[OSM-talk] Using OSM as database for nature park hiking routes?

[Bernd Vogelgesang]

Hi folks,

I need some guidance from the assembled wisdom, concerning hiking
routes, information-maps and signposts.

I got involved with a nature park in Germany, which wants to start an
initiative to collect all existing local hiking routes (230) in the area
(ca. 1600 km), and produce orientation maps (ca. 100) in collaboration
with max. 40 municipalities.

So they ask me about what kind of database they should use to work on
this topic with QGIS and with the system of a specialized company.
I got not much information till now, but from what I see so far, there
is no need to keep a special database on those routes as all could be
planted into OSM and that they do not need to buy themselves in a
locked-up proprietary system.

The big question is now, what is the most elegant way for those not very
tecky people to import/export the data of "their" routes and "their"
orientation maps and signposts when I'm not around?
The merits I earned with OSM so far is buying a book in 2013 and
digitizing some meadows around my village and using some data in QGIS,
but I already started to investigate the wiki for clever usage of tags etc.

So, what do you think? Should I start the fight for the usage of OSM and
against that proprietary stuff or should I stay calm, take the money and
let them do what seems to be the easy way?

Cheers,
Bernd

p.s. As a background map for their routes, they would like to have
OpenTopoMap ;)