[talk-au] Cycling on Victorian paths

[Andy Townsend]

On 03/10/2021 04:00, Graeme Fitzpatrick wrote:
>
>
> I would think it should be bicycle=designated, which means that 
> signage & local laws would then apply?
>
(on the very narrow question of what "bicycle=designated" means in OSM)

"<transport mode>=designated" is a somewhat confusingly named tag - it 
sounds like it ought to mean what you say above, but in practice the 
definition at 
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:access%3Ddesignated is actually:

"indicates that a route has been specially designated (typically by a 
government) for use by a particular mode (or modes) of transport"

It's a way of saying "you might have a right to get from A to B via X, Y 
or Z, but the route via X has been specifically constructed for your 
mode of transport so you should go that way".

An example I've added myself is at 
https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/894921545#map=17/53.36085/-1.25653 
near Sheffield in the UK - there's a legal right of foot access directly 
across the road between the two kissing gates shown in OSM on the left 
of that view, but there's a sign directing foot traffic east to the 
roundabout where it's safer to cross the road, before walking back along 
the other carriageway of the road.

In OSM "foot=designated" is mostly used to indicate that a 
"highway=path" should be treated like a highway=footway for foot 
traffic, and bicycle=designated that a a "highway=path" should be 
treated like a highway=cycleway for bicycle traffic. It doesn't mean 
"legal access rules for this mode are not a simple yes or no and you 
should consult local signage and local laws".

Best Regards,

Andy


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