[talk-au] When does a road become a track?

[swanilli]

I have tired to find some official definitions to clarify this.

Here is the Australian Standard definition of a road from AS 1348—2002 "Road
and traffic engineering—Glossary of terms":

road: Route trafficable by motor vehicles; in law, the public right-of-way
between boundaries of adjoining property

In other words, a road is pubic land between two properties, whatever it is
surfaced with so a fire trail completely within a State Forest would not not
be a road. Track is not defined in AS 1348. In fact, when track is
mentioned, it is in relation to railway tracks (the steel things) or the
track of a vehicle (width between the wheels).

Just to confuse matters, this is what the NSW Department of Environment,
Climate Change and Water says about tracks in National Parks:

"So what's the difference between a *trail *and a *track*? Trails are
generally only one lane wide and aren't covered with gravel or any other
form of road surface. You can walk or cycle on them. If a trail is open to
vehicles, it will often be suitable for 4WDs only.

Walking *tracks *are for walkers only. Some are only wide enough for
single-file walking; others allow three people to walk comfortably
side-by-side. Higher-standard tracks, usually in areas visited by many
people, may be surfaced with gravel, tarmac or boardwalks."

Here is a pragmatic solution based on AS 1348 and OSM custom:

highway=road if it is open to the public and located between property
boundaries, regardless of surface.

If it is within a property (including National Parks and State Forests):

   - unsealed: highway=track
      - sealed: highway=service

Cheers.


2009/10/20 Liz <edodd at billiau.net>:
> On Tue, 20 Oct 2009, Mark Pulley wrote:
>> This might sound like a silly question, but I was wondering if there
>> is any guidance on when a road becomes a track. I've been driving on
>> dirt roads since I first learnt to drive, so I might tag a way
>> highway=unclassified surface=unsealed, where someone who has always
>> lived in a capital city might see the same road and tag it
>> highway=track tracktype=grade2. I'm particularly thinking of roads
>> through forests (in particular of a road near Mt Canobolas, Orange
>> NSW), some are in good enough condition to definitely call a proper
>> road but others aren't as well maintained, narrower, more eroded. I
>> haven't got any sample pictures (was busy driving!)
> a couple of weeks ago some rural mappers were in favour of your scheme.
> can i drive my car on it easily - road
> am i crawling along avoiding obstacles and wishing i had brought  my
mountain
> bike  - track
>
> i don't grade tracks
> (personal belief only, if someone else wishes to spend time doing grading
> that's fine, but the condition of the surface varies according to when the
> council last graded, rain etc)
>
>
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