[OSM-talk] Tag alt_name

[Matthias Julius]

Christoph Böhme <christoph at b3e.net> writes:

> 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. 

If the two names or spellings of the name are equal in preference they
should both be included in the "name" tag, IMHO.

I don't know any example, but if you search long enough you might find
a road with three names.  What do you do then?  "another_alt_name"?

Matthias