Talk:Tag:cycleway=track

Protected bike lanes as separate ways

This article simultaneously says that a protected bike lane can be mapped as a separate way tagged highway=cycleway and that the combination highway=cycleway cycleway=track is invalid. Should such ways lack a cycleway=* tag? If so, how to distinguish these protected bike lane ways from dedicated bike path ways (e.g., in the middle of a park)?

The guidance about highway=cycleway cycleway=track seems to be focused an old practice of automatically tagging every dedicated bike path with cycleway=track, but this is actually a valid tag combination when mapping protected bike lanes as separate ways, right?

 – Minh Nguyễn ^💬 18:29, 8 February 2022 (UTC)

cycleway=* is a property of a road - whether/what kind of cycleway is present for this road-way. It is a (a bit) ambiguous short-hand for cycleway:left=* + cycleway:right=* set to the same value. highway=cycleway defines a way as a cycleway. Adding cycleway=track to a highway=cycleway thus is like saying that this cycle track has a cycle track (left and right). --Westnordost (talk) 18:34, 8 February 2022 (UTC)

@Westnordost: Yet cycleway=crossing also exists. In this sense, cycleway=track is just iterative refinement of highway=cycleway. I can understand how this overloaded usage of cycleway=* could be confusing to some data consumers, but on the other hand, there should be a tag to distinguish a protected bike lane from a dedicated bike path. oneway=yes sometimes works for that purpose, but there are two-way protected bike paths within the roadway, and there are also one-way dedicated bike paths away from any roadway. Incidentally, one-way cycle tracks are being mapped, but not in such high numbers that an alternative couldn't be introduced. – Minh Nguyễn ^💬 18:42, 8 February 2022 (UTC)

Note that it was primarily added as result of Potlatch 1 preset bug, see https://help.openstreetmap.org/questions/65366/highwaycycleway-cyclewaytrack I am not aware about people deliberately adding it. Though maybe someone is using it in way you describe? Mateusz Konieczny (talk) 09:16, 9 February 2022 (UTC)

@Mateusz Konieczny: Yes, I'm aware of that Potlatch bug, but this query generally finds deliberate usage of this tag on protected bike lanes, which are generally one-way. – Minh Nguyễn ^💬 09:50, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

There's cycleway=sidepath together with path=sidepath. --- Kovposch (talk) 07:51, 9 February 2022 (UTC)

@Kovposch: Thanks, it's inconsistent with cycleway=track on roadways but adequate to make the distinction I was asking about. – Minh Nguyễn ^💬 09:50, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

I use the more flexible is_sidepath=yes plus subkeys. I do not like the idea of adding cycleway=* to highway=cycleway, especially, if the same values are used as additional tag for the main road. --Skyper (talk) 15:46, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

To avoid the described issue with highway=cycleway + cycleway=track, I use cycleway:type=* in my area (still undocumented and rarely in use). Typical values are track, crossing, sometimes also lane or link (for "virtual" connections).

To specify protected bike lanes, you can have a look at the Separation Proposal. --Supaplex030 (talk) 08:43, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

What's the difference with cycleway=*? Seems arbitrary. There's no key conflict here. Although footway=sidewalk is not used on roads, there have been ideas eg footway=lane before. --- Kovposch (talk) 12:23, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

Whether there is a difference or not depends on the interpretation. As described above, cycleway=* is traditionally defined as the existence of a cycle path, not as a type. (Since footway=* is not in fact used in this sense, this problem does not arise there). We have discussed this for a while in our local community and decided to prefer cycleway:type=* for now. When it is clear that highway=cycleway + cycleway=* is interpreted correctly [Edit: Or better: not wrong, i.e. not as a cycle path with a cycle path - this is what the JOSM template does, for example], the tagging can easily be moved again. Personally, I would also prefer just cycleway=*. --Supaplex030 (talk) 12:39, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

Well, footway=* was used for both in the past but replaced by sidewalk=*. I prefer the same for cycleway=* as it adds less honeypots for misinterpretations. --Skyper (talk) 15:46, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

Far too subjective

The given criteria of "separated from the road by curbs, parking lots, grass verges, trees or another physical barrier" makes it a separate entity. It requires the *primary* tag highway=cycleway. "but is running parallel to and next to the road." < How much divergence is required to make it not "parallel"? How far way before it's not "next to" the road? Are there any renders which show cycleway=track? Even the main page cycle maps don't display. --DaveF63 (talk) 17:45, 27 April 2022 (UTC)