[OSM-talk] Divided roads proposal

[Steve Bennett]

Awesome, nice to finally get some proper criticism :)

I'll write up the proposal as I see it. I think most of these comments are
assuming that somehow a single divider=* tag is going to replace all split
roads, including dual carriageway motorways etc. That's not what I'm
suggesting.

I like the current way of doing things where if they are physically
> seperated they should be drawn as 2 different ways, some even argue a
> strong centreline is enough but I disagree on this point.
>

There's a good example of why a divider=* tag makes sense. Currently you
have two options: single road, or two separate roads. This is a good middle
ground for cases where the "two separate roads" strategy is too big and
heavy.


>
> Also I was under the impression that turning restrictions are a
> signage thing, not a physical barrier thing.
>

Not sure what you mean here. We're discussing three different types of
divider: those that are just legal/signed/marked, those where there is a
physical kerb but which could theoretically be driven over, and those with a
serious barrier that even a pedestrian would struggle with.

If the map doesn't render the data properly then it's a rendering
> problem, otherwise we're just throwing away data because someone
> thinks it will look nicer that way.
>

Again, this proposal is not primarily about rendering. That's a nice benefit
in some cases. The goals are:
1) More appropriate data structure
2) Better usability
3) Better rendering at no effort.

There may be other benefits too. And again, I'm mostly focused on the
situations where mapping as a single road is losing information, and mapping
as two roads is inappropriate/undesirable.

Steve
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