[OSM-talk] Tag alt_name

[Christoph Böhme]

Pieren <pieren3 at gmail.com> schrieb:

> I would like to add the tag "alt_name" in the Map Features wiki page.
> I discovered this tag in a mail from David Earl ([1]) sometime ago but
> I don't think that many people are reading the ML archives.
> I also don't think that a vote is required here because the tag seems
> "obvious" for me. But I would like to hear your opinions about the tag
> itself and if it can go directly in the Map Features page or not.

Just last weekend I tagged a small road in Birmingham which has a sign
saying "The Fireway Passage, also known as the Insurance Passage". I
wanted to tag it as alt_name but since I could not find this tag on
map features I tagged it as loc_name. I am going to change this now.
alt_name is much more appropriate.

> I know it is not widely used (approx. 200 nodes and 200 ways) but I
> think it's because not many people know it and also because it's
> rarely required (only on naming variations).

It could be also used for roads where the signs provide different
spellings of the name. 

IMO this tag should be on map features.

	Cheers,
	Christoph