[Tagging] RFC: service=? for all highway=service (service=parking needed, primarily, I think)

[Matthew Woehlke]

On 01/08/2020 20.40, David Dean wrote:
> I'm interested in proposing and/or documenting existing tagging approaches
> of the wiki to ensure that all highway=service ways can have a service=?
> associated tag. Having done, so I'm planning on resurrecting
> https://github.com/westnordost/StreetComplete/issues/808 to help people get
> all service roads appropriately tagged in their area.
> 
> At the moment, service=? can be (according to the wiki at
> https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:service):
> 
> * service=parking_aisle
> * service=driveway
> * service=alley
> * service=emergency_access
> * service=drive-through
> 
> But service roads are also used for the 'main ways on a parking lot', and
> there is also an indication of access to multiple businesses (like in an
> industrial estate etc), and it looks like the documented way is to not to
> provide a service=? tag in this case.
> 
> This seems problematic to me from a map maintenance purpose, as how do we
> know if a highway=service just hasn't had a service=? tag applied yet, or
> if it is one of the exceptions that does not get a service=? tag (and which
> one is it?)

As someone who has recently tagged a number of ways thusly, I have to 
strongly agree that there needs to (continue to) be a way to mark such 
roads. It's also often unclear if an otherwise undesignated road with 
provides access to, or navigation of, a larger area (consider a mall 
perimeter road as an example), should be a "driveway".

*If* we need a tag (on which note, I'll point at Jason's list), what 
about something as simple as "service=access"? (IOW, Martin's line of 
thinking, except lose the confusing "collector".)

That said, service=main might be a good choice.

> I would like to try to understand the highway=service usages that don't
> have a current documented service=? tag and either propose an appropriate
> tag or find examples of existing tagging to document.

You might start by taking a look at all such routes in Quantico, VA (as 
any such were probably tagged by me).

Parking lot access roads are a common example; I don't really feel that 
these are "driveways", but I also prefer to reserve "parking_aisle" for 
ways that actually *have* parking spaces along them.

Of course, Jason's list is quite good; this is more along the lines of 
if you want to go look at some *extant* examples where the lack of 
service= is known to be intentional.

> At this stage I think appropriate tagging for some of the missing service=?
> tagging indicated in the documentation would be:
> 
> service=parking -> main way in a parking lot, for connecting

As noted by others, I would strongly prefer parking_access.

> service=parking_isles (used almost 2K times already:
> https://taginfo.openstreetmap.org/keys/service#values)

What is a parking *isle*? I wonder how many of these are typos for 
"aisle"...

> service=driveway -> also used for access to multiple businesses (like in an
> industrial estate, etc)

*Maybe*, but this seems like an excessive stretch of what most people 
would consider a "driveway".

OTOH, my suggested service=access could be seen to overlap with 
driveway. Maybe it would be better to provide that while also narrowing 
the definition of "driveway"?

> service=driveway/drive-through -> Service way for access to a fuel station

IMHO, a drive-through is a very specific type of way which involves a 
service window. *Maybe* you could argue for that in case of a 
full-service fuel station, but I wouldn't use it otherwise. (Note: 
"drive through" implies that the vehicle will engage in stopping but no 
standing or parking.)

-- 
Matthew