[R] maptools readShapeSpatial not working in R 3.3.0

[Bravo, Mercedes]

Hello,
I have some R code that uses readShapeSpatial in the maptools package to read a shapefile from ArcGIS.   This code worked as recently as May 2016, when I was using R version 3.2.3.  Then, R was updated to version 3.3.0. Now, when I run the same code that worked three weeks ago, I get an error:

> path      <- "W:/..../CAP_2011_blocks_repair.shp"
> shape     <- readShapeSpatial(path, IDvar="GEOID10")
Error in if (nchar(projargs) == 0) projargs <- as.character(NA) :
  missing value where TRUE/FALSE needed

Note that if I run the code above using the older version of R (3.2.3), it does not give me an error, and instead provides me with an "SpatialPolygonsDataFrame" object.

However, it is not easy for me to switch back and forth between versions of R because I work on a protected computer that does not have an internet connection or an easy mechanism for file transfer.

I am using the SpatialPolygons object as an input for subsequent analysis, so I need something of this type.

Your help would be greatly appreciated.


Regards,
Mercedes
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