[Talk-GB] UK Rights of Way - WikiProject

[Robert Norris]

> I always use Potlatch an editor, and so the majority of the paths I have added are highway=footpath, unless I know it's designated as a bridleway in which case I've set it as highway=bridleway. If I use a path, but it's not actually signed as a public or otherwise footpath then I think I should use highway=path, but actually tend to just use highway=footpath as it's there for me in Potlatch.

Generally for 'countryside' mapping I use JOSM for larger scale edits. Potlatch for smaller detail updates. Each to their own of course.
I think JOSM can be setup to use special presets, i.e. for UK tagging presets - although I've never done this myself.

> Semantically it feels cleaner to use highway=path/track/service depending on width and condition (a tarmac'd driveway I tag as service, a muddy path that is wide enough to fit a car is a track for me, narrower is just a path) and *then* adding designation tags e.g. public_footpath or permissive_footpath (as is around the Hampden estate). In my experience around Bucks, walkers, cyclists and horse riders all use the same paths, so I only add specific access tags when it is a 'NO' (as in a few "no cycles" signs around here, against mostly in the Hampden Estate area).
>
> My dilemma is that essentially all of my walking routes so far are highway=footpath / highway=bridleway with very little designation= (because I haven't done much mapping since I saw designation= being discussed), so changing to a combination of path/track/service & designation would be quite a chunk of work. I'm up for doing it, if that's a good thing to do.

Certainly best adding the designation where known. 

> Is there any consensus on whether this is a good thing to do or not (yet)? If it is a good thing, then I'd love to see Potlatch updated somehow to allow for this (perhaps changing "footpath" to be highway=path & adding "public footpath" with highway=path/designation=public_footway), and would be up for doing that piece of work if that helps, as it would really help me.

Not sure this will happen as the it too GB specific. Again there are ways to change Potlatch's presets if you run your own instance and edit the config files appropriately.

>
> On a minor tangent - is there any pattern or spec around tagging the signposts at all? I'm starting to think it would be useful, as not all junctions have sign posts, and so it could help people know which junction is which when on a new walk. I had a quick search on the wiki, but couldn't find anything (I could be searching for the wrong thing).

There is:
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:information%3Dguidepost

Which is rendered on mapnik, eg:
http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=50.894405947279346&lon=-0.64825295438012698&zoom=16&layers=B000FTF

However I only tend to use it for 'elaborate' or 'special' sign posts, rather than every single signpost everywhere.

Think things like this one:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jacqib/359764976/in/pool-21939087@N00/



Be Seeing You - Rob.
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