[OSM-talk] Proliferation of path vs. footway

Frank Sautter openstreetmap at sautter.com
Mon Aug 10 11:27:59 BST 2009


Tom Chance wrote:
> I'm 100% unclear about the distinction between highway=path and
> highway=footway.

the whole "highway=path"-thingy was victim of a "hostile takeover" ;-)

at the beginning highway=path was proposed as a something like a NARROW 
highway=track for use by bike, foot, horse, hiking, deer (mainly in 
non-urban areas).

highway=track is typically used in farmland or forest (non-residential) 
areas and usable for 4-wheeled vehicles.
highway=footway is a footway in urban areas (beneath road, in parks, 
between buildings, etc.)

we discussed about that following the last geofabrik workshop and came 
to the conclusion to use highway=path in non-urban areas where the way 
has only one groove and use highway=footway/bicycle in rural/residential 
areas or when accompanying bigger roads.

cheers,
  frank




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