[OSM-talk] Path vs footway vs cycleway vs...

[Lester Caine]

Richard Fairhurst wrote:
> Steve Bennett wrote:
>> Instinctively, I want to tag it a cycleway...but there's absolutely
>> nothing to justify that. Nowhere will you see any primacy given to
>> cycling over walking. Conundrum.
> 
> highway=cycleway doesn't mean cycles have priority. It just means it's 
> intended for pedestrian and cycle use. There's no suggestion of primacy 
> for either.
> 
> (Incidentally, I missed out the footnote from my last mail, which was 
> going to say that in some countries (like the UK) cycles are permitted 
> on bridleways; nonetheless it's most sensible to treat highway=bridleway 
> as a path for pedestrian and horse use, and tag over and above that if 
> it's a cyclable one.)

http://www.horsedata.co.uk/Jargon.htm I think nicely covers most of the options.
But 'cycleway' is still a rather woolly term, with many specially constructed 
cycle routes using that term only for a fully-segregated cycle route, however 
sustrans.org.uk works on the basis that the national cycle network is also for
'walkers, wheelchair uses and horseriders' and this is where the 'path' 
designation sort of came from since many vehicle free routes are not footway, 
cycleway or bridalway.

Personally I would only use cycleway where the 'path' was specifically 
restricted to cycles for reasons of safety - such as the segregated routes that 
form part of a main vehicle way, lanes on the side such as described in 
http://www.cycling.bham.ac.uk/other/RoadDesignTerminology.shtml but at this 
point we are getting back to the 'micromapping' question on when does a single 
'way' get replaced with a group of parallel ways each with their correct 
designation ..... around here it is the footpaths which do not follow directly 
the 'roadway' and many of them are 'pavements' where cycling is specifically banned.

-- 
Lester Caine - G8HFL
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