code: function convertDistance (distance) {
    let cleaned, converted;
  
    // clean up to ensure node-units will be able to convert it
    // for instance: "3 258,55 Ft" => "3258.55 ft"
    cleaned = distance
      .replace(/[-\s]/g, '')
      .replace(/,/g, '.')
      .toLowerCase()
      .replace(/([0-9])([a-z])/, '$1 $2');
  
    try {
      converted = units.convert(cleaned + ' to m');
    }
    catch (e) {
      throw new BadRequestError(`unable to parse distance value "${distance}"`);
    }
  
    return converted;
  }
docs: Converts a distance string value to a number of meters
  @param {string} distance - client-provided distance
  @returns {number} resolves to converted distance