system colors for tourist routes

[SSOWorld]

Is it possible to select different colors for the systems that are not numbered highways (like we do with usasf, usaif, usausb, usaib, etc. for USA? Here, the ones suggested to be a different color would be:

usanp (national park routes - say a green hue)
usaush (historic routes)
usatr (Tourist routes - yes I know it's disabled)

Right now, they're all brown, which mishmashes them with the state route system, which makes for a complete cluster of brown lines that aren't so sensible. 

This can be applied, if not already, to other systems elsewhere too.

GitHub issue https://github.com/TravelMapping/Web/issues/813

[Jim]

Adding and changing default colors is not hard, but getting some consensus about those changes might be.  I'd be happy to put code on the tmtest or tmdevel versions of the site so people could take a look at some proposed changes without the messy URLs needed to specify color overrides.

I would definitely support usanp and usaush and eventually usatr having colors distinct from what we use for US state highway systems.

[michih]

Is it possible to select different colors for the systems that are not numbered highways (like we do with usasf, usaif, usausb, usaib, etc. for USA?

Do you want users to be able to change them back and forth in the frontend, or do you simply want different colors per default?
The latter can be done without coding. We'd just had to agree on colors and change them in systems.csv.

[SSOWorld]

If someone [i[wants[/i] the option to it can be considered, but as you hinted, it's extra work and I don't have a preference either way. However, I feel the defaults should be changed.

[si404]

As the person who selected brown for all these, I agree.

However it's the state highway systems that should be changing colours as these routes are mostly signed with brown shields and brown signs. Globally, brown is the colour of tourist signs and the US is no different.

When I first suggested it, however, others didn't want to change the state highway colour, despite brown just being a random colour for them.

[SSOWorld]

Oh I can see this becoming a mess 💩

[osu-lsu]

Oh I can see this becoming a mess 💩

Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it. 

[Jim]

A quick switch up on the tmtest.teresco.org server: replace all USA state highway systems with a bit darker version of TMgreen, and swith usaib to TMlightsalmon.

[vdeane]

I certainly like that shade of green better than TMgreen and wouldn't mind seeing usaib and the E routes switch to that, though I'm not sure about that color scheme overall.  The thing with lightsalmon is that it's not exactly easy to see, which is the hard thing with replacing brown for the state route color; it's hard to find something that's both easy to see and isn't obnoxious.  Clinched lightsalmon and unclinched red look particularly close, which is particlarly notable if you look at my map of NJ rendered as if it was not in North America.

(this is where I wish we had spoiler tags, but here's the hint if you didn't notice it: I've clinched NJ 55, but who can tell with those colors?)

The easiest way to sidestep this would be to do usanp, usanyp, usaush, and usatr as that darker green even though it would be inconsistent with the rest of the world.  Parks and scenic byways are already often colored such on maps, so it's not a stretch for them, though it would be weird for usaush.

Is there a list of already defined colors available somewhere so we can experiment?  I could have sworn there was but I don't remember where.

[si404]

The easiest way to sidestep this would be to do usanp, usanyp, usaush, and usatr as that darker green even though it would be inconsistent with the rest of the world.

It's not so much inconsistency with other countries that's my issue with dark green for US tourist routes, but the inconsistency with the real world.

I like the dark green, and - while I think it works for state highways perfectly fine (the problem with the TMTest colour scheme is usaib), I'd be OK with it on tourist routes if I lose the 'battle for the brown'. Especially if it is common mapping to show stuff with green.


Light Salmon was meant to be a lighter alternative to red, which is rather bright and so not great for dense systems (see here) - it doesn't go with red well because it's just a toned down version of it.

[Jim]

The thing with lightsalmon is that it's not exactly easy to see

I agree, I just picked it as a placeholder so it wasn't the same color as the state routes.

Is there a list of already defined colors available somewhere so we can experiment?  I could have sworn there was but I don't remember where.

Starting here: https://github.com/TravelMapping/Web/blob/684294e851d41e915709e689e0f64b4640ea4f12/lib/tmjsfuncs.js#L113

Actually, I would like to keep usaib for the same reason as wanting to keep the parks/historic as brown: that's what color they are.  But with state highways being so prominent on maps, I also want a color that's not too obnoxious.  I feel like a purple or orange would be.

[michih]

Is there a list of already defined colors available somewhere so we can experiment?  I could have sworn there was but I don't remember where.

Starting here: https://github.com/TravelMapping/Web/blob/684294e851d41e915709e689e0f64b4640ea4f12/lib/tmjsfuncs.js#L113

You can play with the url:

I think the unhighlighted salmon color is too light

That's the current color: https://travelmapping.net/user/mapview.php?rg=jpn&colors=jpnh:rgb(224,162,162):rgb(240,150,115)
Feel free to change the rgb settings by editing the url (first = unclinched, second = clinched). Once you have good settings, you can suggest it for discussion here.

Actually, I would like to keep usaib for the same reason as wanting to keep the parks/historic as brown: that's what color they are.  But with state highways being so prominent on maps, I also want a color that's not too obnoxious.  I feel like a purple or orange would be.

We use TMyellow in Europe.

I think that Europe is quite good with: Tier 1: TMblue (freeways) - Tier 2: TMteal (expressways/express roads) - Tier 3: TMgreen (international E roads) - Tier 4: TMlightsalmon (national roads) - Tier 5: TMyellow (state roads)/TMbrown (tourist routes)

If I got it right, North America is: Tier 1: TMblue - Tier 2: TMgreen/TMred - Tier 3: TMteal/TMmagenta - Tier 4: TMbrown - Tier 5: TMyellow
Maybe the mixed tier 2 + tier 3 systems cause the issue?

[vdeane]

I did some experimenting.  I think I found a purple that isn't too bad.  The PA links also use standard CSS green, since I wanted to see what a darker one would look like.  PA and NJ both have usanp in them; PA tests what it looks like with a lot of dense lines, and NJ with a mix of many clinched and many not.  The ON links are to compare to the color for secondary routes.

Gray (not TMGray):
https://travelmapping.net/user/mapview.php?units=miles&u=vdeane&rg=PA&colors=usaib:green:green;usapa:rgb(130,130,130):rgb(125,125,125)

https://travelmapping.net/user/mapview.php?units=miles&u=vdeane&rg=NJ&colors=usanj:rgb(130,130,130):rgb(125,125,125)

https://travelmapping.net/user/mapview.php?units=miles&u=vdeane&rg=ON&colors=canon:rgb(130,130,130):rgb(125,125,125)

Purple:
https://travelmapping.net/user/mapview.php?units=miles&u=vdeane&rg=PA&colors=usaib:green:green;usapa:rgb(170,100,150):rgb(170,100,150)

https://travelmapping.net/user/mapview.php?units=miles&u=vdeane&rg=NJ&colors=usanj:rgb(170,100,150):rgb(170,100,150)

https://travelmapping.net/user/mapview.php?units=miles&u=vdeane&rg=ON&colors=canon:rgb(170,100,150):rgb(170,100,150)

[Jim]

I like that purple color.  It isn't too bright and contrasts with map background tiles better than the green.

[vdeane]

I like that purple color.  It isn't too bright and contrasts with map background tiles better than the green.

I do like the green you were testing better than the really bright one that's used for usaib now; maybe that could shift too?

For a while it felt like both the purple and the gray were less visible than the current brown, but loading one of my links cold, I think most of that is just my eyes being trained to look for brown and not being used to the other colors (which would explain why it seemed like every possible color was like that).  We've had the current colors for so long (and everything except tier 3 in North America has been the same even longer thanks to CHM) that any change is going to be a lot to get used to.