Hi All, Sorry for the late reply after starting this thread a few days ago.
I was surprised to see how far this topic has expanded (even into OSM should have fault lines so we can re-align after earthquakes!), so I just want to refocus on cycling. 1. A Quick Recap >From the countries that I have researched so far (UK, Netherlands, Germany) there is a consistent difference between a cycle LANE (Fietsstrook, Radfahrstreifen), and a cycle TRACK (Fietspad, Radwegen). In all countries a cycle LANE is a area within the main roadway (carriageway) that is allocated for cycle use. It is indicated by a painted line on the road surface. For all purposes in OSM it can be considered as a 'lane' as there is no separation from the other lanes that form the road and therefore nothing physically stopping a cyclist from changing to a different lane at any point along the road. Motor vehicles may be prohibited from using this lane (UK: "Mandatory cycle lane") or not (UK: "Advisory", Netherlands "Fietssuggestiestrook"). Contrast this to a cycle TRACK, which is physically separate from the main roadway. The separation may be a kerb, barrier/wall, strip of grass or just a row of parked cars. In different countries the TRACK may be one-way or two-way, shared with pedestrians, mandatory for cyclists, and so on. Irrespective of all of these things is the key fact that the cycle TRACK is physically separated and therefore the cyclist cannot simply move from the track to the main roadway at any point / at will. 2. The cycleway=* tag The current cycleway tag attempts to cater for both of these and as a result it is not particularly clear for new users. I believe the fact that renderers and routing software haven't picked up the cycleway tag with any widespread enthusiasm is evidence that improvements can be made. 3. So what is important For a cyclist I feel that the most important thing is "I am travelling from A to B with my child. How _safe_ is it for cyclists? Will there be cycle lanes and/or cycle tracks to use in the _direction_ of my travel?" Based on this question the useful things to know are: * Direction * Safety 3a. Cycle LANES By having a tag specifically for cyclelanes we can indicate both direction and type of lane (an partial indication of safety). For example: highway=secondary cyclelane:forward=share_busway cyclelane:backward=advisory Exact lane positioning can then be picked up by the lanes fans ( http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Lanes) 3b. Cycle TRACKS As these are physically separate from the other lanes of the main roadway (and therefore a cyclist is not free to switch back and forth between cycle track and roadway), my personal preference is to map them as a separate way. Our German mappers raised the concern that cyclists must use the cycletrack and are not allowed to use the roadway unless the cycletrack is obstructed, for example. They have pointed out that they do not like the use of bicycle=no on the main highway as cyclists are not legally banned from using the road in all circumstances. Although I think they are being hopeful that bicycle=no is only being used when it is illegal, can I suggest bicycle=secondary, bicycle=non-primary, or bicycle=alternative for this case (another suggestion already made is bicycle=destination)? For cases where it is difficult to draw a separate way then consider: highway=secondary cycletrack:left=two-way Any feedback will be much appreciated, but please keep in mind the ease of the system for new users and long-term maintainability. Cheers, Rob p.s. In my opinion "no" is not a strong enough word to ensure that it is only used when access is illegal/prohibited, especially when shown in Potlatch2's drop down menu with no explanation. Much better would be access=illegal -> please start a new thread if you would like to discuss this :-)
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