[Tagging] Is tracktype=grade1 surface=compacted a valid combination?

[stevea]

On Sep 12, 2022, at 1:11 PM, Mateusz Konieczny via Tagging <tagging at openstreetmap.org> wrote:
> Is it OK to tag surface=compacted as tracktype=grade1 ?
> 
> It seems to be changed on Wiki in
> https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Map_Features:tracktype&diff=1627780&oldid=1448864
> (maybe previous version was wrong!) but iD presets still have
> "Solid: paved or heavily compacted hardcore surface"
> 
> Which version is correct?
> 
> (personally I hope that tracktype=grade1 is reserved for paved surfaces)
> 
> Or maybe "heavily compacted hardcore" refers to
> https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:surface%3Dchipseal
> not
> https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:surface%3Dcompacted
> ?

I have come to conclude that tracktype=grade1 is a "right on the edge" denotation for a road which is "not necessarily sealed, but could be," while also including "never actually paved, but is so compacted, that it has many of the qualities of a paved road, without actually being paved."

In other words, it is a fuzzy designation.  I'd say "paved or heavily compacted hardcore surface" encompasses this (though, not because iD says so, iD's presets seem to have landed in a sweet spot here, perhaps partly by luck, perhaps partly by good observation and good choice of words).

If it is "chipsealed," I'd call that a paved road, slightly better than tracktype=grade1, so, perhaps highway=unclassified, surface=chipseal (or surface=paved, more discussion could tease that apart).

If it is surface=compacted, I'd say this is a "good fit, most of the time" for a tracktype=grade1 road/highway, although I could also nod my head at highway=unclassified, provided the surface=compacted tag is included to distinguish this from the often-assumed (but by no means definitive) assumption that a highway=unclassified implies that road is paved (it does not, so examine carefully any such road's surface=* tag, if extant).

I don't know if OSM can achieve perfection here.  But in short, yes, I think it is OK to tag surface=compacted as tracktype=grade1.

And my usual disclaimer:  this is but one person's opinion.