[Talk-ca] [Talk-us] "Highway X" and the like as names

[Jarek Piórkowski]

A thought:

In OSM usage, road name and mailing address tend to be coupled quite
heavily, but just a reminder that is not necessarily the case in real
world. Particularly with rural addresses, "mailing" (Canada Post) addresses
can be quite different than any posted or used road names.
Building/property address (what's tagged in addr:*) should probably be
determined as an answer to a question similar to "what would be entered by
an owner or resident to search for a location".

Complicating the matter is the fact that in Canada, Canada Post's addresses
are considered by Canada Post to be proprietary business information. OSM
might never be a complete database of mailing addresses (consider also
postal codes) - unless Canada Post changes their licensing, this will have
to be okay, and it shouldn't stop us from trying to have names for every
road that has a name.

--Jarek


On Sat, Jan 22, 2022, 22:53 Jherome Miguel <jheromemiguel at gmail.com> wrote:

> I may fall back on using "Highway X" or something similar when it's
> predominantly or consistently used across the stretch of road within the
> same municipality or another where the highway runs, but there are some
> instances addresses within the same municipality or another along the same
> numbered highway may use another road name. For example, one property will
> use "Highway X" on their address while another property nearby or further
> down the road (within the same municipality or another) uses "Range Road
> XX" or something like that. Another issue is with the naming of
> service/frontage roads ("service road" common usage in Alberta), but that's
> another story and may be complex as they may have their own names (e.g.
> Highway 16A service roads in Spruce Grove and Acheson, and Yellowhead
> service roads in Edmonton, many of which are pre-existing roads or grid
> roads).
>
> Also an additional thought, this issue may also apply to grid roads as
> well, as they may get prominent names often posted in advance at highway
> intersections, but in many cases addresses will be using the grid road
> number (either based on city/town grid or Alberta/Dominion survey grid).
>
> On Sat, Jan 22, 2022 at 8:02 PM john whelan <jwhelan0112 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> So in your example of a house address I personally would fall back on the
>> official Canada Post mailing address and use that highway name for the name
>> or is that too simple?
>>
>> Cheerio John
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Jan 22, 2022, 9:46 PM Jherome Miguel, <jheromemiguel at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I’m talking about predominant usage to record in the name=* tag, which
>>> can be uncertain, and you might want a name that should be the most useful
>>> for the most data users. In this situation, you got some name in addition
>>> to "Highway X". Sometimes, those names are commonly used (e.g.
>>> Trans-Canada, QE2, Yellowhead, Anthony Henday), and in others, its just the
>>> number (as in my local examples; the road has name[s] but is more commonly
>>> referred to by number). The name is on signs at intersections, interchanges
>>> or on-/off-ramps or the trailblazer at about every 20 km, but locals will
>>> use the highway number for directions or rural addressing. I did replace
>>> cases of "Highway X" across Alberta, but the address signs may say
>>> something as "1234 Highway X", and/or the locals will use the highway
>>> number for wayfinding.
>>>
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