People are discovering
that many addresses in northern York County are Off the map
(Published January 29‚ 2006 The Herald Online and Paper Versions)
By Jason Foster The Herald
It seems even technology has a hard time keeping up with growth in northern York County.
In an age where finding directions is as simple as entering information at a Web site and having your route plotted by a computer, some people still have to do things the old-fashioned way.
Fast-paced residential development, particularly in the Fort Mill-Tega Cay area, means some newer addresses can't be found on online mapping services such as MapQuest, Google Maps and Yahoo Maps, or on personal GPS (global positioning system) equipment in cars.
For people whose addresses aren't listed in cyberspace, this brings a host of inconveniences. Nothing too earth-shattering, they say, just small examples of the headaches that sometimes accompany rapid growth.
Take David Beatson of Lake Wylie. He's lived in his house on Harper's Inlet Drive for three years, but isn't on any of the online map sites.
"I really thought maybe within a year that it would be done," said Beatson, 32, who moved to Lake Wylie from New York. "It's definitely surprised me that it's (been) three years and it's not showing up."
Beatson mentions the time he tried to get a newspaper delivered and it took weeks to pinpoint which route his address was on. Then there are friends who need to find his house and tell him, "I'll MapQuest it."
"I have to tell them, 'It's not there,'" he said.
Ditto for Rock Hill's Sheila Eddy. She moved into her new house on Canvas Avenue in July. But her street can't be found online, meaning when friends look up her address via MapQuest or another online map site, they're given a route that takes them only as far as known roads closest to her house.
Thus, "My friends have had a hard time trying to find me," said Eddy, 42.
But Beatson, Eddy and others shouldn't blame MapQuest, or any of the other online map sites. They rely on third-party digital mapping firms that scout the nation to get the newest streets and developments included in the latest data.
Often times, the researchers learn of new roads from local or state officials.
"It's quite an involved process," said Christian Dwyer, director of operations for MapQuest, which gets 41 million visitors a month. "We're reliant on these data providers who are out there collecting the data every day."
Patience needed
These research firms, most notably Tele Atlas and NAVTEQ, have a field force of hundreds of people, who are deployed across the country to physically drive the roads and verify new addresses. Once they've done that, they give the data to the online map sites, which in turn put them into their respective databases.
MapQuest, for example, updates its database every quarter. But it can take anywhere from six months to a year from the time the researchers learn of a new street to the day it actually shows up on MapQuest, Dwyer said.
It may take time, he said, but it's important to get it right.
"That's something that I think people should realize. It's very much a process," Dwyer said. "I think people get a misconception that we're actually collecting the data and can make the change on the fly."
Local governments have no obligation to provide their street data to any of the research firms who send information to online map sites.
York County doesn't contact any firms with new addresses, said Bryan Townsend, GIS administrator. However, he said, the county has provided data to Google for its Google Earth feature, which shows satellite images of cities around the world.
"We feel that the taxpayers paid for it, and we want them to be able to go to something like Google Earth and use the data," Townsend said.
Townsend said the county would be willing to consider whether to supply data for use on MapQuest or other sites if it's something the public wanted.
"It all comes down to people wanting something done," he said. "We'll look into the situation however we can."
Jeremy Kreitler, product manager for Yahoo Maps, which also updates its database quarterly, said people who want their address included can contact the third-party researchers, such as Tele Atlas and NAVTEQ, directly via their individual Web sites.
Looking for an easier way
With all the new construction in York County, there's probably plenty of folks who'd like to become part of the online map club.
PeeDee Kurfess, 65, and her husband, Jim, moved to Fort Mill from New York in August and immediately learned of the drawbacks of having an address so new it can't be found online.
While going through the process of changing their addresses, they couldn't change it online because their new address couldn't be verified electronically.
Kurfess' favorite map site is Google Maps. But when she looks for directions from her home on Platinum Drive, she has to use a different starting point -- KOA campground on Gold Hill Road.
She believes there should be an easier way to update online map sites.
"It seems to me that they should be relying on the telephone companies. It seems convoluted the way they do it," she said.
Lake Wylie's Beatson has seen another example of how a fast-growing area is hard to map. A volunteer firefighter for the Bethel Fire Department, Beatson said he and other firefighters have had to make their own book of maps just to keep up with the new development.
"There are so many new developments, and it's hard to get directions," he said.
The department's map books are made up of bits and pieces from various sources and is mostly hundreds of photocopies. Bigger departments have their own electronic mapping systems, but a small volunteer department with little money has to improvise.
"We're always updating it," he said of the hand-made map book. "That in itself is an expense."
Despite these inconveniences, Beatson said there is an advantage to being somewhat invisible online.
"In today's world, you don't have too much anonymity," he said. "Sometimes I like having someone not being able to get to my house."
Jason Foster's "Tales from the border" column appears occasionally and chronicles issues facing residents in the ever-growing and changing communities near the state line. Have a story idea in Fort Mill, Tega Cay, Lake Wylie or Indian Land? Call Jason at 329-4066 or e-mail
