Tidygeocoder error

[JohnN8797]

Hi everyone,

I've loaded the tidygeocoder library and wrote the following code but have the error below. There are columns for the street address, city, and country.

geo_code_crime <- top10crime %>%
geocode (street = street_name, city = city, country = country,
method = "osm")

Error:
Error in curl::curl_fetch_memory(url, handle = handle) :
Timeout was reached [nominatim.openstreetmap.org]:
Connection timed out after 10005 milliseconds

Does anyone know why this is happening and how I can fix it?

Thanks!

[jrkrideau]

No idea personally but a query in Opera gives some suggestions.

AI Overview

The error curl::curl_fetch_memory timeout typically occurs when your R environment cannot reach the Nominatim server within the default time limit (often 10 seconds).

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Potential Causes

• Usage Policy Violations: Nominatim has a strict Usage Policy that requires a valid User-Agent (identifying your application) and limits requests to one per second.
• Network or Firewall Restrictions: Corporate or university firewalls may block outgoing requests to certain APIs.
• Server Overload: The free Nominatim demo server may be temporarily overloaded or unresponsive.
• Connection Latency: A 10-second window may be too short for slow network connections or complex geocoding queries.

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Solutions

• Increase the Timeout Limit:
  If using httr or curl directly, wrap your request to allow more time.

R

# Example using httr
library(httr)
response <- GET(url, config = timeout(60)) # Increase to 60 seconds

Use code with caution.

For package-specific geocoding functions (like tidygeocoder), look for a timeout argument in the documentation.

• Set a Valid User-Agent:
  Nominatim may drop connections without a User-Agent. Identify your app or use your email.

R

library(httr)
set_config(user_agent("YourAppName/1.0 (contact@example.com)"))

Use code with caution.

• Configure Proxy (If behind a firewall):
  If your network requires a proxy, set it globally in R before running your code.

R

Sys.setenv(ALL_PROXY = "your_proxy_address:port")

Use code with caution.

• Use Alternative Providers:
  The main Nominatim server is for testing only. For high-volume or reliable geocoding, consider these Third-party providers found on the OpenStreetMap Wiki:
  • LocationIQ (Free tier available)
  • Geocodio (Affordable per-request pricing)
  • Mapbox (Robust global coverage)