1 - e7andy
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Trunk roads are not suitable for running
At least in Sweden it is allowed to walk and run on trunk roads, but they are not designed for it and the speeds are high. The standard are often similar to motorways. So it is probably wise to exclude trunk: 'highway' !~ 'trunk'
I can't tag them with foot = no since it is not forbidden by law to walk on them. I've already tried that in OSM but it was reverted and I got a lecture in how it works 
Here is a road marked as "trunk" that I don't want to run on:
https://goo.gl/maps/HLrQxu5Dh83aCxsL9
I can probably run in the median...or maybe if I do it in the middle of the night and jump over the fence to avoid any traffic...
- Admin
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Re: Trunk roads are not suitable for running
I agree that you should not run on that road! Please do not put your safety at risk.
However, roads tagged highway=trunk are perfectly runnable in other areas. In my town, there is one such road that has quite wide shoulders, and it is no problem to run on it (provided you don't mind the cars whizzing by). So, excluding highway=trunk is not a good solution. Personally, I think the strict interpretation that prevents foot=no applying to places like that is pretty stupid, as pedestrian routers should definitely not be routing you down those roads. But alas, that seems to be a difference in interpretation in different parts of the world.
I would be perfectly willing to look at other tagging that might describe non-runnable roads, such as the lack of sidewalks, or no shoulders, speed limit, etc. If you could come up with a "rule" expressed in OSM tagging, I would be happy to implement such a change.
Last edited by Admin (1/22/2021 12:23 am)
- e7andy
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Re: Trunk roads are not suitable for running
I understand. I will see if other tags in OSM can be used to remove roads that are unsafe and unsuitable for walking and running.
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Thread Starter- JohnC
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Re: Trunk roads are not suitable for running
I came across the same issue here in the UK. A section of a local 70mph dual carriageway appeared as a runnable section due to it having a common name assigned in OSM.
I tried to set the access to no as a practical solution, but an OSM person appeared and I got the lecture too!
I think setting the foot access to 'discouraged' might fit. It adheres to the OSM documentation (deemed subjective where not physically signed). These sections could (are?) excluded from the street index used.
- e7andy
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Re: Trunk roads are not suitable for running
JohnC wrote:
II think setting the foot access to 'discouraged' might fit. It adheres to the OSM documentation (deemed subjective where not physically signed). These sections could (are?) excluded from the street index used.
That sounds like a good idea.
I've checked the documentation for the access tag and it says:
"A legal right of way exists (see yes) but usage is officially discouraged (e.g., HGVs on narrow but passable lanes). Only if marked by a traffic sign (subjective otherwise)."
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:access
What I've marked in bold could mean that it must be marked by a traffic sign that discourage access for certain traffic.
Is it ok with subjective access tags in OSM?
Last edited by e7andy (1/22/2021 5:43 am)
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Thread Starter- Admin
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Re: Trunk roads are not suitable for running
Would the tag motorroad=yes be an acceptable tag for this situation?
- JohnC
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Re: Trunk roads are not suitable for running
The use of subjective tags is not completely clear, but I've not had an OSM person contact me after I used it (yet).
In the UK there isn't a physical 'discouraged' sign or equivalent for foot traffic, so it's hard to see how it could ever be official. We have had instances locally of the police picking up people, who were walking at the side of fast dual carriageways, and dropping them somewhere safer. That feels a bit offical 
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Re: Trunk roads are not suitable for running
We have had instances locally of the police picking up people, who were walking at the side of fast dual carriageways, and dropping them somewhere safer. That feels a bit offical
That sounds like foot=no is completely reasonable in that case!
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Re: Trunk roads are not suitable for running
I've opened a new thread on the OpenStreetMap tagging mailing list, for anyone that wants to follow along: https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/tagging/2021-January/058857.html
- Admin
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Re: Trunk roads are not suitable for running
I've made some changes to the inclusion/exclusion criteria.
StreetFerret will now exclude roads that are tagged highway=trunk AND have both:
sidewalk=no
shoulder=no
In addition, motorroad=no will also be excluded.
I would recommend that the roads in question be tagged as having no sidewalk and no shoulder, as there should be no question of the verifiability of that tagging.
You can use the following link to test out what StreetFerret will include for a particular city:
http://overpass-turbo.eu/s/12Id
Note that you will have to change the city name from "Boston" to the city of your choice. Hope this solves the problem (and.. makes OSM more accurate in Sweden!)