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

[Alex Mauer]

On 10/23/2010 08:45 AM, Ralf Kleineisel wrote:
> On 10/22/2010 09:50 PM, Alex Mauer wrote:
>
>> That’s not what the wiki says.  It says “If a path is wide enough for
>> four-wheel-vehicles […] it is often better tagged as a highway=track.”
>>
>> That doesn’t mean that that is the only criterion.
>
> Then what do you think is the difference between "path" and "track
> grade5"? I think only the width.

A track is for motor vehicles, a path is not.

One example: There is a dog park in my town which is mostly long grass, 
but has wide paths mown through it.  No maintenance or preparation has 
been done aside from mowing the grass down.

However, as it’s a dog park, entirely fenced in (there is a gate to 
allow mowers and other maintenance vehicles in), those routes are 
clearly intended for walking and allowing dogs to run freely.  Not for 
motor vehicles.  As such they would be highway=path. (I’m not likely to 
map them as I believe they will be changed regularly to prevent erosion 
and so are too ephemeral for OSM—but if someone were to map them, they 
should be highway=path.)

Similarly, a track through an open field is likely to be close to 60 
inches (1.5m) wide in the US because that is a common track width of US 
cars [1].  This even though anything up to the width of the field could 
theoretically pass across it without a problem.

So in the edge cases it really comes down to the intended usage.  If 
it’s labelled “No Motor Vehicles” it’s pretty clearly a path (or 
possibly highway=pedestrian depending on context).  If it has bollards 
across it preventing 4 wheel vehicles from entering, it’s probably a 
path.  If it not signed and has car tire tracks in the ruts, it’s 
probably a track.  If you can’t tell because it’s paved with gravel and 
the gravel is too smooth, it’s up to your discretion to decide how to 
tag it.

—Alex Mauer “hawke”

1. 
http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/wiki/Wheelbase,_track_width,_and_differential_measurements