[Talk-GB] Tagging modal filters and school streets

[Stephen Colebourne]

Here is the outline proposal:

"""
The traffic_intervention tag is used to identify locations where roads
have been closed to general traffic for the purpose of preventing
undesirable through traffic.

The traffic_calming tag covers many use cases where the road is open
but something physical has been added to slow down traffic. Sometimes
however, the local traffic authority goes further and closes a road to
through traffic - traffic_intervention is used to record these
interventions. Mappers should ensure that all normal tags are still
applied to the relevant road segment, traffic_intervention is intended
to be used in addition to existing tags to capture the semantic
meaning.

traffic_intervention=modal_filter
A modal filter is a road closure that is designed to allow certain
modes of transport through, typically bicycles and pedestrians. It is
intended for short sections of road that used to be open to general
traffic and are no longer. The standard modal filter that allows
cycles should be mapped as follows:
* A way representing the section of road that is closed to general traffic:
highway=cycleway, traffic_intervention=modal_filter, other tags as
necessary, especially including the road name.
* A barrier in the middle of the way representing what is being used
to close the road. For example:
barrier=bollard, foot=yes, bicycle=yes

traffic_intervention=bus_gate
A bus gate is a short section of road that has been closed to general
traffic but is open to buses, bicycles and pedestrians. It should be
mapped as a bus road would be, but with the additional
traffic_intervention tag.
* A way representing the section of road that is closed to general traffic:
highway=service, bus=yes, bicycle=yes, foot=yes, traffic_intervention=bus_gate

traffic_intervention=school_street
A school street is a section of road near a school that is closed to
general traffic, often only at certain times of day. The access
restrictions are normally mapped using motor_vehicle:conditional.
Simply use traffic_intervention=school_street to add the additional
semantic meaning.

Mappers may additionally specify the year, month or full date when the
road was restricted if known:
traffic_intervention:date=<year>
traffic_intervention:date=<year-month>
traffic_intervention:date=<year-month-day>

"""

Example modal filter: https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/851872727
Example bus gate: https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/851872729

What do people think? Should this be put forward to the tagging list?
Would anyone here use this scheme?

Stephen



On Mon, 21 Sep 2020 at 18:20, Stephen Colebourne <scolebourne at joda.org> wrote:
>
> Given we have hundreds of existing and new modal filters* and school
> streets**, I think we could do with having a *high level* tag for them
> that captures the concept.
>
> Currently, these are hard to find as they can be represented in many
> ways. eg. for modal filters:
> - highway=cycleway
> - highwat=footway
> - highway=service/residential with motor_vehicle=no
> - plus potential associated barrier=xxx
>
> School streets are no more than a motor_vehicle:conditional=no @ (xxx)
> which again loses the semantic meaning.
>
> What I'd like is a new tag that captures the high level concept. It
> would be a bit like traffic_calming, but I don't think that adding
> more values to that is appropriate. Any new value would go on the way
> that is no longer open. These are generally verifiable on the ground,
> even for filters that were added in the 1970s.
>
> Unfortunately, I don't have a great name. "traffic_restrictions" is
> taken as is "traffic_control". My best suggestion is
> "traffic_intervention=modal_filter"/"school_street", as they are
> essentially interventions by local government to better manage the
> street space.
>
> Any thoughts?
> Stephen
>
> * a "modal filter" is a place where the road is closed, or made one
> way for the purposes of controlling traffic, such as to stop rat
> running. It is commonly linked to Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs)
> but they have been around for 50 years, and are generally easy to
> spot.
>
> ** a "school street" is a street that is only accessible by residents
> at school drop-off and pick-up time