[Tagging] service vs. unclassified, conflicting definitions

[Warin]

On 1/10/22 21:08, Timeo Gut wrote:
>
>> On 30 Sep 2022, at 23:48, grin via Tagging <tagging at openstreetmap.org> wrote:
>>
>> Take a pretty common road type in Europe, which goes on the embankment of a river, which generally paved, narrow, legally open for walking and bicycling people, often part of the national/international bicycle-road network, and closed for motorcar traffic (usually only waterworks' cars are allowed). What's that? Cannot be "unclassified" since motorcars aren't allowed, cannot be service since it doesn't "leading to something". Some people tag it this way, some that way.
> It seems to me that highway=path (possibly with bicycle/foot=designated) would be the most suitable classification here.
>
> If waterworks' cars are they only ones legally allowed to use it then this road is not part of the general road network for cars so unclassified would not be appropriate.


I know of a road built for coal trucks by the coal firm tagged as 
'unclassified' yet it is a 'private road' .... not used by cyclist nor 
pedestrians. The road standard is probably above that of 'unclassified'. 
It runs from a coal mine to a power plant, both are winding down in 
operations.


IIRC the roads in the UK are legally assigned there ratings, hove ever 
that rating is based on the road standard.

A 'path' in OSM (and I would think in Britain) would not be suitable for 
a car by width constraints, if a car travels down it then it is not a 
path, possibly a track or a service road.