[OSM-talk] highway=ford vs ford=yes

[Andrew Errington]

On Mon, 01 Nov 2010 18:22:19 M∡rtin Koppenhoefer wrote:
> 2010/11/1 SomeoneElse <lists at mail.atownsend.org.uk>:
> > On 31/10/2010 13:46, Gorm E. Johnsen wrote:
> >> I propose to replace highway=ford with ford=yes (or perhaps
> >> barrier=ford?) on nodes as well, simply to de-clutter the highway tag
> >> and to be more consistent.
>
> IMHO for the cases I tagged highway=ford on nodes it fits well.
> "simply to declutter" is not a sufficient argument to change 5000 tags
> that are in use for a long time.

ford=yes is the right answer, like bridge=yes and tunnel=yes.  A ford is a 
linear feature, usually extending across the width of a river, much like a 
bridge does, which could be several metres long.

> > Please don't change things unless you've actually been there and surveyed
> > the item in question.

I have actually tried mapping a ford about a year ago.  At the time there was 
no tag defined.  I tagged it as highway=ford, which upon reflection was a 
poor choice.  It should have been highway=path, ford=yes.  I am quite happy 
for this tag to be defined in that way.  Replacing 5000 instances of 
the 'old' tag is a drop in the ocean.

Best wishes,

Andrew