[Talk-GB] Non-intuitive addresses

[Tom Crocker]

On Sat, 12 Feb 2022, 11:35 Mark Goodge, <mark at good-stuff.co.uk> wrote:

> With all the discussion of addresses that's going on at the moment, I
> thought I'd take a look at some near me. And, in the process, found a
> whole set of oddities that are currently mapped incorrectly, but where
> there's no obvious way to get the right data other than the fact that I
> just happen to know. So, before I go making wholesale changes, I thought
> I'd throw it out here for discussion.
>
> Firstly, this way:
>
> https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/28456255
>
> This is currently tagged as name=Abbots Walk. That's objectively wrong,
> and can be shown to be wrong from open sources (eg, OS OpenNames and OS
> OpenRoads). The reality is that Boat Lane (way 307184331) extends all
> the way to the junction with Merstow Green (way 23642664). There is no
> street in Evesham named Abbots Walk.
>
> But... the four residential units on that part of Boat Lane have an
> address in the form of [1-4] Abbots Walk, not Boat Lane. That's because
> [1-4] Boat Lane already existed when that block was constructed, so, to
> avoid confusion, the block itself was given the name Abbots Walk and the
> units in it numbered accordingly. This is obviously why someone has, in
> the past, given the way the wrong name, because they've assumed that the
> postal address of the houses reflects the name of the street.
>
> So the first question here is how do we map this? Obviously the way can,
> and should, be renamed to Boat Lane. But then, and without tagging for
> the render, what's the best way to apply the name "Abbots Walk" to the
> block itself?
>
> Also, once the way is renamed, what's the best way to ensure that the
> addr:street tags of the individual houses stay as Abbots Walk, and don't
> get changed to Boat Lane by some enthusiastic armchair mapper trying to
> clean up what he or she perceives to be an error? Would it, maybe, be
> better to convert them all to addr:terrace and leave addr:street blank?
> Or is this going to create a whole new set of problems?
>

For the addresses I would suggest addr:place=Abbots Walk as that *should*
work with existing tools.

For the label, what I usually do is split out the section of landuse=* and
add the name to that, which seems reasonable and works for most renderers
(I use the cadastral parcels/fence lines for the area). I have however been
thinking about proposing place=building_complex (or something) for these
sort of situations. This would be particularly useful when the landuse is
mixed, and is a perhaps more appropriate tag. It would fit between
city_block and plot in our current hierarchy.

To stop future remapping I would think not:name=Abbots Walk on the road and
a note to clarify the situation.

Hope that helps

Tom

>
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