[talk-au] Mapping in Sydney..

[Brent Easton]

Hi Ian,

>1. What are the freeways called?   Do we really want to follow the street
>signs, and omit the common names?  Do we really want to copy the other
>maps?


Like it or not, the F3/F6 names seem to be officially dead, though still in common usage. The F6 is now only signposted as National Route 1, I'm not sure that is actually named. No F6 signs remain and I have spotted one new sign with it marked as the M1 using the new yellow on green alphanumeric numbering! The Princes Highway is still the road through Helensburgh which is now State Route 60 - I just finished mapping it the other day.

The answer is - I'm not sure!


>2. What is a motorway in Sydney?  There are many sections of road that look
>like a freeway.  What sections of road should be drawn as freeways?


I don't think short lengths of motorway like road should be drawn as a motorway. I think Motorway implies a longer stretch of road 'with a purpose' that is part of a larger network.

The problem is that 'Motorway' is a description of road quality, while 'trunk, primary' etc is a description of road importance.

It comes back to the purpose of classifying the roads - Are we basing it on the function and importance of the road within the overall road network, or on the quality of the road?

For example, I am completely confused as to what to classify the Illawara Highway from Moss Vale to Albion Park. 

 Is it a trunk road because it is National Route 48 with a blank on White shield emblem?
 Is it a primary road because it a not very important road?
 Is it a secondary road because parts of it is a narrow winding 2 lane road?
 
____________________________________________________________
Brent Easton                       
Analyst/Programmer                               
University of Western Sydney                                   
Email: b.easton at uws.edu.au