<div dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-2498029c-8edc-2d52-3b22-06eccc952614"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Hi there,</span></p>
<br><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Welcome Vincent and many thanks for your message.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Overall, I can confirm your remarks on West African ground.</span></p>
<br><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">A first clarification to bring is that </span><a href="http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Highway_Tag_Africa" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Highway Tag Africa </span></a><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> is actually an initiative, for now.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">After an active mappy year, a stunning lack was the absence of a consensual and appropriate </span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">data model for West Africa, roads in particular. You can go through the </span><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-weight:bold;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Issues</span><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> section of </span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/WikiProject_Senegal" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">OSM Senegal Wiki Project</span></a><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> that underline same questions that you evoked. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">This situation is also linked to the real states of our West African roads in question. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Not easy to figure out the most appropriate OSM tag for each of them and the Dakar's motorway is still being built (its a new one).</span></p>
<br><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">But, It was necessary to start working with something to complete further large discussions.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Although incomplete this wiki is an important step to build the West Africa data model and preset.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">It very helpful for OSM Senegal and the other HOT activations. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">More implication from our dear president will be much appreciated and I think, even it's all wiki, </span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">it was written based on collective agreement, so I won't recommend a single person to update it directly.</span></p>
<br><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">There are two key events in our 2014 program that will help improve this situation. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Quality assurance sessions to redraw and finalize the SN highway layer and</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">A workshop with mappers and organizations interested in OSM data to determine how to</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">rationalize harmonize our edits and how to make information matches needs.</span></p>
<br><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">You can stay turned by subscribing to </span><a href="https://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-sn" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">our mailing list</span></a><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> also.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Discussions will re-open shortly, hope to catch you online or why not bump into you in Dakar, since you're a traveler!</span></p>
<br><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">MisterBass</span></p>
<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Saint-Louis, Senegal.</span></span><br><div><a href="http://twitter.com/bassthiam">http://twitter.com/bassthiam</a></div>
<div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 1:20 PM, Mikel Maron <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:mikel_maron@yahoo.com" target="_blank">mikel_maron@yahoo.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div><div style="font-size:10pt;font-family:HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif"><div>
<span>Hi Vincent</span></div><div style="font-style:normal;font-size:13.63636302947998px;background-color:transparent;font-family:HelveticaNeue,'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif">
<span><br></span></div><div style="font-style:normal;font-size:13.63636302947998px;background-color:transparent;font-family:HelveticaNeue,'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif"><span>Welcome! I don't have direct experience of these roads, but from my perspective, sounds like a reasonable and informed approach. Hopefully people working in the region will share their ideas on this. I just wanted to say, that you should also feel free to contact directly other people who have edited the wiki page (check
the History), and other people who have edited these roads in OSM. And yes, remember, it's all a wiki, so even if it's two steps forward, one step back, collaboratively getting everything into the commons doesn't require permission.</span></div>
<div style="font-style:normal;font-size:13.63636302947998px;background-color:transparent;font-family:HelveticaNeue,'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif"><span><br></span></div><div style="font-style:normal;font-size:13.63636302947998px;background-color:transparent;font-family:HelveticaNeue,'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif">
<span>Cheers</span></div><div style="font-style:normal;font-size:13.63636302947998px;background-color:transparent;font-family:HelveticaNeue,'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif"><span>Mikel</span></div>
<div></div><div> </div><div>* Mikel Maron * +14152835207 @mikel s:mikelmaron</div><div style="display:block"> <br> <br> <div style="font-family:HelveticaNeue,'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif;font-size:10pt">
<div style="font-family:HelveticaNeue,'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif;font-size:12pt"><div><div class="h5"> <div dir="ltr"> <font face="Arial"> On Monday, March 3, 2014 9:15 PM, Vincent Dawans <<a href="mailto:dawansv@gmail.com" target="_blank">dawansv@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
</font> </div> </div></div><blockquote style="border-left:2px solid rgb(16,16,255);margin-left:5px;margin-top:5px;padding-left:5px"> <div><div><div class="h5"><div>
<div>
<div>Hello:</div>
<div>My name is Vincent Dawans and I am a Senior
Technical
Advisor at Virtue Ventures, a technical firm dedicated to
supporting NGOs and social enterprises
in the developing world.<span> </span>As
a technical
advisor, I do a lot of traveling. I am currently traveling to West
Africa
every 3 months or so. I was last in Mali and got really impressed
with the
accuracy of the openstreetmap layer (I was using the MapWithMe
android app that
gets its data from openstreetmap); certainly the level of details
in Bamako is
quite impressive, enough that I was able to go on long walks
through the back
streets without ever getting lost.<span>
</span>Seeing all that good work got me interested in getting
involved.</div>
<div>One of the organizations I work with is a
village-banking
organization around Kayes (Western Mali) and my plan is to give
them gps
receivers so they can start mapping the many villages in which
they work. I got
some old $25 gps receivers online that I will try using for that
purpose... </div>
<div>I also stared updating the map for Kayes itself
(it needs
some attention). <span> </span>However
as I am looking
at the "Highway Tag Africa" standards I am a bit confused as to
the
lack of mention of the "highway=trunk" and
"highway=motorway" tags.</div>
<div>I am going to take West Africa as an example
since this is
what I know. I feel like the main regional roads should be
consistently marked
as "trunk" and not merely "primary".<span>
</span>Right now some sections are marked trunk,
other primary. By "regional roads" I mean mostly the roads that
are
part of the new Trans-African Highway Network that is taking
shape.<span> </span>The Trans-African
Highway Network comprises a
series of east/west and north/south roads crossing the continent.
Here is a
good overview of the Trans-African Highway Network:
<a rel="nofollow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-African_Highway_network" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-African_Highway_network</a></div>
<div>My personal experience with that network is the
Trans-Sahelian Highway (Trans-African Highway 5), more
specifically its first
section running from Dakar to Ouagadougou which I use on a regular
basis.<span>
</span><a rel="nofollow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakar-Ndjamena_Highway" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakar-Ndjamena_Highway</a>.<span> </span>The section running from
Dakar to Ouagadougou
actually splits into 2 branches from Tambacounda, Senegal to Kita,
Mali (one
branch is the original northern road via Kayes Mali, and the other
one is the
brand new southern road via Kenieba and Kati, Mali.).</div>
<div>I feel that these roads would benefit from
being more consistently<span> </span>"upgraded"
from primary to trunk because
they are not only important roads for their respective countries
but are in
fact becoming the backbone of the road network in their respective
regions and
serve as the primary roads crisscrossing the continent. IMHO they
fit the official trunk definition of "The most important roads in
a country's system that aren't motorways."<br>
</div>
<div>Whatever decision is made, some clarification
is necessary
because right now some sections of that network are already marked
as trunk on
the map, but in a very inconsistent manner, with some trunk roads
becoming
primary mid way without reflecting actual changes on the ground.
Here is just
one example for illustration purpose: in Senegal the trunk tag
starts in
Kaffrine and ends in Kotiari, then it becomes trunk once more in
Mali between
Segala and Bamako. In reality there is no reason why the
Dakar-Kaffrine section
and Tambacounda-Segala section should not be marked as trunk as
well -- or all
of it marked as primary; but not a mix of both...</div>
<div>Additionally, the highway=motorway tag also
needs to be
clarified; on the map, motorways are already found, mostly in
Northern and
Southern Africa with some also starting to show up in East and
West Africa. For
instance right now there is a short motorway running from Dakar to
Rufisque--
it's a real motorway, a restricted access road build as per
international
standards -- a first in West Africa I think.</div>
<div>Hence I think the "Highway Tag Africa"
guidelines would
benefit from being expanded with trunk roads and motorway; if
nothing to
clarify the current mixed used of motorway, trunk and primary
tags. I would love
to know what the opinion of the community is on this matter. I am
willing to
help draft some changes to the guidelines if there is some buy-in
for the general idea presented here.</div>
<div>I am new to this mailing list and community, so
I apologize
if this was discussed earlier or if I am not fully informed about
the issue.
Thank you for reading my long (too long) email.</div>
<div>Sincerely,</div>
<div>Vincent Dawans</div>
</div>
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<br><br></div> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div></div><br>_______________________________________________<br>
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<br></blockquote></div><br></div>