Tag:highway=traffic_signals
+/- highway=traffic_signals
A traffic signal for regulating circulation.
Approved Tools for this tag
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Contents |
Description
- See
traffic light on Wikipedia
Traffic signals are automated mechanisms for instructing road users to wait or to proceed at an intersection or section of a road.
Tagging
Traffic signals at crossings for cars
| Tag | Notes |
|---|---|
| Used on node | |
| highway=traffic_signals | |
| ref=* | Reference. |
| traffic_signals:sound=* | Whether there are sound signals for visually impaired people |
| traffic_signals:vibration=* | Whether there are vibrating signals for visually impaired and deaf people |
| traffic_signals:direction=* | Whether this particular signal (when using multiple nodes per crossroad) affects cars moving in the same direction as the way (traffic_signals:direction=forward) or in the opposite direction (traffic_signals:direction=backward). |
| traffic_signals=* | May be used to give details about special types of signals, such as emergency (usually in front of a fire station; only active when needed by emergency vehicles), blinker (a single or double signal that always blinks) or blink_mode (a normal signal that is normally set to blink). |
Traffic signals at crossings for pedestrians
Use crossing=* tag instead of highway=traffic_signals for pedestrian crossings. Add traffic_signals:sound=* if these provide audible indications for the blind.
Please use them on highway=traffic_signals, if the pedestrian crossings are not (yet) tagged separately!
Rendering
| Mapnik | Osmarender | OpenCycleMap | BlindMap [1] |
|---|---|---|---|
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| Pedestrian traffic signals with sound |
How to map
Because traffic signals can affect routing decisions, it is important that they are attached to the ways to which they apply. As of now, there is no well established convention on how this should be done.
For simple intersection of 4 sections, the intersection node is simply tagged. But when it comes to some more complicated intersections, many parameters come into account. See the intersection below
The horizontal ways are actually one large way. The problem is how to make sure the "traffic_signals" is applied to all "ways". To make sure it applies to the two horizontal ways, we should add the tag to both nodes intersecting with the vertical way. But that'd make two separate traffic signals, and there is physically ONE set of traffic signals.
Alternative
Instead putting a traffic light on each crossing, it's also possible to put a traffic light on the incoming ways of a crossing, as shown below. Some people already do this (note that the traffic signals on the cycleways are also mapped).
This has the advantage that routing applications will only count one traffic light on that crossing when you pass it (and will only give one time penalty). While, if you would map on the crossings, certainly with those cycleways, you would get a lot bigger time penalty. The disadvantage is that it only works partially when the crossing is a mix of one-way ways and two-way ways.
Please discuss this on the discussion page or on Proposed features/Set of Traffic Signals.
See also
- Relation:enforcement : to define an enforcement traffic signals ;
- Look and Listen Map - Blindmap
- eWorld+SUMO traffic simulation
- Proposed features/Set of Traffic Signals
Related terms: <traffic signals>
