[OSM-talk] Left and Right - a proposal

[Frederik Ramm]

Hi,

> Left/Right Scheme
> -----------------
> 
> I propose that it be possible for features to be tagged using a generic
> left/right scheme, with left and right being relative to the direction
> of the way.

I find that this only makes sense when what is left and what is right is 
discernible *without* reference to the actual direction of the way.

E.g. rivers: We have agreed to always tag them in the direction of the 
flow. So when I'm there tagging something which is on one side of the 
river, I *know* whether it is left or right, or vice versa, if I look up 
the way in the database and it is tagged to have a towpath on the left 
then I *know* where the towpath will be without even looking at the 
lat/lon of the nodes. Even the general public will be able to use the 
information that there is something on the "left hand side" of a river.

On the other hand, when tagging stuff that is to the left and right of a 
road or footpath, there is no way to know which direction it will have 
in the database. There is no widely agreed general rule on what 
constitutes the left side of a road and what the right side. I strongly 
dislike using "left" and "right" in such a situation where direction is 
arbitrary.

Bye
Frederik

-- 
Frederik Ramm  ##  eMail frederik at remote.org  ##  N49°00'09" E008°23'33"