# Foot routing does not work on an "island"

**URL:** <https://ask.openrouteservice.org/t/foot-routing-does-not-work-on-an-island/3396>\
**Category:** openrouteservice\
**Created:** [December 12, 2021, 6:51am UTC](https://ask.openrouteservice.org/t/foot-routing-does-not-work-on-an-island/3396 "2021-12-12T06:51:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![adamschneider](https://ask.openrouteservice.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/3ab097/32.png) [@adamschneider](https://ask.openrouteservice.org/u/adamschneider)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 6:51am UTC](https://ask.openrouteservice.org/t/foot-routing-does-not-work-on-an-island/3396/1 "2021-12-12T06:51:45Z")

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It’s not really an island, but I’ll explain… here is the area in question: [OpenStreetMap](https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=16/45.5460/-122.2305)

This is a park that is only accessible to the rest of the world by a freeway (highway=motorway). OpenRouteService will not give me ANY walking directions (profile=foot-hiking or profile=foot-hiking) along the paths or roads within the park. Cycling directions work as expected.

I finally figured out why it wasn’t working: **because you cannot get _into_ this area on foot, ORS refuses to calculate any foot directions _within_ the area**. Bicycles are apparently allowed on highway=motorway, which is why cycling directions are OK. But for a pedestrian, it may as well be an island surrounded by water.

Here’s an API link that fails: [https://api.openrouteservice.org/v2/directions/foot-walking?start=-122.2357,45.5467&end=-122.2345,45.5461&api\_key=[KEY]](https://api.openrouteservice.org/v2/directions/foot-walking?start=-122.2357,45.5467&end=-122.2345,45.5461&api_key=%5BKEY%5D)

For what it’s worth, the exact same problem happens on GraphHopper, but it works fine in OsmAnd on my phone, and on MapBox.

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**Author:** ![HendrikLeuschner](https://ask.openrouteservice.org/user_avatar/ask.openrouteservice.org/hendrikleuschner/32/509_2.png) [@HendrikLeuschner](https://ask.openrouteservice.org/u/HendrikLeuschner)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 12:50pm UTC](https://ask.openrouteservice.org/t/foot-routing-does-not-work-on-an-island/3396/2 "2021-12-13T12:50:18Z")

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If the size of the network is too small, it is not added to the graph, sorry. The limit is at 200 nodes, so if there are fewer than 200 OSM ways/nodes in there, chances are it got removed.

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**Author:** ![adamschneider](https://ask.openrouteservice.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/3ab097/32.png) [@adamschneider](https://ask.openrouteservice.org/u/adamschneider)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 7:10pm UTC](https://ask.openrouteservice.org/t/foot-routing-does-not-work-on-an-island/3396/3 "2021-12-13T19:10:10Z")

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Well, that’s disappointing. But I guess it’s good to confirm that it’s a KNOWN issue and not just a bug.

By the way, there are definitely more than 200 foot-accessible **nodes** in this isolated “network,” so I’m guessing that means the ORS limit is based the number of **ways**.

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**Author:** ![HendrikLeuschner](https://ask.openrouteservice.org/user_avatar/ask.openrouteservice.org/hendrikleuschner/32/509_2.png) [@HendrikLeuschner](https://ask.openrouteservice.org/u/HendrikLeuschner)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 3:53pm UTC](https://ask.openrouteservice.org/t/foot-routing-does-not-work-on-an-island/3396/4 "2021-12-14T15:53:37Z")

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Not all nodes in OSM are translated directly to nodes that are used for routing.  
If you 100% need this and are willing to go the extra step, you can set up your own openrouteservice instance with the needed OSM file and configure the `app.config` parameter  
` min_network_size: 200`  
to your liking.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![adamschneider](https://ask.openrouteservice.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/3ab097/32.png) [@adamschneider](https://ask.openrouteservice.org/u/adamschneider)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 5:05pm UTC](https://ask.openrouteservice.org/t/foot-routing-does-not-work-on-an-island/3396/5 "2021-12-14T17:05:40Z")

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So I’m guessing “nodes” in this context means something more like “intersections.”

At any rate, I’m definitely not going to setup my own routing server! But hopefully this thread will help to inform other people who might run into the same issue.