Add a {Connect_to_Centroid} option to the Collapse Hydro Polygon tool to create centerlines for road polygons

[WentaoChe]

It would be beneficial to add a {Connect_to_Centroid} option to the Collapse Hydro Polygon tool. This would create straight and simple centerlines for road polygon intersections.

Here is an example: Blue labels represent the Centroids of these intersections. This tool accurately identifies the center of each shared adjacent road Arcs. Connecting these center's Start or End Node to the centroids of road intersections would yield improved centerlines.

The Summary of the Collapse Hydro Polygon tool states: "Collapses or partially collapses hydro polygons to a centerline based on a collapse width."  I'm curious why this tool isn't named Collapses Polygons to Centerlines or just Polygon To Centerline, especially since it works for both hydro and road polygons! 

[Bud]

Related: Rename Collapse Hydro Polygon tool as Collapse Polygon to Centerline

[Bud]

If it were me, I wouldn't want separate lines within the road intersection polygon. Instead, I'd want the main road lines to extend right to the intersection centerpoint.

Like this: (the lines and polygons were drawn manually)

Can you explain why you'd want separate lines within the road intersection polygon? It seems like it would be easier to manage road lines (and related records) that simply span from intersection to intersection. Since "intersection to intersection" is how people normally think of roads.

Also:

If you need polygons for each intersection, instead of points at intersections, then maybe your intersection polygons could be stored in a separate feature class, separate from your road right-of-way feature class. Or if not, put the intersection polygons in the same feature class as your road right-of-way polygons, but the intersection polygons would be coded differently than the road right-of-way polygons (in a custom FLAG field, etc.) to make querying easy. The intersection polygons could even intentionally overlap the road right-of-way polygons.

That way, the road right-of-way polygons could butt up against each other at the intersection, the way mine do in my screenshot. And the intersection polygons would be treated as separate/non-contiguous entities.

[WentaoChe]

Hi @Bud,

Thank you very much for your support to rename "Collapse Hydro Polygon" tool as "Collapse Polygon to Centerline". 

It is nice to know that I am not the only one to feel strange for the naming of "Collapse Hydro Polygon" tool. Especially since the tool is applicable to both hydrological and road polygons.

[WentaoChe]

Hi @Bud,

Thank you for your advice. I agree with your suggestions that "It seems like it would be easier to manage road lines (and related records) that simply span from intersection to intersection. Since "intersection to intersection" is how people normally think of roads."

Let me clarify our client's data. It comes with a custom FLAG field called 'sectiontype', which indicates whether a road section is an intersection. Additionally, our client requires us to create a node at the boundary of each road section polygon and where all centerlines connect. This data is built to be a road network similar to the explicit 'Cleaned' Coverage. And Yes to "The intersection polygons could even intentionally overlap the road right-of-way polygons." , "And the intersection polygons would be treated as separate/non-contiguous entities".