Tag:highway=footway
 highway = footway
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A path mainly or exclusively for pedestrians. 
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| Rendering in OSM Carto |
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| Group: highways |
| Used on these elements |
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| Status: de facto |
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The tag highway=footway is used for mapping minor pathways which are used mainly or exclusively by pedestrians.
When to use
Footways tend to be constructed and either paved or with smooth surface (compacted, wood or similar). The elderly and small children and quite often also wheelchair users can use them with ease. They tend to be in urban settings, but not always. Access is primarily for pedestrians, which is often specified by street signs (or implied by local law).
- Paths kept mainly by the fact of people walking on them or paths that are only minimally constructed are usually tagged as highway=path. Their surface might be uneven (typically ground) and one might need to be physically fit and situationally aware to use them. They tend to be located outside of urban enviromnent. Hiking trails are a typical example and sac_scale=*, trail_visibility=*, surface=* and access=* are useful. However, in some countries like the UK or others, this distinction does not hold and highway=footway can be used for these too.
- For ways used mainly or exclusively by cyclists, use highway=cycleway.
- For ways used mainly or exclusively by horses, use highway=bridleway.
- For ways used mainly or exclusively for motorcycles, use highway=path + motorcycle=yes or motorcycle=designated.
- For ways closed to cars but open to motorcycles, cyclists, horses or other users without clear primary user, use highway=path with appropriate access tags.
- For wider pedestrianised streets, typically lined with shops or commercial buildings, use the highway=pedestrian.
- For ways designated for pedestrians, but which also allows bicycles, use either highway=footway and bicycle=yes or highway=path, foot=designated and bicycle=yes.
- For roads for cars used to access land for mostly agricultural or forestry purposes, use highway=track.
- For sidewalks that span a road, see Sidewalks.
How to map
Linear ways
To map a footway nothing else than a simple way is required. Add the highway=footway tag to it and add a name=* if appropriate.
Add access=* restriction tags if appropriate. See default access restrictions.
If the footway is associated with a road, then add the footway=sidewalk tag.
The way footway=* or highway=footway should join with another kind of way for routing porposes. For motivation, see Beginners Guide step 5, or Editing Standards and Conventions.
| Example photos | Example tracking | Referring tag | Comment |
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Sidewalk referenced by the letter S on the image in the “Example tracking” column. +highway=footway (defines the way). |
In case of footway not immediately adjacent to a highway=* and that is wide enough, for example in a park, consider highway=pedestrian. |
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Sidewalk referenced by the letter S on the image in the “Example tracking” column. +highway=footway (defines the way). |
Reference B letter
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Referenced by the letters S – C – C1 – C2 on the image in the “Example tracking” column. +highway=footway (defines the way). |
Areas
There is no clear consensus on this topic – see the talk page for more information.
There are two main approaches to mapping the area of a highway=footway, and which to use is dependent upon the context of the area you're mapping. If you are mapping the area of a footway simply to describe the area it covers (e.g., rather than using width=*, perhaps because the width is variable) then it is recommended to use the area:highway=footway tag.
If, however, you are mapping the area of a footway because this provides non-linear routing —for example, large sidewalk areas— then you can map the area as highway=footway and area=yes. This tagging scheme is similar to the well-established highway=pedestrian + area=yes tagging scheme used when mapping pedestrian areas such as plazas and squares. However, there is a clear distinction between highway=footway and highway=pedestrian, and so we should not conflate these two types of highways.
When mapping a highway area, the area should be connected via a node to at least one way. Some mappers chose to continue the way through the area, to enable routers to pick the most straightforward route through the area, but this way should still share nodes with the area (e.g., in the places where it enters and exists the area).
Tags used in combination
- footway=* – type of a footway, e.g.:
- surface=*
- lit=*
- access=* tags, e.g.:
- bicycle=*
- name=* – if it has a name
- informal=yes – additive tag to indicate a informal/unofficial footway
See also
- Path controversy gives explanation how this is different from / similar to highway=path
- UK public rights of way
- Guidelines for pedestrian navigation
- Proposal:One-way_for_pedestrians
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