[Talk-us] US Interstate exit junction exit_to tag

[Alan Mintz]

At 2011-03-28 09:13, Mike N wrote:
>...   A different way to ask the question is does it make sense to render 
>the exit_to at any time?    The most likely use of the information is by 
>navigation utilities - where the actual map rendering will be much more 
>sparse to limit information to only that which is needed for driving. And 
>exit_to information might be displayed separately and/or spoken.
>
>    The counterpoint to having exit_to being rendered is that most people 
> are only interested in exit numbers when reading a visualized map.   In 
> congested areas, the rendered exit_to information is extremely 
> overbearing and distracting compared to the surrounding roads.  In such 
> cases, the compact ref= and name= (for named exits) results in a much 
> cleaner map.

In southern California, in my experience, people do not use exit numbers 
when giving directions - they use what we would call the name of the exit, 
which is usually the name of the street on which the offramp terminates*. 
One reason is that exit numbering was an afterthought - in process since 
the 80s I think - and is still not complete. Another is that, for people 
that have traveled the area extensively, the name of the exit gives one a 
far better mental picture of where an exit is than the postmile-related 
exit number.


*But not always, particularly along the I-10 in older/denser parts of LA 
county, where the ramp often terminates on a parallel side street or 
frontage road, and one turns right or left to reach the road perpendicular 
to the freeway, for which the exit is named.

--
Alan Mintz <Alan_Mintz+OSM at Earthlink.net>