[OSM-talk] OpenStreetMap routing service

[Shaun McDonald]

On 7 Sep 2008, at 19:42, Richard Fairhurst wrote:

> Nic Roets wrote:
>
>> The wiki describes a trunk road as a road with a high maxspeed. I
>> deduce that pedestrians and cyclists are not allowed.
>
> Certainly allowed in the UK (except for one or two roads with
> specific exceptions, e.g. A465 down the valley to Neath, some parts
> of the A55 on the North Wales Coast).
>

I tend to find that it is a 80:20 chance that you are allowed to cycle  
on trunk in the UK. It just depends on where you are.

I'll take the A720 Edinburgh City Bypass as an example of where you  
are not allowed to cycle, however the A8, just south of Edinburgh  
Airport, cyclists are allowed to cycle on the segregated dual  
carriageway, but it is preferred that they cycle on the adjacent  
cycleway. (Which on the western end is considerably worse than the  
eastern end.)

To confuse you even further depending on where you are on the A1,  
depends on whether you can cycle there. For example between where it  
meets the A720, and Dunbar you are not allowed to cycle on it, however  
you are allowed to cycle on the rest of it between Edinburgh city  
centre and Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Therefore for trunk roads, you cannot tell whether you can cycle there  
or not.

Shaun