Route layers using XY instead of M values?

Question

Is is possible to create route layers where the measurements are based in XY instead of in M-values?

That is, can I create a route layer in which I don't have to recalculate the M-values each time the geometry changes?

My use case is to describe a growing dataset of trails and their infrastructure (some trails are paved for a few hundred feet, others have railings, etc) without having to see a billion little trail segments.

Route Layers are the closest thing I've found to what I want, where those attributes are decided in tables that I don't really have to see. Unfortunately, since this dataset of trails is going to grow, and the trails themselves are going to change length with some frequency, having those attributes tied to arbitrary measures isn't ideal; I don't want to have to recalculate the length every time.

Is it possible to have the route layer functionality without relying on M-values, or is there a better tool I could use?

Thanks!

Bud · Answer

I’ve been asking this same question for the last 10 years. No one seems to understand…just let me base my road events on the length of the line. Why do I need to redefine the M-values via the Set as distance tool  every time a feature is edited?

I only recently developed a way to automatically redefine M-values (when a geometry is edited):
 - Arcade attribute rule: Set polyline M-values to cumulative length of line
 - PL/SQL (could be used in a Oracle db trigger): Update polyline vertices with cumulative length of line

But we shouldn't need to write custom tooling for that. We should have the option to do that OOTB...right in the FC properties.

* Automatically set M-values to cumulative length of line (after edits)
* Length-based linear referencing event layer
* Find polyline vertices where M-value is not cumulative length
* Get sum of M-values using SQL