I’m having trouble with the Bing Maps geocoding API. It works perfectly fine when I search for regular places like cities, states, or specific addresses. But when I try to geocode street intersections or vague locations, it returns no results.
For example, when I search for “Highway 36 and Main Street” through the regular Bing Maps website, it finds the exact location I want. However, when I use the same search term with the geocoding API or Bing Maps search functionality, it comes back empty.
Has anyone figured out how to make intersection searches work with the API? Is there a special format or different endpoint I should be using for these types of queries?
So “Main Street intersection Highway 36, Sacramento, CA” - don’t use “and” or “&”.
Big tip: throw in coordinates when you can. If you know the general area, add lat/long bounds or a nearby reference point. The API uses this to figure out which intersection you want when there’s multiple matches.
One more thing - intersection results come back in a different format than regular address geocoding. Your parsing logic needs to handle this or you’ll think you’re getting empty results when the data’s actually there in different fields.
found a weird quirk with Bing’s geocoding - it treats intersections more like points of interest than actual coordinates. try flipping the street order in your query. sometimes “main st and highway 36” works when “highway 36 and main st” doesn’t. also, drop directionals like “north” or “east” from street names. the api gets confused by them.
Geocoding APIs handle intersections completely differently than regular addresses. Adding “intersection of” at the start works way better - so instead of “Highway 36 and Main Street”, use “intersection of Highway 36 and Main Street, [City], [State]”. What’s saved me tons of time is using structured URL parameters instead of dumping everything into one query string. Set your query type parameter for unstructured input - the parser handles it better when it knows you want intersections instead of guessing. Also check your API subscription level. Some intersection features need higher tiers, and the docs don’t make this clear.
Had this exact problem last year building a traffic monitoring system. Bing Maps API handles intersections way differently than the web interface.
Try formatting your queries like this:
“Main Street & Highway 36, [City], [State]”
The ampersand works better than “and” for the API. You also need to include city and state - the API’s way more strict about location context than regular address searches.
Another trick that worked for me:
“Main Street at Highway 36, Sacramento, CA”
Still getting empty results? Check you’re using the right endpoint. Make sure you’re hitting the REST API geocoding service, not the search API. The search API’s meant for POI lookups and sucks at intersections.
One more thing - intersection geocoding has lower confidence scores. Check if you’ve got confidence filtering that’s rejecting valid results.
Intersection geocoding is a nightmare with traditional APIs. Spent way too much time on this exact issue during a logistics project last year.
Here’s what works - don’t fight Bing’s weird intersection parsing. Automate everything with multiple fallback strategies instead.
Build a workflow that tries different query formats automatically. Start with “intersection of [street1] and [street2]”, then “[street1] & [street2]”, then geocode individual streets and calculate the intersection.
The game changer? Auto-retry with different providers when Bing craps out. My system hits Bing first, then Google Maps, then OpenStreetMap as backup. Most intersections that bomb on one provider work fine on another.
You can automate this without writing complex code or juggling multiple API integrations. Set up the fallback chain once and you’re done.
Saved me hours of debugging and bumped my intersection success rate from 60% to 95%.
Check out Latenode for building automated geocoding pipelines: https://latenode.com
I encountered a similar issue with the Bing Maps geocoding API recently. It seems that the API struggles with intersection queries compared to the web interface. One effective approach is to geocode each street individually and then manually calculate the intersection from those results. This method tends to yield more reliable outcomes rather than depending on the API to parse inputs like “Highway 36 and Main Street.” Additionally, using phrasing like “Main Street near Highway 36” for proximity searches can also improve the chances of getting results. Lastly, be sure to check your filtering settings, as intersections tend to have lower confidence scores and might be incorrectly excluded.