This topic gets revisited from time to time and as you'll see, opinions differ about how to tag these surfaces. For your example, I would tag it as surface=gravel and tracktype=grade1. You can also include a smoothness=* tag to further characterize its drivability.
I have never seen a highway for automotive or truck use that used railroad ballast for a surface. And if I did, I would avoid driving on it at all costs. On Wed, Apr 18, 2018 at 4:36 PM, Jack Burke <[email protected]> wrote: > I've been tagging roads like that as compacted, once I learned more about > the surfacing tech. > > -jack > > -- > Typos courtesy of fancy auto spell technology > > On April 18, 2018 6:19:07 PM EDT, Toby Murray <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> I recently bought a gravel bicycle to ride on the many gravel roads in >> Kansas. Like this one: >> https://www.mapillary.com/app/?pKey=nYO4JI46L0SWzNAQlLT4kA&focus=photo >> >> First question: What would you call this road? Obviously I am calling >> it a "gravel road" but a couple of people have said they would call it >> a "dirt road" so I'm curious if there are any other common terms to >> describe this type of road in different regions of the US. >> >> Second question: How would you tag this road? There is a >> surface=gravel tag that is in pretty common usage in Kansas and >> neighboring states. However looking at the wiki page for the surface >> tag[1], this is not wiki-correct. According to that page >> surface=gravel is to be used for large rocks (4-8cm) that are laid >> down loosely like those typically used as ballast on railroad beds. I >> believe The Mapillary picture I linked to would be considered >> surface=compacted according to the wiki because the rocks are much >> smaller and the surface is stabilized with a binding agent. There is a >> big difference between the two when it comes to bicycle riding. >> Railroad ballast is bone jarring and flat tire inducing whereas gravel >> roads are pretty manageable on the right kind of bike. >> >> But If you call something a "gravel road" and there is a "gravel" >> option in the editor preset for the surface tag, people are going to >> choose the gravel option and not look for "compacted" since that is >> not a common term here. I assume it is a more common term in the UK >> and that is why it is used in OSM. >> >> And lastly there are trails that are surfaced with a similar material >> but crushed to a smaller size like here: >> https://www.mapillary.com/app/?pKey=iQNqP-dfQ-Rm6AD9REMsgQ&focus=photo >> >> I'm trying to decide if that is better as surface=compacted or >> surface=fine_gravel although fine_gravel seems to be a slightly >> different process from what I see on the wiki. >> >> Maybe this should be directed at the tagging list but I thought I >> would get thoughts from the US community since we seem to be the ones >> using the tag incorrectly (according to the wiki) >> >> [1] https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:surface >> >> Toby >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> Talk-us mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-us >> >> > _______________________________________________ > Talk-us mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-us > > -- Dave Swarthout Homer, Alaska Chiang Mai, Thailand Travel Blog at http://dswarthout.blogspot.com
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