Ship lock self_service/automated/manual

General talk
1

When researching for a new Street Complete quest for locks, a few questions came up: Quest: Is this lock self_service. · Issue #6540 · streetcomplete/StreetComplete · GitHub

The current description of the self_service tag on the locks wiki page is:

the lock is operated by switches or a remote control from the captain of the ship

This makes it sound like:

  1. Any lock with switches, regardless of who operates them is self service
  2. manual locks (ones that are operated with muscle power) are never self service

This is not how I would understand self service locks, and also does not match how authorities use it, for example River Thames: lock keeper service - GOV.UK says:

Self-service - no lock keeper working at the lock.

Which better matches my understanding (a lock where the user must operate it themselves).

Some of the locks listed are also only self service on certain days, and manned on others, how would you tag this? The self_service wiki presents the following values:

  • yes = self-service, but not specified

  • only = Self-service only

  • partially = Partial self-service

  • no = No self-service

From my intuition I would use partially for such locks that are operated by staff on some days, while operated by the user on others, and only for locks that are always self_service. However since these tags have 1 and 0 usage on locks respectively it seems like this is not mapped regularly.

Additionally the description of the automated tag also feels weird:

the lock is operated from a control room

Does this imply that a self_service lock, where the user simply needs to press a button to operate it. would not be automated?

Finally, is there any case which you would tag manual=yes and automated=yes or manual=no and automated=no? It seems like these two tags contain duplicate information.

Also tagging @geozeisig since you wrote the descriptions in the wiki

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2

For bicycle pumps “manual” means that they are manually powered (e.g. by cranking a handle or more commonly, by pressing a lever with your feet). If we’d translate this to locks, self_service=yes + manual=yes would mean that I can open the lock myself by cranking a handle

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4

Perhaps, we can have self_service=mo-fr 09:00-18:00 if it is self-service during certain hours and operating during others?

5

This tagging seems like the wrong way to go about it.

Even just in the UK there are many varieties of lock operation:

  • River Severn: locks are keeper-operated during certain timetabled hours, no user operation possible
  • River Thames: locks may be keeper-operated during certain timetabled hours, user operation possible when keeper not present
  • Most canals: locks user-operated at all times
  • Some locks on canals: locks user-operated but volunteer lock-keepers may be present to operate or assist

(And then the method of user operation varies, so sometimes you’ll need a windlass, sometimes a windlass and a key, sometimes just a key, sometimes a windlass and a handspike, etc. etc.)

None of this is captured very well in OSM at the moment, and given the tagging scheme outlined on the wiki page I’m not really surprised. Perhaps a better scheme might be something like:

  • operation:keeper=yes - lock is operated by lock-keeper
  • operation:boater=no - lock cannot be operated by boater

and then you can start adding conditional tagging for the hours during which the keeper’s present, you can add keys/windlasses/remote control fobs/etc. as a value (operation:boater=windlass), and so on.

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6

That’s the problem of using time in self_service= only. There can be other combinations.

  • Severn: opening_hours= ?
  • Thames: self_service:conditional=only @ (18:00-09:00)
  • Most: self_service=only
  • Some: It’s not a must to consider volunteers? They can be treated as occasional, sometimes happens to be there to help. Or more exactly eg =optional can be used instead of =yes as unspecified. There was once a question in repair or DIY workshops or something, about how to distinguish the level of staff assistance, whether they will only give instructions and advice, or they can actually help you do it when asked.

self_service= is still at its infancy, only good enough for =fuel and =laundry where there isn’t much to do. It can be improved further.
It doesn’t seem necessary to be as specific as *:boater=windlass , unless the tools needed by the keeper and boater are different. Keys are locked=yes , and the windlass or handspike should be another attribute. Maybe it’s weird, but man_made=pump has handle= for how you operate it, that seems reusable.

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7

In addition to what Kovoschiz said, it feels like the vast majority of these varieties can be mapped with the suggested scheme:

self_service=no, opening_hours=X

self_service= partially, opening_hours=24/7

self_service= only, opening_hours=24/7

self_service= partially, opening_hours=24/7

How would you tag multiple tools being required?