Waypoint POI /Pokestop Removed

Wayspot Appeals
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1

Wayspot Details:

​Title: Swami Vivekananda Statue
​Approximate Coordinates: 22.59502, 88.359557
​City/Region: Kolkata, West Bengal
​Original Acceptance Date: June 2, 2018

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Hello Wayfarer Team,

I am writing to appeal the recent removal of a long-standing and highly eligible Wayspot in my local community. This Wayspot features a permanent statue of Swami Vivekananda, a highly prominent historical and cultural philosopher.

The removal appears to be in error, as this POI clearly meets multiple core Wayfarer acceptance criteria and violates no rejection criteria.

Criteria Breakdown & Evidence:

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Great Place for Exploration / Cultural Significance: Statues of significant historical figures inherently meet the criteria for exploration and education.

Permanence & Distinctiveness: This is a permanent, fixed structure made of concrete/stone, housed under a metal canopy. As evidenced by the attached original 2018 acceptance screenshot and the recent November 2025 Google Street View imagery, the structure is well-maintained and has been in this exact location for years. It is highly visually distinct and serves as a local landmark.

Safe Pedestrian Access: While situated near the roadway, the structure is built on a dedicated, raised plinth complete with built-in stairs specifically designed for pedestrian approach and maintenance.

Impact on the Local Community:

This Wayspot was a starting point of a highly rated community Route (“Kumartuli to BkPaul Park”). As shown in the attached screenshot, this route had 55 community trips and a 4.6-star rating before the Wayspot’s removal broke the path on May 12, 2026.

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Request:

I kindly request that the Niantic team review the provided Street View and historical submission evidence. Unless there is an undisclosed property owner request for removal, this Wayspot is entirely valid under current criteria and should be restored to the map.

Thank you for your time and manual review.

2

I am not staff, but this does not appear to have safe pedestrian access to me.

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You would need to address this in your appeal.

I also wanted to let you know that how you were using it in game has no bearing on the appeal for reinstatement. And even if the Wayspot were reinstated, it would not come back as a pokestop due to game density rules since another Wayspot is a Pokestop in this L17 S2 cell now.

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3

Hi thank you for taking the time to look at my appeal and share your thoughts!

I completely understand why pedestrian access might look questionable at first glance, but I’d like to provide a bit of local context. This location is in India, where road infrastructure—such as clearly marked zebra crossings—is often not present in the same way it is in other parts of the world.

Despite the lack of road markings, the POI is absolutely accessible to pedestrians.

Built-in Access: If you look closely at the photos, the structure has dedicated stairs built directly in front of it. This shows it was explicitly designed for people to walk up to and approach.

Safe Sidewalks: There are proper footpaths on both sides of the road. A player can safely stand on the sidewalk to spin the stop, scan the POI, or do any other in-game activities without ever needing to step into traffic.

There is also a temple (in center of the road, which is common in India) where priest and devotees walk upto daily.

On a separate note, I am coming to terms with the fact that even if this appeal is successful and the Wayspot is restored, it might not return as a PokéStop in Pokémon GO.

Since I am incredibly passionate about the Routes feature, I would love to hear any suggestions from the community. If Niantic cannot manually restore the original PokéStop to fix my broken Route, is there any known workaround to salvage or restore it?

I always learn so much from the discussions on this forum, so I truly appreciate any advice you all can offer. Thanks again for your time!

4

There is no way to restore the route if the Pokestop is gone. Routes are very easy to make and to get accepted now. I would just make a new route.

5

Thanks for the appeal, @trainerticklu .

This location indeed violates our safety guidelines and as a result, we stand by our decision to retire the Wayspot.