[OSM-newbies] Stiles

[David Ellams]

On Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:16 +0100, "Dave F." <davefox at madasafish.com>
wrote:
> Philip Striplin wrote:
> > I don't know how common this is, globally, but in this area we have 
> > three sorts of stile on footpaths.
> >
> > Type 1 is a simple "step-over" arrangements with a plank of wood 
> > providing a step about 50cm above the ground.
> >
> > Type 2 is the same as type 1 with the addition of a trap door beside it 
> > to allow dogs through.
> >
> > Type 3 looks more like two ladders leant together - about 150cm high, 
> > used to get over walls.
> >
> > The different styles of stiles do have real implications for ease of use 
> > of the path (have you ever tried heaving 30kg of dog over a stile, or a 
> > bike over one of the big stiles?) and I think would be useful to show on 
> > the map.  Is there a standard for how to tag this sort of thing?  As far 
> > as I can see, there is only one way of showing a stile.

Sounds to me like coming up with some proposed tags would be a good
idea, given the potential of OSM to provide really good walking maps. I
agree that "dog_gate=yes" sounds good.

As for the types, not sure what the key should be. Without much thought,
values could be:

type=ladder
type=steps
type=staircase?

Maybe even:

type=squeezer
type=straight
type=parallel
type=crossover
steps=2

etc.

Someone with more experience than me would probably put some more
thought into this.

An idea of the range of stiles in existence can be found here:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/matthew.richardson/gatesandstilesofthebritishisles/gallery.htm

David