Similar to Naming junctions but wanting guidance on backcountry trails aka foot pathways.
TLDR: Can junction=yes be used on foot paths that split-up or merge if that point is named?
There is a hiking backcountry trail in a decommissioned provincial park in Ontario, Canada. It has a marked trail that’s maintained by a volunteer organization. It spans a large area of the province and wayfinding can be tricky. It’s called the Ganaraska Trail (Wilderness Section).
There are key forks in the trail that have been named as part of wayfinding and milestones of the hike (e.g. Petticoat Junction, Otter Junction, Blackfly Junction, etc.). They’re often signed on the trail and are part of key decisions for your trip.
So far I’ve found OSM nodes for these named path forks but they’re only point features (example) and not junction=, so it doesn’t show up in the map for the lay-person.
In a perfect world, I’d see these named diverging or converging trail paths in mapping software so I know where I am going.
Is this a valid case for using junction=yes on the point where footpaths split up? The OSM wiki for junction=* seems to concern itself primarily with roads.
Short version: yes. I’ve used it for things like Saddle Junction in Mount Spokane State Park: it’s a six-way junction with a signpost, a couple of informal benches, and a map.
Can or should you use junction=yes on these sorts of pathway intersections? I think you’re going to get yesses, nos and every answer in between. As you pointed out, the genesis and usage of the junction=* key is for vehicular roads, not hiking trails…
Can or should you add a name to a pathway intersection that has a well-known and even signposted name? I think yes, categorically.
Forgive my ignorance, but in terms of named things naturally showing up on the map in the case I described, is junction= the avenue or is there something better based on my particular scenario?
And I guess more broadly, what determines what named features show up on a map without tapping/clicking it?
The core of OpenStreetMap is a database of geographic information. Each user of that information (such as the Carto map style used on the openstreetmap.org website) is free to make their own decisions about what information to present – for example, the map style used by my local bus line shows only roads and buildings.