[Tagging] Feature Proposal - RFC - Kerb

[Josh Doe]

On Wed, Jun 22, 2011 at 3:06 PM, Robert Naylor <robert at pobice.co.uk> wrote:

> I'm the original author.  I was going to bring it up in tagging but I got
> behind in mapping collected data, and have been working more recently.
>

Ah, good to meet you Pobice, nice to know you're still around.

I originally started with functional values, but as a compromise to a few
> people suggesting that we should use just a measurement I added a approx
> height range for each value.
>
> I think we need to re-add a kerb=normal in to replace the original
> kerb=yes.  It possibly could be useful to mark if a traffic island is raised
> or not, or if a kerb separates say a cycle lane from a road.  It ranges is
> possible anything above 0.03m to 0.16
>
> Also raised needs to be changed back to ~>0.16m as it was intend to
> indicate raised kerbs for bus stops etc.
>

Keep in mind that we need to accommodate an international audience. I'm only
speaking from a US (or even east coast) perspective, but the kerbs I'm
familiar with include:
* By far the most common are ones which run along the majority of streets,
typically 15-20cm (6-8in) in height. At older crossings (before
accessibility requirements entered law), it is common to see this type of
kerb. I've been tagging these as kerb=raised.
* At more recent crossings sloped curbs (also called curb cuts) are common,
which slope gradually from the sidewalk to the street. I've been tagging
these as kerb=lowered.
* At islands/medians, it is common for there to be no raised portion at all,
but rather the median/island is cut out. I've been tagging these as
kerb=flush.

I say all this because kerb=normal to me means those kerbs that are 15-20cm,
and so in my eyes it's hard to see the distinction between this and
kerb=raised. If kerb=raised means something special to those in the UK or
Europe, perhaps we should avoid using that term. Here's a possible set of
values that *might* satisfy at least US and European needs:

yes = as it is now, some sort of kerb exists, but hasn't been identified
particularly yet
flush = as it is now, no height change at all (cut through a median/island),
suitable for foot/bicycle/wheelchair/etc
lowered = as it is now, gradual change suitable for wheelchairs (as well as
foot/bicycle)
rolled = as it is now, enough of a height change to be unsuitable for
wheelchair access, but suitable for foot/bicycle
normal = unsuitable for wheelchair, difficult for bicycle/mobility impaired,
anything above 3cm
bus = specifically at a height intended for use with buses (whatever height
is appropriate in a given country)

This way we avoid the ambiguous kerb=raised, but satisfy the needs of some
to map kerbs intended for buses.

-Josh
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