarding this!

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Welcome to the forums :slight_smile:

Without commenting on eligibility of POI for these trails, the photo used has an obvious problem - the sign that you have used as an anchor is nothing to do with the trails

Anchors are useful for things like parks and trails, to give the POI something to be at, but it needs to be something that is relevant to the park or trail. Some other object that happens to the near the location is not relevant.

I’m guessing you used this sign because there is no other anchor you could use.

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Yes, you are correct. I do not have any anchors for the trail system that I can use that is specific for the trails. I wanted to at least include something that could be verified that isn’t just an empty trail image. Am I just out of luck without any trail specific anchor points even though I have proof that it is part of the town’s trail system?

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I have scanned the SE section of the trail system and there is nothing I could find on-the-ground that makes that section of trail actually exist. This doesn’t make me hopeful that this trail is much more than the town trying to make out they have walking routes when they don’t really.

This trail system feels like a bust unless you come across actual markers.

(I also found out why the first photo had a familiar feeling for me. I’m UK based but have visited India-no-place several times.)

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I appreciate you checking it out! I am a little confused by the “have walking routes when they don’t really”. I pulled up google maps and highlighted a large part of the walking trail around the submission spot that you can see in street view pretty easily that they have highlighted on their trail system map.

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I was also hopeful their verbiage of “8 miles of trails” on their website would help, but it looks like I might be stuck hoping some sort of sign is put in along the paths :crossed_fingers:

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Hopefully you enjoyed seeing the fields of corn! :smiley:

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The corn is more prevalent to the west over the state line :wink:

Avon has a lovely reused old railway that makes for an excellent trail, and the Monon trail was being extended when I was last there, so those would both provide wayspots.

Bargersville less so. That area you highlighted has no trail on the ground, just a sidewalk. Calling it a trail is optimistic. You might have a genuine trail somewhere though!

(It brings to mind the long sections of cycle route that some UK councils implement, which have zero value to anyone except for being able to say how many miles of cycle routes they have, because all they consist of is markings at slip roads on dual carriageways showing cyclists where to dismount and walk across the slip road.)

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Goootcha, that makes sense. I appreciate the insight!