Uncertainty of OpenStreetMap data for the road network in Cyprus

Abstract

Volunteered geographic information (VGI) refers to the geographic data compiled and created by individuals which are rendered on the Internet through specific web-based tools for diverse areas of interest. One of the most well-known VGI projects is the OpenStreetMap (OSM) that provides worldwide free geospatial data representing a variety of features. A critical issue for all VGI initiatives is the quality of the information offered. Thus, this report looks into the uncertainty of the OSM dataset for the main road network in Cyprus. The evaluation is based on three basic quality standards, namely positional accuracy, completeness and attribute accuracy. The work has been carried out by employing the Model Builder of ArcGIS which facilitated the comparison between the OSM data and the authoritative data provided by the Public Works Department (PWD). Findings showed that the positional accuracy increases with the hierarchical level of a road, it varies per administrative District and around 70% of the roads have a positional accuracy within 6m compared to the reference dataset. Completeness in terms of road length difference is around 25% for three out of four road categories examined and road name completeness is 100% and around 40% for higher and lower level roads, respectively. Attribute accuracy focusing on road name is very high for all levels of roads. These outputs indicate that OSM data are good enough if they fit for the purpose of use. Furthermore, the study revealed some weaknesses of the methods used for calculating the positional accuracy, suggesting the need for methodological improvements.