[Tagging] Bridge highway=motorway classification

[Clay Smalley]

I would consider movable bridges to be disqualified from highway=motorway.
This would include the Manhattan span of the Triboro Bridge, the Willis
Avenue Bridge, the 145th Street Bridge, the University Heights Bridge, and
the Broadway Bridge.

Of course, there is a movable bridge along the Bruckner Expressway in the
Bronx, but it carries an Interstate highway. There are a few other cases of
movable bridges along Interstates elsewhere in the country so I think the
Interstate designation would supersede the fact that it has a movable
bridge, leaving it as highway=motorway.

Perhaps it makes a difference how often the bridge is raised. Not being
from New York, I have no context on whether these bridges are raised often
or rarely. Do any New Yorkers have local knowledge on this to share?

On Sat, Feb 27, 2021 at 2:38 PM Marcel Dejean via Tagging <
tagging at openstreetmap.org> wrote:

> There seems to have been a certain number of edit wars over the
> classification of various major bridges in New York City. As far as I can
> tell, there's no consistent method used here right now for determining
> whether a bridge is highway=motorway or highway=trunk or highway=primary.
>
> One of the main criteria for what is a highway=motorway is that it has no
> intersection controls on the main roadway (such as traffic-signals,
> rotaries and roundabouts, and stop signs or stop markings). Bridges usually
> don't have intersections, so that is not useful here. Another is that the
> different directions are physically separated, this applies to most of the
> bridges.
>
> Another important factor is that highway= tags should apply where
> reasonable to the whole road, not just a segment of it. Many of these
> bridges were built to carry a major street, but when highways (
> highway=motorways) were built later ramps were added only where
> convenient, resulting in incomplete interchanges with them. Whether the
> bridges are considered an extension of the highway or the major street
> might factor in.
>
> I'm hoping we can come up with a reasonable method for determining what
> highway= tag bridges like these should have.
>
> In the below table I've catalogued some area bridges with varying
> characteristics. The Carries column gives the street the bridge was built
> to carry and its classification. The motorway_link column counts the
> number of directions on the bridge that can be entered/exited (each
> counting 1) from a highway=motorway. This ignores that not all
> lanes/roadways go to all exits or all directions on the connecting motorway
> etc. Vehicles only is whether bicycles and limited-use motorcycles are
> banned from the main roadway as indicated by signage.
> Bridge Carries motorway_link Separate roadways Pedestrian separation  Vehicles
> only
> Present tagging
> Brooklyn Bridge <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Bridge> highway=primary
> Adams St 3/4 Separate Separate Yes highway=trunk
> <http://osm.mapki.com/history/way.php?id=432550255>
> Manhattan Bridge <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_Bridge> highway=primary
> Flatbush Ave Ext 1/4 Separate Separate Yes highway=trunk
> <http://osm.mapki.com/history/way.php?id=46189305>
> Williamsburg Bridge <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamsburg_Bridge> highway=primary
> Delancey St 2/4 Separate Separate Yes highway=motorway
> <http://osm.mapki.com/history/way.php?id=40337615>
> Queensboro Bridge <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensboro_Bridge> highway=primary
> NY 25/NY 25A 0/4 Separate Separate Yes highway=motorway
> <http://osm.mapki.com/history/way.php?id=198924625>
> Triboro Bridge (Manhattan span)
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triborough_Bridge#Harlem_River_lift_bridge_(NY_900G)> highway=motorway
> NY 900G (unsigned) 4/4 Separate Barrier Yes highway=motorway
> <http://osm.mapki.com/history/way.php?id=5669174>
> Willis Ave Bridge <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willis_Avenue_Bridge> highway=primary
> Willis Ave 2/2 One-way Barrier No highway=primary
> <http://osm.mapki.com/history/way.php?id=5670524>
> 145th St Bridge <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/145th_Street_Bridge> highway=secondary
> 145th St 0/4 No Curb No highway=secondary
> <http://osm.mapki.com/history/way.php?id=5670765>
> Washington Bridge <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Bridge> highway=secondary
> 181st St 4/4 Median Barrier No highway=motorway
> <http://osm.mapki.com/history/way.php?id=33117565>
> University Heights Bridge
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Heights_Bridge> highway=primary
> Fordham Rd 0/4 No Barrier No highway=primary
> <http://osm.mapki.com/history/way.php?id=19174360>
> Broadway Bridge
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadway_Bridge_(Manhattan)> highway=primary
> US 9 0/4 Median Curb No highway=primary
> <http://osm.mapki.com/history/way.php?id=126140593>
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