[OSM-talk] Local names (was Re: international name rendering)

[Scott Walde]

Martijn van Oosterhout wrote:
> Yes. It's not that uncommon for local features to have local names.
> It's arguable whether they should appear on the map, but I think it's
> reasonable that if people search for the local name it does actually
> find them.
>
>   
We have a bridge in Saskatoon that is officially called the "Traffic 
Bridge".  Nobody, but nobody ever refers to it as that.  It's either the 
"Steel Bridge" (the rest are concrete) or "Victoria Bridge" because it 
connects to Victoria Avenue.  Is this what the "loc_name" tag is 
intended for?  If not, is there any way to tag the common names of an 
item?  Does a common name like that belong on a map? 

(Seriously, if you told most people in town to go across the "Traffic 
Bridge" they wouldn't even know what you were talking about.  You might 
be more successful with "That damn narrow bridge")

As a counterpoint... another OSMer recently traveled through my city and 
referred to "Louis Riel Trail" which is another unused name for highway 
11.  Around here, if you told someone to take "Louis Riel Trail" they 
might not know what you were talking about.  The other OSMer pointed out 
that that's what the signs say, (I guess I never look at the highway 
signs for places I know.) so I suppose it's important that the maps 
match the signs.

ttyl
srw