I've been mapping stuff on OSM for a while but I've recently started doing my own rendering for gps. From this I've gained a new insight into the highway=path tag so am posting here.
Firstly my focus is on tracks and trails so that is where I'm coming from. The basics of what I have noticed is that a lot ways are tagged highway=path with no other information. I have found this to be a difficult problem when it comes to rendering. The highway=path tag is a little different to the other highway tags. Firstly it covers quite a broad range of features for walking, cycling, horse riding. Secondly it has no default surface type. For example roads default is paved unless otherwise specified, highway=track defaults to unpaved. Highway=path doesn't have a default. Before messing around with rendering I would tag as highway=path and not bother too much with the other assortment of tags. Partly this is because there are heaps of tags that can be used and there was no particular direction on their priority or importance of use. For rendering I really need a surface tag included to separate the paths into practical catagories. Having no surface tag results in such a large mix of data that it becomes impractial to define any further. However if the surface=paved,dirt.. whatever is used the usefulness of the data is massively increased. For rendering I (and other examples of rendering I have seen) use the highway=path, surface=paved,dirt..etc tag to split the data into paths that are paved and paths that are not paved. This results in a practical ability to split surfaced paths (butumen, cement, pavers etc) and trails (gravel, dirt etc). I'd like to see the difference between: walking trails, dirt trails, single track etc. and paved paths, bitumen paths, concrete paths etc. And I'm sure I'm not alone in this. So in summary: highway=path is a unique tag because it covers a broader range of features than most tags. highway=path has no surface default like most other way tags do. adding the surface=paved,dirt,..,.. etc adds a much need qualifier for pratical rendering. My request: Firstly that people tagging paths consider adding the surface tag as well. You probably already know the surface (as I always did even though I didn't realise the significance of adding the tag) and if you're interested in paths your likely one of those most interested in having it rendered in a practical way. Secondly I think this is worth adding to the Australian Tagging Guidelines wiki in some form. ie "Please add the surface=paved,dirt,..,.. etc when tagging paths. Preferred minimum being paved or dirt." What do you think? All the best, David
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