[Talk-nz] NZ Path/Road Cycle Access Tag Improvements

[Wilson Currie]

Morning.

I have become involved in OSM editing in the past 2 years, mainly due to
the desire to have accurate & up to date local maps, as well as working to
correctly update access & surface type tags on existing paths & roads to
reflect their true status. Most of this editing has been in the
Manawatu-Wanganui wider region.

My recent edits have been primarily for bike access tags (am a cyclist
myself), as well as updating the path/road surface type details, as the
core basemap of OSM is widely used by a number of cycling-related apps &
sites for routing and for data tracking. Incorrect tags here can lead to
errors & inaccurate data on these sites, and can potentially lead to
dangerous routing errors for example, particularly for someone who doesn't
know the area or is illequiped. Examples of apps using this OSM data, and
being influenced by these errors is Strava, Komoot and Wandrer, among
others.

*Wandrer.earth* (I suggest you check the site, it's pretty cool!) in
particular is an interesting example of how inaccurate access type data can
cause the overall/regional/local data to be significantly off and a false
representation of the truely accessable & ridable roads/paths in a certain
area. For a simple example, a hiking track such as the Rangiwahia Hut Track
marked by default as having all access 'Yes' means this app determines this
track is ridable, when in fact it is for the most narrow enough for one
person only, let alone a bike. This access tag in my opinion should be
updated, leaving the overall access as Yes (to reflect true public access
status) but have the tags for Motor Vehicle, Cycling and Horse changed to
'No', or at the bare minimum 'Permit'. In the case of Wandrer, for many
riders seeking to knock off local roads, a track like this with false tags
would significantly prevent them from completely riding all the local
"roads" in the area, unless they were aware of this problem discussed here
and sought to edit & update the basemap themelves. From my past experiences
with edits and how this is reflected in Wandrer in particular, a road must
be marked as having the overall access 'Yes' to show on their map, and then
the cycle access must be either "Yes", "Permissive" or "Designated".

While this is not a NZ only problem, and can be easily resolved - albeit
taking *a lot of time *and local knowledge - the main issue lately is the
increase in the number of driveways/service roads/accessways/"unmaintained
track roads" and similar waytypes being added to the OSM map, with these
faulty tags. Such paths are now linking main roads but have completely
private only access, meaning unaware or unsespecting riders/walkers/runners
may be sent by modern watches/bike computers along access ways that are not
suitable or is trespassing.

This problem doesn't have an easy or quick fix, and will continue to be a
problem as new and/or unaware OSM editors continue to add these new paths
in, however hopefully a hightened awareness (if possible) of this problem
may help to improve the true access rights of paths & roads in NZ moving
forward.

Interested in thoughts and feedback.

W Currie
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