IssueTracker

Description:

The Geocoder API produces inconsistent results when querying addresses with street numbers equal to 1. Specifically:

Using the address parameter often returns incomplete or incorrect results, particularly omitting the street number or prioritizing a different street in the result. Using the place_id parameter consistently provides accurate and detailed results. The issue does not occur when querying addresses with other street numbers (e.g., 2, 3, etc.) on the same street.

Steps to Reproduce:

Query the API using the address parameter for:

"Via Paolo Sarpi 1, 20154 Milano, Italia"
"Corso Italia 1, Milano, Italia"

Compare the results with a query for the same addresses using the place_id parameter.

Findings (Examples):

Example 1: Via Paolo Sarpi 1 (Using address)

Input Query: address=Via Paolo Sarpi 1, 20154 Milano, Italia

Result: The API incorrectly prioritizes Via Paolo Lomazzo instead of Via Paolo Sarpi.

Additionally, the street number 1 is omitted in the address_components.

[
    {
        "address_components": [
            {
                "long_name": "Via Paolo Lomazzo",
                "short_name": "Via Paolo Lomazzo",
                "types": ["route"]
            },
            {
                "long_name": "1",
                "short_name": "1",
                "types": ["street_number"]
            },
            {
                "long_name": "Milano",
                "short_name": "Milano",
                "types": ["locality", "political"]
            },
            {
                "long_name": "Città metropolitana di Milano",
                "short_name": "MI",
                "types": ["administrative_area_level_2", "political"]
            },
            {
                "long_name": "Lombardia",
                "short_name": "Lombardia",
                "types": ["administrative_area_level_1", "political"]
            },
            {
                "long_name": "Italia",
                "short_name": "IT",
                "types": ["country", "political"]
            }
        ],
        "formatted_address": "Via Paolo Lomazzo, 1, 20154 Milano MI, Italia",
        "geometry": {
            "location": { "lat": 45.4842157, "lng": 9.1712302 },
            "location_type": "ROOFTOP"
        },
        "place_id": "ChIJm2bsPMvZhkcRFMkgmtXUW14",
        "types": ["street_address"]
    }
]

Key Observation: The returned result is for Via Paolo Lomazzo, not Via Paolo Sarpi, despite the input explicitly mentioning Via Paolo Sarpi.

With Street Number = 2: The issue does not occur when querying "Via Paolo Sarpi 2, 20154 Milano, Italia". The result correctly prioritizes Via Paolo Sarpi with the accurate street number.

Example 2: Corso Italia 1 (Using address) Input Query: address=Corso Italia 1, Milano, Italia Result: The API recognizes Corso Italia but omits the street number 1 in the address_components.

[
    {
        "address_components": [
            {
                "long_name": "Corso Italia",
                "short_name": "Corso Italia",
                "types": ["route"]
            },
            {
                "long_name": "Milano",
                "short_name": "Milano",
                "types": ["locality", "political"]
            },
            {
                "long_name": "Milano",
                "short_name": "Milano",
                "types": ["administrative_area_level_3", "political"]
            },
            {
                "long_name": "Città metropolitana di Milano",
                "short_name": "MI",
                "types": ["administrative_area_level_2", "political"]
            },
            {
                "long_name": "Lombardia",
                "short_name": "Lombardia",
                "types": ["administrative_area_level_1", "political"]
            },
            {
                "long_name": "Italia",
                "short_name": "IT",
                "types": ["country", "political"]
            }
        ],
        "formatted_address": "Corso Italia, Milano MI, Italia",
        "geometry": {
            "location": { "lat": 45.4563734, "lng": 9.1874654 },
            "location_type": "GEOMETRIC_CENTER"
        },
        "place_id": "ChIJEQWPJQLEhkcRUGeq30v80_Q",
        "types": ["route"]
    }
]

Key Observation: The result identifies Corso Italia, but the street number 1 is not included in the address_components.

With Street Number = 2: The issue does not occur when querying "Corso Italia 2, Milano, Italia". The result correctly includes the street name and the street number.

Behavior When Using place_id:

For both examples above, querying with the place_id consistently returns the correct street name and street number. Example: The place_id for Via Paolo Sarpi 1 produces accurate results without any omissions or misplacements.

Use Case:

In my application:

Users often forget to include a street number when entering an address. I prompt users to add the missing street number later, but at that point, I only have the address (text) from their initial input, not the place_id. Since I do not call Autocomplete in these cases, I cannot rely on the place_id to improve result accuracy. For this reason, I must use the address parameter, but the current inconsistencies significantly impact the reliability of results for certain addresses.

Expected Behavior:

The address parameter should produce results as accurate and complete as those obtained using the place_id parameter, particularly for street numbers equal to 1. The documentation should: Highlight the differences in behavior between address and place_id. Provide guidance on when to use each parameter and how to mitigate potential issues.

Observed Behavior:

Using address: Incomplete or incorrect results for addresses with street numbers equal to 1, while results for other street numbers in the same street are accurate. Using place_id: Consistently accurate and detailed results.

Request for Resolution:

Investigate and resolve the discrepancy in geocoding results for address queries involving street numbers equal to 1. Update the documentation to reflect the behavior differences between address and place_id and recommend best practices for these scenarios. Thank you for addressing this issue. Let me know if additional information is needed