So, the question arises, do you want to try to use your GIS’s landbase information even though it does not contain sufficient information to perform usable navigation and routing, or do you look to a 3rd party source of data to help? More and more users are turning to 3rd party data to solve this problem. Many datasets even have well connected street centerline data, but do not contain one-way street information, road class, construction information, or any number of other attributes that could affect navigation decisions. While most GIS data does provide extensive landbase information (roads edges, street center-lines, etc.), this data generally does not provide enough information to perform viable Street Navigation or Street Routing. Street Routing is a step of above Street Navigation, while the two tasks are similar, Street Routing takes a list of addresses and finds the best order to visit each address providing the optimal (or near optimal) list of directions that minimize the distance and time required to visit all addresses. Directions are presented as a list of turns and distances to travel to get you from the starting address to the destination. In its simplest definition, Street Navigation is determining a list of directions to get from Point A to Point B where Points A and B are street addresses (such as 123 Main St., Anytown, AL). Street Navigation and Routing capabilities are common tasks required by many GTViewer users.
