[Tagging] "new" highway tag for small and informal footpaths; trail

[Lauri Kytömaa]

Martin Koppenhoefer wrote:
>(given that footway, cycleway and bridleway are all synonyms of
>highway=path designated=foo, dedicated=foo, official=foo, etc.).

Ralf Kleineisel wrote:
>Footway on the other hand is for designated pedestrian ways,
>i.e. in many countries a blue sign with pedestrians on it.

No, not that restrictive. When path was introduced, the equivalence
was given inother direction: there are globally lots of ways tagged
as footways and cycleways that have no signposts at all, some of
which were even drawn before anyone had ever visioned highway=path.

Changing the definition of highway=footway etc. has never even been
proposed - it's unnecessary wordplay to claim retrospectively that
the word "designated" in highway=footway definition was originally
used for the same as the value "designated" for access tags. Yet
some translated guidelines have taken that view. Any highway=path
+ foot=designated is for practical purposes equal to a
highway=footway - "there's a way for walking" (unless it has other
access tags, but a footway could have them, too.)

-- 
Alv