Key:surface
+/- surface
Describes the surface of a feature.
Properties
highway=* Tools for this tag
|
Summary:
- See also Landcover
To provide additional information about the physical surface of roads/footpaths and some other features. Primarily concerned about the surface in relation to transport and sports and more commonly used on linear features. For broader descriptions of surfaces see Landcover.
For roads for motor vehicles there there is normally an assumption that the surface is surface=paved unless otherwise stated. Paved in OpenStreetMap is non-specific and may cover sealed, metalled, tarmac, asphalt, bitumen. surface=unpaved is treated as the opposite of paved. More specific tags can used used for surfaces which are normally classified into paved or unpaved for routing purposes. Navigation software should assume that roads-that-are-not-paved will have slower driving speed (and therefore longer driving time) and may be impassable in some weather conditions. Marking surface of road with tag surface may lead to unwarranted understating priority of road relative to surrounding - so it is recommended to add also tags smoothness=* and maxspeed:practical=*.
Paths for non-motorised use (highway=footway, highway=path etc should ideally always be tagged with surface (or alternatively tracktype=*) given that there is no default for such paths.
Rendering software convention varies, but generally roads-that-are-not-paved are shown in a different colour but same width as their paved cousins or use the same colour but are dashed.
Values
| Key | Value | Element | Comment | Rendering | Photo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paved | ||||||
| surface | paved |  
|
A highway feature is predominantly sealed along its length, i.e. it is covered with paving stones, concrete or bitumen. (This is a rough description of the surface) | |||
| surface | asphalt |
|
This is actually short for Asphalt concrete. It does not mean that the road surface is only asphalt. Most such roads are tagged as surface=paved. | 
| ||
| surface | cobblestone |
|
Rounded stone (true cobblestone) or flattened stone (sett). Cobblestones were largely replaced by setts in the 19th century. |  
| ||
| surface | cobblestone:flattened |
|
| |||
| surface | concrete |
|
specifies surface=paved in greater detail. please use surface=concrete:plates or surface=concrete:lanes if you know how the concrete is laid out. | 
| ||
| surface | concrete:lanes |
|
specifies surface=paved. long, narrow concrete plates laid out for a two-tracked vehicle (motorcars) so that the tires always hit the concrete. there might be sand/ground/grass/pavers/asphalt/etc. in between them. note that if you tag a single-tracked way you just use surface=concrete, since there are no lanes. | 
| ||
| surface | concrete:plates |
|
specifies surface=paved. heavy duty plates chained closely together on the short side. might have tar or sand in between the connections. | 
| ||
| surface | decoturf |
|
DecoTurf is an artificial surface used for some tennis courts. | |||
| surface | paving_stones |
|
Paving stones are equally sized stones, with a flat top. They are comparable to flattened cobblestones (and often used in the same cases), but the gaps between the paving stones are smaller because the stones have a perfectly regular shape (rectangular, or any surface-filling shape). Paving stones are often found in low-traffic streets (like pedestrian zones) because they can't endure heavy traffic. |  
| ||
| surface | paving_stones:30 |
|
Square paving stones with 30cm sides | |||
| surface | paving_stones:20 |
|
Square paving stones with 20cm sides | |||
| surface | tartan |
|
A synthetic, all-weather surface typically used in running and other sport tracks. Although Tartan is a trademark, it is used as a generic term due to its widespread usage. | 
| ||
| surface | User Defined |
|
All commonly used values according to Tagwatch | |||
| Unpaved | ||||||
| surface | unpaved |
|
A highway feature is predominantly unsealed along its length, i.e. it has a loose covering ranging from compacted stone chippings to earth. Unpaved roads may, in aerial imagery, show evidence of water along their course; in such circumstances, the waterway should not be tagged as a stream, though it might appear as such. (This is a rough description of the surface) | |||
| surface | artificial_turf |
|
An all-weather surface made from synthetic fibers to look and feel like natural grass. Often used for tracks and pitches of sports such as football, baseball, etc. | 
| ||
| surface | clay |
|
used for some tennis- and soccerpitch | |||
| surface | compacted |
|
A mixture of larger (e.g. gravel) and smaller (e.g. sand) parts, compacted e.g. with a roller, so the surface is more stable than loose gravel. Used e.g. for park paths, better tracks, some service ways, ... Best sort of ways below paving with asphalt, concrete, paving stones. Sometimes known as water-bound macadam Mixture and compacting leads to more grip and stability | 
| ||
| surface | dirt |
|
| |||
| surface | earth |
|
Probably the same as surface=ground | 
| ||
| surface | fine_gravel |
|
A multilayer pavement with a stone or gravel basis and a topmost surface of firm, granular grit, basalt or quartz, as invented by the Roman empire. Easy to walk, jog, cycle or ride on. In hilly areas mostly with drainage channels and convex cross-section for proper dewatering. motorized vehicles will not move stones if the way is maintained properly, and bicycles tires will not leave any imprints at least in dry weather. If the topmost surface is heavily eroded or loose gravel aggravate going please use surface=gravel instead | 
| ||
| surface | grass |
|
| |||
| surface | grass_paver |
|
 
| |||
| surface | gravel |
|
| |||
| surface | ground |
|
No special surface, the ground itself has marks of human or animal usage. | 
| ||
| surface | ice | ice roads, winter roads | ||||
| surface | metal |
|
sometimes used for bridges, or for temporary tracks over fields for normal road vehicles or site traffic | 
| ||
| surface | mud |
|
Probably the same as surface=ground | 
| ||
| surface | pebblestone |
|
  
| |||
| surface | salt | salt lakes | ||||
| surface | sand |
|
| |||
| surface | snow | winter roads | ||||
| surface | wood |
|
sometimes used for bridges and plank walkways for foot traffic through swampy areas | 
| ||
| surface | User Defined |
|
All commonly used values according to Tagwatch | |||
This table is a wiki template with a default description in English. Editable here.
Surface for foot- and cycleways
If a foot- or cycleway was tagged as a tag (not as a separate way) on a highway (i.e. highway=secondary + cycleway=track/lane), you can add surface by the following syntax:
footway:surface=paving_stones
Or if there is a foot- or cycleway only at one side from street, or there are different surfaces at both sides, you can use right and left (or both, to tag explicit both sides):
cycleway:right:surface=asphalt
cycleway:left:surface=paving_stones
With this syntax you also can add other relevant tags like: smoothness, oneway, bicycle, foot, width, segregated, and more.
See also
A proposal for value hierarchy and all_weather value: Proposed_features/Surface:all_weather.
