[talk-au] Cycle tags on motorways

[stevea]

On Aug 17, 2022, at 7:23 PM, Little Maps <mapslittle at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi folks, is there any consensus on how to tag cycling on motorway shoulders?
> 
> In some places, the simple tag bicycle=yes (or no) is used. This is straight forward. In others, the left hand shoulder is tagged as a cycle lane, using "cycleway=lane" or "cycleway:left=lane". Others have  used "cycleway=shoulder".
> 
> On the ground, the signs I know (in Vic and S NSW) usually read, "cyclists use left shoulder" and "emergency lane, bicycles excepted". It's not explicitly called a cycle lane in Vic or NSW road guidelines, only that bicycle access is permitted along the road shoulder (as on any other non-motorway road).
> 
> In my mind, there's a big difference between tags that imply, "you're allowed to ride on the motorway" (as on any other road) versus, "there's a dedicated bike lane here".
> 
> FYI, this overpass turbo query shows some common tagging options in different colours: https://bit.ly/3TaYR8P
> 
> Any thoughts? Thanks, Ian

It's a good discussion, you hit a lot of highs with directly-pointed questions.  I have tagged cycleway=shoulder on some of our "expressways," not motorways.  Here (California), motorways, which we call freeways, quite distinctly prohibit bicycles, except brief segments where they are allowed for "sole connectivity" reasons and strict regulatory signs ("Bicycles Must Exit") are found — these are quite rare.  Though I know of such roadways, I would tag cycleway=shoulder here (I haven't done so, or maybe only once where I would not dare ride even as I know it to be "technically legal" for those bold, adult, experienced...enough to bike it).  On some expressways, there is a very clearly delineated (most frequently with stencil of bicycle / "BIKE LANE" paint, sometimes "base-bendable reflector tags" every 10 meters or so at intersection merging with autos zone / shared-lane, rarely with "raised dots" only, to mark a cycleway lane...) "Bike Lane," quite succinctly tagged cycleway=lane.  There are newer, various flavors in urban areas in California to use different colors here (green paint which entirely fills portions of some bike lanes).

I would encourage to map segments which are explicit (bicycles can, bicycles cannot) with explicit tags.  Easier said than done, I know, but when tags "hew close" to what "is" (on the ground) or "signed" or (yet a bit weaker) "what is known to be legally allowed here" then "tag it so."

OSM has really proliferated a myriad of quite exact tagging for cyclists in urban areas with congested bicycle traffic and infrastructure; this is true.  Yet for the simple "this (often outback) highway allows bicycles in the shoulder, under certain conditions..." it can be vague to tag that.  If shoulder, tag shoulder.  That's like a bit of watercolor that can be "richened up with deeper color" (with more specific tagging) if need be.  It takes a bold cyclist to cycle a cycleway=shoulder, especially as it is known to be either a motorway (freeway here, bikes basically don't happen here) or an expressway.  An expressway with a cycleway=lane?  Sure, you have to be "an adult rider" to do that, but those lines of paint are much saner (for an experienced cyclist accustomed to accompany higher-speed auto traffic in a nearby lane) than a rude, raw shoulder on a motorway or expressway.

As usual, "tag your best."  Those are my thoughts.