[Talk-GB] On footpaths

[Richard Mann]

The renderers don't entirely agree with the "new" tagging, and
probably won't any time soon.

Basically there's agreement that highway=path can be used for scruffy
paths in the countryside, though some prefer to use highway=footway,
especially if it's an official Public Footpath. There's a diversity of
opinion on whether highway=path should be used on decent
paths/alleyways in towns; most are probably highway=footway.

There are probably some people who use highway=path+access tags
(bicycle=, foot= etc) on shared-use paths. But in the UK foot=yes
applies to 99.99% of cycleways, so I think the norm is to simply use
highway=cycleway.

Richard

On Wed, May 4, 2011 at 1:22 PM, Peter Oliver <p.d.oliver at mavit.org.uk> wrote:
> I'm new to Open Street Map, and in trying to map some local footpaths I
> pretty rapidly found myself at
> "http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_Tagging_Guidelines#Rights_of_ways_in_England_and_Wales"
> and the associated controversy.
>
> First, let me summarise the situation as I see it:
>
> • There's an "old" method of tagging ways suitable for pedestrians, and a
> "new" method.
> • No consensus on which method is best has/can be reached, and the two sides
> of the argument have effectively agreed to differ.  Both tagging methods are
> in active use.
> • Tagging a way "highway=footway" is equivalent to tagging it "highway=path;
> foot=..." (plus, in either case, additional tags to indicate the legal
> status of the route).
>
> It seems like I'm now armed with enough knowledge to get stuck in and start
> mapping some footpaths, using whichever tagging method I happen to prefer.
>  However, both Mapnik and Osmarender display these two supposedly equivalent
> forms of footpath differently!  Osmarender uses different colours, and
> Mapnik replaces a dotted pink line with a dashed black one.
>
> So, my question is, is there some subtle difference in meaning that I've
> missed between these two tagging methods, or it simply that the renders have
> not been updated to understand the "new" form of tagging?
>
> --
> Peter Oliver
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