I wanted to start a thread where we can share our biggest Wayfarer success stories. I’ll go first.
Way back when Wayfarer first dropped I was living in Plattsburgh, New York. One of the biggest parks in the area had plenty of points of interest, but only one Pokéstop. I drew up a map and got to work, back then we only had access to 7 nominations at a time so it was a long process.
Long story short, the park now has 2 gyms and 13 Pokéstops and is now a hub of activity for raid days, community days, and regular play. Well, it was when I left town anyway lol
What’s your big project that you pulled off? Show it off!
Excellent subject - thank you for posting! I love nothing more than planning a big submission day, and I can’t really narrow down my biggest project - the tiny town we tripled in Wayspots, the big nature area we took several trips to nominate fully (two falls, miles of trails hiked, two Barred Owl encounters, and a few raids included), or any of the other submission day efforts? In the end, I think my biggest project was getting all the missing trail crossings added along the Genesee Valley Greenway from Tuscarora to Cuba. The Greenway is a 90-mile linear park in New York State, a wonderful and scenic tourist destination - and now it has a lot more Wayspots along its route!
My highest amount from submission must come from MacRitchie Singapore. Back then ingress have way more submission limit and MacRitchie was empty. Its like submission spree. I have more than 50 portal approved in mac ritchie in a single day submission. The approval take months for all to settle one by one.
Definitely when I first got access in 2022, I added about 7-15 spots to our local lake, where it is a national historic site. It was great to hear the positive reactions. This was where I first learnt about cell limits and gym switching based on favorite numbers. Some silly mistakes and lore, but since it’s a boardwalk it’s a condescend space.
The recreation park near me may be more, like 15-20 but that’s because it has a lot of recreation fields. Not as fun as the boardwalk.
Great subject concept! I can’t believe this hasn’t been here before. I’m sure some people have massive growth. Would love to see some before and after photos in the future from anyone.
Wow great work! I’ll have to go check that state park trail one day. It’s funny to realize that there’s never any previous images of all the POI’s, even in this day of the internet. Even if there’s a couple, it’s only for personal reference, got to find them all!
I am about to complete the literature trail through the city of Tübingen. Added 27 of 42 stations so far, I think only 2 or 3 are left (and also I’ve edited the already existing Wayspots as their descriptions were lacking). My biggest project within the same city!
There is a local college campus that had a smattering of stops and just three Pokemon Go gyms under the old system. That went up to seven gyms when the gyms were revised. It’s a small school and the campus area is basically the town.
I have been working the campus (Elon University for those who want to look it up) and the surrounding area for the past few years now. To date I have added at least 254 wayspots to the campus and town area.
I have been able to sit in the local pizza place (yes, I made it a stop) at the start of raid hour and see 20 gyms.
This project is still a work in progress, but there’s a large university hospital campus that I frequently visit that had 24 portals (18 of which were stops, 3 gyms), but most were concentrated near the medical school.
Now after 6 months of submissions there are 48 portals, 39 stops, 7 gyms with another dozen portals/stops around the area. My final remaining goal is getting a gym into the children’s hospital, and I am 18/20 stops in the cell of making that happen so hopefully very soon
It’s been quite rewarding though because these gyms/raids have some of the highest activity that I have seen, especially among lower level players. The Ingress map is pretty stagnant though, so I guess the kids aren’t playing that one
This whole project has been a fight though since reviewers seem to think just about everything in/around a hospital interferes with emergency services…
This is perhaps my biggest contribution, started in 2013 and is still work in progress.
I have most likely nominated 90-95% my self, and really happy to see the community in my hometown is nowadays also trying to find new things (even though with guidance).
The community is really happy how well covered our little town is, and there is no need to travel to the city nearby for a gaming experience.
I feel your pain on submissions in/around hospitals. As a reviewer I struggle with them.
There was a clarification some years ago now that said (basically) anything inside a hospital “obstructs emergency services”, reasoning that anywhere within could have an emergency or people on the way to such an emergency.
I don’t entirely agree. I struggle with it. But…that’s potentially another topic.
Many of us want to err on the side of caution when determining
For example, would a crowd in a hallway block a crash cart team coming through? Could a nomination on another floor block the emergency entrance? When in doubt as to if it can obstruct emergency services, I reject. The submitter can prove to Niantic that it does not in an appeal if they did not prove it to me.
Nominators and reviewers definitely need to consider all three dimensions and err on the side of caution.
Outside of a “Die Hard” movie where the gunmen are inside the hospital, those who are at risk are brought in through the ER, ambulance bay or heliport, or are already adjacent to their required services.
It does not make any more sense to keep Wayspots out of the coffee shop, parking garage, etc., than to avoid them when visiting the hospital - in other words: not at all.
People are going to be/loiter/congregate in the places that are designated for these purposes and it makes no more sense to play ‘what if?’ there than in any other spot on the planet.
A coffee shop, parking garage, etc. are not places where clients are seeking life saving measures. In those examples, you can assume that loitering is nothing more that annoying. In a hospital, loitering could be life threatening. The nature of the business must be taken into consideration.
Please note that I did not say that I reject all hospital nominations. There are many that I will accept, especially outdoor gardens and atriums. But that previous and outdated clarification got me thinking about what could obstruct emergency services, and that is how I review.
{apologies for the side track on the topic. won’t reply on this issue again on here.}
My goal has been to make my local areas photos as good and appealing as possible.
Living in a rural area of England, my wayspots all contain OOD/Old photos, so for the last 2 years or so, I’ve been submitting photos to better match the current day compared to the older days.
Even my skills in Photography are put to the test!
As someone who works at a hospital, it would be a very odd day if gamers crowded the halls trying to do a raid. Sometimes you have to think about what is plausible, not just what is possible.
First, most people avoid hospitals at all costs.
Second, many hospitals charge for parking, so going inside is cumbersome.
Third, hospitals all have security now. So if people are causing a problem, they will be dealt with.
What is far more likely to happen is that the patients who are there will use the wayspots in their various games. If you’re there with nothing to do, having something to take your mind off your situation can be very good for your mental health. If you need to walk to reach the wayspot, that could be a good motivator - it’s pretty rare that hospitals want people to be completely immobile anymore. Get up and around their hallway is a sign that they are ready to discharge. And then there are the employees who will use the wayspots on their very precious breaks. Healthcare workers are facing major burnout. Any small thing they can do to relieve stress helps.
I’ve been slowly filling in the area of Dumont Dunes OHV park over the last 3 years.
So far, I have 11 wayspots on my account, and an additional 5 that my sister helped me submit. My plan is to continue filling in the various sites, statues, and signs as I visit each winter.
Mine would be getting new Wayspots added to my rural hometown. Since the fall of 2023, I’ve gotten 23 new Wayspots added; summer of 2024 I submitted 12 and fall 2024 I submitted 9, all of which were approved. I’ve also worked on getting Wayspots that no longer exist or aren’t eligible removed, and submitted edits and new photos for older Wayspots.
I’ll be going back there next month, and there are a few places I have in mind to nominate. There isn’t a huge number of players there (don’t get me started on Power Spot play there), but it’s been fun mapping out my hometown and updating existing Wayspots, too!
