The South Hampton Roads Trail is a multi-city initiative to build a 41 mile trail across the most populous part of Tidewater. Beginning in downtown Suffolk, VA the trail winds it’s way to the City of Virginia Beach resort area. This is the Portsmouth segment of the trail.
The Portsmouth segment of the South Hampton Roads Trail is an ideal location for a PokéStop due to its status as a burgeoning community hub and outdoor recreational space. This section of the trail aligns perfectly with Niantic’s goal of encouraging exploration and exercise.
It looks like several issues being asked about. The original rejection was “Wayfarer criteria” right? Those are ML (machine learning ai) model rejections and are indicated by the email saying “our team” instead of the community. These rejections typically occur around 20-24 hours after nominating.
I think the problem with this photo is that there is no focal point to know when you have arrived at the Wayspot. All the ai could detect was asphalt, grass, trees, and sky in that photo. A sign here would most likely be an easy accept.
If you find a good visual anchor and try to submit this again, leave out references to why this would be good for Pokemon Go. I know that the prompt asks that question, but you are actually submitting a Wayspot, not a Pokestop. You should address how this meets criteria (a great place for exercise, exploration, or being social) and then give reviewers any extra information they might need to understand this is where and what you say it is.
It is very difficult to submit a trail at a seemingly random point. Unless it has a sign, or gate, or bollards, or something like that, it is just too hard to be a “distinct” point people can go to.
Hello
this is a tough one.
The trail appears to be a good off road walking route with quite a few access points……but on streetview no signage other than signs saying only authorised vehicles, implies that it is a footpath. But that will not be a suitable anchor.
The reason simple trail markers are eligible is because they are anchor points for the trail - the trail is interesting.
Without something tangible as an anchor then Emily (nickname for the auto rejections ) will just reject. So it won’t get to the community.
So your only hope is to ensure that everything is in place for an appeal ……and to be honest and don’t think the odds are good.
Is there any chance of talking to the local council or whoever promotes the trail to request the odd sign or trail marker to be installed. I think the odds on that working are better
This is an issue I think Niantic needs to address walking paths are GREAT places to exercise. It shouldn’t need a sign. Especially when you can see these walking tracks from satellite.
It necessarily need a sign, but it does need an anchor to fix the way spot to. It could be something besides a sign, but it would have to be proxy for the trail that is physically fixed.
Pinned anywhere on the path is good or the path entrance. Much like a soccer field there are many good places to pin it. The submitter uses their best judgment
Doubling checking the criteria. “When in the immediate area, the location is visually distinct enough to identify” If I look down and my feet are on the path and then I look at my phone on any Niantic game I know I’m in the right place. Even if it’s not distinct, if everything else fits the criteria should it still be rejected? I just don’t think so. But I’m just one dude with an opinion🤷🏾♂️
This is why this one is tough and @OldDirtyBard we should be doing what you are saying looking for the positives.
For this to be accepted it faces a lot of barriers, the first one being Emily.
If Emily snaffles it, then its fate is in the hands of one appeals reviewer. And they are perfectly correct not to accept given the guidelines.
It is frustrating that there is a perfectly good trail here and the trail itself ticks the criteria boxes. And it should be about the trail.
It does appear to be a new initiative to use this old railway line to create a 41 mile trail ( a common project in the U.K. ) and it is opening up in sections. With great goals in terms of accessibility. So perhaps over the next year or so signage will appear to guide walkers that can provide conventional anchor points. Submitting now is probably premature.
Is it worth another try? Any attempt as things stand you have to accept is likely to fail. I would not fault a reviewer who chose to reject based on not distinct. Equally if someone felt that a good case was made for this junction I would feel it not an unreasonable decision for a I don’t know response. I think a straight accept would be a bit of a stretch as there isn’t a good obvious anchor here that is specifically about this trail.
If I was giving this a longshot I would have pinned this right at the start and shown the junction so that it showed as a start. I would include the the authorised vehicles only - this is such a long shot it’s not going to be the issue
The description and supporting needs to be amazing. Links to the trail information, explanation tackle the lack of signage the lot.
But be prepared for a fail.
I LOVE the way you have been able to get entire walking path loops accepted by submitting them with a drone shot from above in their entirety, but I can’t figure out how to apply that to a trail that is still a road on street view and is just a long straight shot on satellite view. The phrase “visual anchor” is how we describe that you have to be able to recognize that you have arrived at the Wayspot, and is key to being able to pin a place on the map imo. And the phrase “visual anchor” also helps people to understand why the ML model is rejecting some photos if there isn’t one.
These map views still look like it is a service road, and I can’t think of any way to submit this at the present time that ML won’t reject. It looks like the OP has appealed, and I will be interested to know how the team decides on this.
Hey everyone thanks for the great responses! I’ve reached out to my city’s parks and rec department regarding signage for the Portsmouth segment of the trial. I fully anticipate my appeal for this spot to be denied and will resubmit when/if signs get posted.
My thought for the original anchor was the path itself with the pinned location identifying the path. This I guess is not common sense to Niantic or some responses here lol. Google street maps is outdated and I didn’t include it in my original post.
If I get response for my appeal I can share it here if people are interested. Have a great weekend!
@mcwipey just for reference you can use Google maps or the StreetView app on your phone to record a video file in segments of the area your submitting it’s quite weird to do at first as you make a photo cube of the area to upload moving your camera to required positions such as sky etc. (At least that’s how i started under Ingress) Then submit it online to update Google maps as of 202X and it may pop up for a future reviewer for the area your trying to nominate.
When reviewing sometimes you’ll see a name such as “Joe bloggs” who has created the photo cube of that specific location instead of an street address.
Think of it as your contribution to updating your area maps where the Google Car can’t go…eg…wooded walks/trails.
) will just reject. So it won’t get to the community.
lol. Google street maps is outdated and I didn’t include it in my original post.