[Talk-us] New MapRoulette Challenge - Add Surface to Highways

[Eric H. Christensen]

------- Original Message -------
On Wednesday, January 25th, 2023 at 11:35, Joseph Eisenberg <joseph.eisenberg at gmail.com> wrote:


> Why do we need surface=asphalt vs surface=concrete for highway=motorway?
> 
> Does this make a significant difference for any users?
> 
> I can certainly see the value of adding unpaved surface values for other classes of roads, but all motorways in the USA (and likely worldwide) will be paved

I can see that being an assumption but unless you verify that to be true you can't just summarily add that kind of data to the set.  

Does it make a difference?  I'm not sure.  There are definitely friction coefficient differences between the two surfaces and I'd be willing to bet that one would be more efficient to travel across than the other.  Perhaps routing engines could use this information to provide an even better, more efficient route.  Of course, that is just an idea.

R,
Eric