[Tagging] Reviving the path discussion - the increasing importance of trails in OSM

[Kevin Kenny]

On Sat, May 23, 2020 at 5:42 PM John Willis via Tagging
<tagging at openstreetmap.org> wrote:
>
> =path is such a horrible catch-all tag and one that is extremely entrenched - I am surprised no one has implemented a path=trail subtag, similar to sidewalk, so we can separate all the hiking trails and other “hiking” paths, and then apply different hiking limitations you wouldn’t expect to find on a sidewalk or playground way.
>
> Mixing trails and sidewalks in the path key is as horrible as mixing up runways and train tracks in a “highway=not_car” way.

Yeah. But it's so entrenched that trolltags are probably the only way
out of the mess. And sac_scale is _surely_ not the right trolltag! The
problem with sac_scale is that it's an impossible scale. I'm told that
https://youtu.be/VKsD1qBpVYc?t=533 is still only a 2 out of 6 on that
scale, and that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y5_lbQZJwQ is still
only a 3. Note that one misstep on either of those trails can easily
mean death.

Confusion on what to expect from wilderness trails abounds. Hardly a
year goes by without someone from New York City driving up to do one
of the Catskill or Adirondack trails, expecting something like a
developed trail in a suburban setting, and winding up dead, from
either a fall or hypothermia.

This is a `highway=footway surface=ground`:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ke9tv/34048181 - a toddler can do it
with ease.

So is this: https://www.flickr.com/photos/65793193@N00/3183604743/ -
requires good physical condition, a head for heights, and some
technical hiking skills. Shorter hikers may be at a disadvantage.

And this: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oOi7vvpUt0Q/VJnktGwmMDI/AAAAAAAABoY/xYpcKlxPPqI/s1600/DSC_3880.JPG
- requires winter mountaineering skills and a modicum of technical
equipment (at least snowshoes or skis, ski poles, crampons, ice axe).



-- 
73 de ke9tv/2, Kevin