South African Tagging Guidelines

Uploading GPS track logs

Please always upload gps points with the tag "South_Africa" so other people can search for it Recently Uploaded tracks

Proposed standards for tagging ways:

Road type	Keys	Description	Example	Photo
Any freeway	highway=motorway oneway=yes ref=...	Divided highway with limited access - i.e. on/off ramps.	N1, M5 - only where they are freeways
N roads	highway=trunk ref=N..	The primary network of highways connecting the country together - national roads and the main provincial roads.	N1, N3 (where they are not freeways)
2-digit R roads	highway=primary ref=R..	Major routes off the national highway network.	R27, R43 (where they are not freeways)
3-digit R roads	highway=secondary ref=R...	Minor inter-town routes.	R101, R326 (where they are not freeways)
"low-number" M roads	highway=primary ref=M..	The major roads within a metropolitan area.	M3, M12 (where they are not freeways)
"high-number" M roads	highway=secondary ref=M..	Smaller main roads within a metropolitan area.	M52 (where they are not freeways)
other roads	highway=unclassified or highway=residential	Everything else.

Also have a look at Map features

Translating street-name abbreviations

When using the name=* tag on streets you should use the full name, not an abbreviation (i.e. Main Street, not Main St). The following table lists some abbreviations and their English/Afrikaans equivalents.

English		Afrikaans
Abbreviations	Name	Abbreviations	Name
AVE	Avenue	LN	Laan
BLVD	Boulevard
CRES	Crescent	SGL	Singel
DR	Drive	RLN	Rylaan
RD	Road	WEG	Weg
ST, STR	Street	ST, STR	Straat