Cycleway lane on the left

emmexx · 2009-02-25T14:48:51.000Z

I’d like to know the tags needed to map a cycleway similar to this one (http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/IT:Piste_Ciclabili) but which is on the left side of the road.
I tagged it (as suggested on the italian wiki) as cycleway= opposite_lane but I don’t know if this is correct.

Thank you
maxx

JRA · 2009-02-25T17:38:34.000Z

I am an end user of OSM data, utilising it with a bunch of popular GIS programs and I would say that if only possible, just draw the cycleway as a separate way and don’t start to fiddle with left/right/east/west/opposite or the like. I believe it is better for OSM data too because then you can give also attributes for the cycleway (surcafe, restrictions etc.). But there are for sure other and as good opinions than mine.

emj · 2009-02-25T18:25:16.000Z

Yeah make a new way.

OSM doesn’t handle opposite_lane very well, neither does it handle the case of “same physical road, two different ways”. I don’t see any good solution to it either, I mean maps with to many ways makes me crazy.

Lambertus · 2009-02-25T18:51:30.000Z

emj:

I don’t see any good solution to it either, I mean maps with to many ways makes me crazy.

That’s a question of good render stylesheet design. For OSM in general the following applies: the more data the better and more ways is better then less.

emj · 2009-02-26T14:36:26.000Z

No, I’m sorry but that isn’t correct. Even though more data is usually good, and I think every one should dump raw GPX logs on OSM, it’s usually not practical, so people edit their GPX logs and then upload.

In the same way it’s very hard to make a program that simplfies complex maps (The one above), and impossible to make stylsheets that does it correctly. This is is a problem that will need to be addressed if micro mapping, relations, and other domain specific mappings are going to be able to coexist.