[OSM-talk] definition of the main highway-tag

[Martin Simon]

2009/7/31 Martin Koppenhoefer <dieterdreist at gmail.com>:

> I don't know where you are mapping and which streets you are mapping
> as residential. Maybe you could post an example so I can try to
> understand you better.
> The English page for residential states:
> http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Residential
>
> "This tag is used for roads accessing or around residential areas but
> which are not a classified or unclassified highway.
> This is a useful guideline if you are not sure whether to use
> "residential" or "unclassified" for streets in towns:
>    * unclassified - a wider road used by through traffic
>    * residential - a narrower road generally used only by people that
> live on that road or roads that branch off it. "
>
> so maybe you should think about your tagging habits.

This definition od residential/unclassified was added not long ago by
some person from the german mailing list(at least he started the
discussion. maybe someone else changed it, can't check at the moment,
the wiki is under maintenance...). I think you know that.
We had residential and unclassified as equal classes for ages now and
the only difference was the question wether or not it is in some
residential area. Then suddenly this person came up with desperately
needing a road class between tertiary and residential.
"This is not a problem, just add some new class...", one may think,
but instead he wanted to re-define a tag that was in use for a very
long time with another definition and this, in my eyes, is _not_ OK
and a very bad idea.
It's basically the same mistake as "suddenly, all highway=footway are
a shortcut for highway=path, foot=designated", which is simply not
true, because "footway" has been used with some other definition
before highway=path & *=designated came up...

-Martin