[OSM-talk] Tagging Scheme Recommendations: highway=path, footway, trail?

[Maarten Deen]

On Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:30:18 -0700, Greg Corradini
<gregcorradini at gmail.com> wrote:
> I've been looking at a lot of hiking trails on OSM in the Cascade
> Mountains near Seattle. I've noticed a few different tags in regard to
> trail GPS traces
> (highway=path,highway=footway,highway=trail,highway=footpath). The
> wiki page on "US roads tagging" recommendations only has the following
> advice to offer about trails:
> 
> "Ways on which most motor vehicle traffic is either legally of
> physically prohibitive get highway [1]=path [2], or a more specific
> tag as appropriate. This category includes roads that normally
> function as hiking trails because of barricades opened only
> occasionally or rarely."
> 
> I'm wondering if anyone with more OSM trail tagging experience can
> clarify the last part of the first sentence -- "OR A MORE SPECIFIC TAG
> AS APPROPRIATE". Has anyone done a tag count of trail-like values in
> OSM to get an idea what's being used the most? Does anyone have a
> opinion about a more specific tag to use for this feature?

As highway=path means no motorized traffic, it might be a footpath or
cyclepath or bridleway (or others). That's the "more specific" part.

Regards,
Maarten

> Links:
> ------
> [1] http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:highway
> [2] http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:highway%3Dpath