[Talk-ca] Proposed changes to road classification and related stuff

[Jherome Miguel]

Hi,

As mappers down in the United States have been slowly adapting a new
classification scheme, especially in regard to motorway and trunk classes,
I would also like to propose some changes to Canadian road classification
to coordinate with the changes being proposed and undertaken south of the
border. This primarily deals with motorway and trunk classes. There will be
little changes, but this will close gaps in highway networks around the
border areas, which I have been noticing (e.g. in Cornwall and Sault Ste.
Marie).

- Motorway guidelines will be the same, but to add considerations for
exceptions and borderline cases
- Trunk meaning will expanded to be no longer just the NHS core routes, the
commonly used definition as of now, to include other routes between
identified major population centres. The trunk network will be largely the
same, but with additions in certain provinces, usually to coordinate with
trunk reclassification work being done south of the border.

Definition of primary, secondary and below will remain largely unchanged:

- Primary: Roads connecting other large settlements, usually being major
provincial highways unless trunk or motorway. In dense urban areas, these
are generally major arteries in the suburbs, usually part of a provincial
highway or a former one, but not necessarily.
- Secondary: Minor highways in rural areas (usually secondary provincial
highways, or the county/regional roads of southern Ontario). In urban
areas, most other arterials.
- Tertiary: In urban areas, collector streets. In rural areas, other
through roads that aren't highways, usually linking smaller settlements not
served by the highway network.

Since some of the proposed reclassifications will result in an uncoupling
of official highway class from OSM class, I would like to bring up again
introducing abbreviations to ref= values for highways like those in
the US. Many
renderers use the underlying classification to determine what shield will
be used, but the presence of cases such as Ontario regional and country
roads being tagged primary as well as the aforementioned uncoupling of OSM
road class from official classification calls this need to do it, even it
has been opposed on various grounds.

I'll be working on creating a draft page on OSM Wiki, which I'll be
presenting later.

Hope to hear from you!
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