I have tired to find some official definitions to clarify this. Here is the Australian Standard definition of a road from AS 1348—2002 "Road and traffic engineering—Glossary of terms":
road: Route trafficable by motor vehicles; in law, the public right-of-way between boundaries of adjoining property In other words, a road is pubic land between two properties, whatever it is surfaced with so a fire trail completely within a State Forest would not not be a road. Track is not defined in AS 1348. In fact, when track is mentioned, it is in relation to railway tracks (the steel things) or the track of a vehicle (width between the wheels). Just to confuse matters, this is what the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water says about tracks in National Parks: "So what's the difference between a *trail *and a *track*? Trails are generally only one lane wide and aren't covered with gravel or any other form of road surface. You can walk or cycle on them. If a trail is open to vehicles, it will often be suitable for 4WDs only. Walking *tracks *are for walkers only. Some are only wide enough for single-file walking; others allow three people to walk comfortably side-by-side. Higher-standard tracks, usually in areas visited by many people, may be surfaced with gravel, tarmac or boardwalks." Here is a pragmatic solution based on AS 1348 and OSM custom: highway=road if it is open to the public and located between property boundaries, regardless of surface. If it is within a property (including National Parks and State Forests): - unsealed: highway=track - sealed: highway=service Cheers. 2009/10/20 Liz <ed...@billiau.net>: > On Tue, 20 Oct 2009, Mark Pulley wrote: >> This might sound like a silly question, but I was wondering if there >> is any guidance on when a road becomes a track. I've been driving on >> dirt roads since I first learnt to drive, so I might tag a way >> highway=unclassified surface=unsealed, where someone who has always >> lived in a capital city might see the same road and tag it >> highway=track tracktype=grade2. I'm particularly thinking of roads >> through forests (in particular of a road near Mt Canobolas, Orange >> NSW), some are in good enough condition to definitely call a proper >> road but others aren't as well maintained, narrower, more eroded. I >> haven't got any sample pictures (was busy driving!) > a couple of weeks ago some rural mappers were in favour of your scheme. > can i drive my car on it easily - road > am i crawling along avoiding obstacles and wishing i had brought my mountain > bike - track > > i don't grade tracks > (personal belief only, if someone else wishes to spend time doing grading > that's fine, but the condition of the surface varies according to when the > council last graded, rain etc) > > > _______________________________________________ > Talk-au mailing list > Talk-au@openstreetmap.org > http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-au >
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