[Talk-us] Bike route network levels: East Coast Greenway

[Greg Troxel]

James Umbanhowar <jumbanho at gmail.com> writes:

> The question is what network level should it, if at all, be tagged.
> Currently, there are three network levels, local/regional/national
> that have been used.  In other countries, these apply to different
> levels of government that officially sanction the cycle route. In the
> US there are several bicycle routes that are sanctioned by AASHTO.  In
> contrast, an analagous tag for hiking networks applies these levels
> simply according to the spatial extent of the hiking trail and
> optionally adds a operator tag for the organization that plans and
> maintains the trail.

As long as network level denotes a degree of spatial extent rather than
a specific naming scheme, I'd say East Coast Greenway should be
national.   (In contrast, "Interstate" is both a notion of scale and a
specific numbering authority.)

My take on network levels for bike/hiking/etc. kinds of routes is that
they are clues as to the geographic extent and thus the area from which
people might care.  So in the US

  local: a few towns (Minuteman Bikeway, Cape Cod Rail Trail), not of
  interest to those not thinking about the state

  regional: covering most of a state (Midstate Trail (MA), Long Trail
  (VT)), and notable to those thinking about a multi-state region, but
  not really notable on the national scale

  national: covering enough area to be notable at national scale
     Appalachian Trail
     Pacific Coast Trail
     EC Greenway
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