[OSM-talk-be] Usage of "access=designated" in Belgium

[Ben Laenen]

Hi all,

I wanted to discuss this for a while now, but only now I'm starting to 
write things up, so... Ever since the access=designated tag came into 
existence I wondered about its use in Belgium.

For people unfamiliar with the tag, the designated tag is more or less a 
translation of what vehicle types are depicted on the traffic signs of 
the path. So, a blue round sign with a bicycle on it would make it 
bicycle=designated.

Now, I wonder if there is any value in this tag in Belgium. It might be 
in other countries, but I think the access=yes tag provides all 
information possible.

Example: a cycleway which doesn't belong to a street, signed with the 
blue round sign with a bicycle on it 
(http://www.wegcode.be/images/verkeerstekens/D7.gif) allows pedestrians 
as well. And mopeds class A, and also mopeds class B if there's no 
exception sign. So that would be bicycle=designated moped=yes foot=yes, 
just because the sign only has a bicycle. Now, the rules on that path 
would be exactly the same if the sign showed a blue round sign with a 
bicycle and pedestrians on it 
(http://www.wegcode.be/images/verkeerstekens/D10.gif), and that would 
then be bicycle=designated foot=designated moped=yes.

Now, I think this is a mess :-) There's no legal difference between the 
two paths, so it doesn't make sense tagging it differently.

Similarly, if one would apply this to footpaths and cycleways belonging 
to a road (which I'm not really a fan for making them separate paths, 
but now this proposal is coming along 
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/index.php/Proposed_features/Advanced_Cycleway), 
you'd get the first example on that page with the 
http://www.wegcode.be/images/verkeerstekens/D9.gif sign, and it 
mentions path.foot=designated path.bicycle=designated. The thing is 
that they could sign the cycleway with 
http://www.wegcode.be/images/verkeerstekens/D7.gif and it would mean 
exactly the same.

Also, if a path belonging to a road is signed with 
http://www.wegcode.be/images/verkeerstekens/D7.gif and there's no 
footpath, pedestrians can walk there. It would mean exactly the same as 
the http://www.wegcode.be/images/verkeerstekens/D10.gif sign there.

In short, I haven't found any reason why one would use the designated 
tag in Belgium. I just can't find a situation where a different tag is 
needed than just "yes". So I'm wondering if other people know of any 
situations. I'd like to have some Belgian conventions written up for 
this in the end so I'd like to hear other opinions.

Greetings
Ben