Awesome write up. I've grown up in Europe and can't recall any roads that would match coarse, angular railway balast. I really wonder why this is even a definition that made in into the wiki.
Are there any example photos we can add to the Aus wiki text? On 6 March 2021 12:40:32 pm AEDT, Little Maps <[email protected]> wrote: >Hi folks, everyone's thoughts on unpaved road surfaces have been very >valuable. I wholeheartedly support Tony's suggestion to add more photos >of >Australian examples to the international wiki, as the European examples >bear little semblance to most Australian roads. > >In addition to Tony's suggestion, can I suggest that we also add a >section >to the Australian tagging guidelines (and perhaps also to the >international >wiki) that explicitly describes the differences between how the tag >surface=gravel has been used in Australia compared to the international >wiki. I've drafted the following text and welcome all feedback. Thanks >again and best wishes, Ian > >Suggested text: Gravel roads > >Unpaved 'dirt' roads in Australia are widely called 'gravel roads' and >are >often signposted as such. Similarly, surface=gravel is currently (March >2021) the most widely used tag for unpaved road surfaces in Australia >(excluding the broader term, surface=unpaved, which is commonly used). >h >ttps://taginfo.geofabrik.de/australia-oceania/australia/keys/surface#values > >The interpretation of the tag surface=gravel by many mappers in >Australia >differs greatly from the idiosyncratic definition of surface=gravel on >the >international wiki, which defines 'gravel' as coarse, angular railway >ballast. https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:surface This coarse >surface exists but is relatively rare on Australian roads. > >While mappers are generally advised to follow the accepted definitions >of >surface tags as described on the OSM wiki, map users should be aware >that >most roads, tracks and paths that are tagged with surface=gravel in >Australia will have surface materials far finer than railway ballast. >These >surfaces may accord with a wide range of accepted surface tags, >including >surface=compacted, fine_gravel, gravel (rarely), dirt and earth. >https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:surface > >Given the large number of highways that have been tagged with >surface=gravel in Australia (>26,000), the discrepancy between >Australian >and international usage of this tag is unlikely to be overcome in the >foreseeable future. > >All feedback is most welcome.
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