[Tagging] Highway classification in Antarctica

[Martin Koppenhoefer]

Am Mi., 24. Apr. 2024 um 16:33 Uhr schrieb Fernando Trebien <
fernando.trebien at gmail.com>:

> As Antarctica is international space,[1] I understand that, in
> principle, the highway classification scheme of no particular country
> applies there.



Generally, highway classification is not done based on a particular
country's classification scheme.



> For a while, I tried to come up with a balanced generic
> scheme based on the regional importance of these roads,[2] which has
> been questioned,[3] so I would like to hear opinions on the matter.
>
> Should the classification of highways in Antarctica:
>
> 1. Follow country-specific conventions near stations? This can lead to
> different classifications for long polar traverses maintained by
> different countries and can create disconnected road networks (in
> terms of classification) between nearby stations operated by different
> countries.
>
> 2. Follow generic OSM definitions based on absolute population
> thresholds of the places they connect? (10k+ people for town, 1k for
> village, 100 for hamlet, etc.) This will assign very low road classes
> across the continent.
>
> 3. Follow generic OSM definitions based on lower place population
> thresholds that are more compatible with the reality of the continent,
> based on regional importance? [4] The result may be perceived by some
> as assigning higher than normal highway classes to the connections
> between these small settlements.
>
> Additionally, should the permanent population be considered (zero in
> most cases, which is the case even for larger stations, further
> lowering highway classification), or the average occupancy of the
> stations?



generally, we are not interested in citizenship or official population
count but rather in actual population. The highway class should reflect the
"importance" of the road for the (regional) grid. With a peak population
(presence) of about 5000 people, I would not expect a lot of traffic
anywhere. On the other hand, given the few roads and harsh conditions, I
could imagine that the existing roads could be considered quite
"important", regardless of the few traffic.

After all, it doesn't really matter as the conditions and context are
pretty unique and not comparable with the rest of the world anyway,
especially the part for which the existing applications are built.
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