[Tagging] Destination tagging of motorway links

[António Madeira]

Hello.

The tag ref=49 shouldn’t trig the GPS to show you "49", because the 
correct tag to show the destination ref is "destination:ref", which is 
present.
If the number of the ramp is considered a value to include in the "ref" 
tag, that is another matter of debate, but your GPS shouldn't have 
fetched that value for the destination.
Is it possible that it was merely showing the ref of the ramp and not 
considering the destination ref?

Regards,
António Madeira

Às 16:58 de 01/06/2025, Dave Swarthout escreveu:
>
> Hi,
>
> I need some help to resolve an impasse I've reached with an OSM mapper 
> about the proper tagging of destinations on motorway exit ramps. While 
> following a route on my Garmin GPS device, my turn off of the NYS 
> Thruway for Exit 49 was displayed as merely "49" (without the quotes). 
> There was no other destination shown despite plenty of 
> signs indicating the exit was for NY 78, Depew, Lockport, including 
> the sign just prior to the exit ramp.
>
> The original mapper tagged the exit ramps, i.e., the ways 
> immediately after the exit node (correctly tagged with ref=49, 
> highway=motorway_junction) with:
> destination:ref=NY 78
> destination=Depew;Lockport
> highway=motorway_link
> junction:ref=49
> lanes=1
> maxspeed:advisory=40 mph
> oneway=yes
> ref=49
> surface=asphalt
>
> IMO, all of these tags are correct except the ref=49 which I believe 
> is what's triggering my GPS to show "49" on its screen. I compile my 
> own Garmin-compatible maps and can change the interpretation of 
> destination tags if that is the correct tagging for exit ramps but I 
> don't think it is correct. That's why I'm raising the topic here. By 
> the way, I used OSMAnd on my phone to follow the same route and got 
> the same result, the turn from the Thruway at Exit 49 to reach 
> Lockport was indicated by the two numbers "49" (without the quotes). 
> All the ramps in that intersection were tagged with ref=49 by this mapper.
>
> I don't do much expressway or motorway mapping so I wasn't sure if 
> recent changes had been made to the tagging scenarios for exit ramps 
> but upon reading the Wiki pages on motorway_junctions and exit ramp 
> destination tagging I cannot find any justification for tagging an 
> exit with an ordinary ref tag.This ramp does not have any ref 
> associated with it and Exit 49 is the only exit of the six or seven 
> nearby interchanges I checked that use this scenario.
>
> I contacted the original mapper via a changeset comment but after 
> scolding me about tagging for the renderer, he justified his tagging 
> and did not offer to change it. IMO, simply removing the incorrect 
> ref=49 tag from the ramps in the intersection would solve the problem.
>
> Opinions?
>
>
> -- 
> Dave Swarthout
> Homer, Alaska
> Chiang Mai, Thailand
> Travel Blog: http://dswarthout.blogspot.com
> Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/184600884@N06
>
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