[OSM-talk] street traits

[Matt Williams]

On Friday 09 May 2008 21:57:51 OJ W wrote:
> This page *tries* to explain the differences:
>
> http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/index.php/Highway
>
> I suppose my summary would be something like:
>
> Motorway: motor vehicles only, always dual-carriageway, always has
> good level of emergency features, junctions are always grade-separated
> with slip-roads/on-ramps
>
> Trunk: like motorway, but legally allows non-motorised traffic
>
> Primary: a road large enough that you wouldn't dare to cycle on it if
> you wanted to live.  Often dual-carriageway, but with a more sloppy
> approach to creating junctions.
>
> Secondary: goes from somewhere important to somewhere important, with
> lots of traffic.

Don't forget tertiary. While there are only a handful of C class roads in the 
UK (I believe) local councils seem to flit between defining a number of roads 
as a C or a U and so for these roads either a tertiary or unclassified (or 
residential if it's applicable) tag makes sense

Personally I use tertiary for roads which, while residential, are obviously 
through-routes and are used extensively as such. This includes roads which 
bisect housing estates (see Park Lane/Tempest Avenue at [1] and Stakes Hill 
Road slightly to the South). I feel this reflects their level of importance 
with respect to the surrounding roads without incorrectly tagging it as, say, 
a B-road.

I feel this fits well with your definition of a residential road as "something 
you wouldn't use as a through-road, but only as a destination" by making 
tertiary be "a residential road you _would_ use as a through road".

Matt Williams

[1] http://openstreetmap.org/?lat=50.8845&lon=-1.01108&zoom=15&layers=B0FT
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