Key:sidewalk
 sidewalk
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| Description |
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Indicates the presence or absence of a sidewalk (pavement/footway). 
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| Group: highways |
| Used on these elements |
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| Useful combination |
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| See also |
Status: de facto
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| Tools for this tag |
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- Main article: Sidewalks
The sidewalk=* key can be used to indicate the presence or absence of a sidewalk (pavement/footway/footpath) alongside a street where the footway runs parallel to the carriageway.
Using just the sidewalk=* tag without drawing the actual sidewalks is called the "refinement of the highway" approach. Alternatively, sidewalks can be mapped as separate footways, see Sidewalks for details on this distinction.
When mapping sidewalks separately (or just one side separate and the other using sidewalk=*) the street can be tagged with sidewalk:both=separate, sidewalk:left=separate, or sidewalk:right=separate, depending on which side or sides of the street have a separately mapped sidewalk.
Usage
To provide information about sidewalks associated with streets, add the sidewalk=* tag to the highway=* way representing the street and add any additional tags (below) describing the sidewalk.
The values left and right depend on the direction in which the way is drawn in OpenStreetMap. A value of left means the left-hand side of the road when looking in forward direction, while right means the right-hand side. See Forward & backward, left & right for more.
For footpaths besides railways (railway=*) please use a separate way (e.g. highway=footway).
Values
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
| both | Both sides of the street have sidewalks. |
| right | Only a sidewalk on the right side of the way representing the street. |
| left | Only a sidewalk on the left side of the way representing the street. |
| no | There is no sidewalk at all. If sidewalk is there but is unusable, see Sidewalks#Permanently unusable sidewalks and Sidewalks#Temporarily unusable sidewalks |
| Synonym of no, deprecated | |
| lane | Either both sides or one side of this street have a lane dedicated for pedestrian movement. See Sidewalks#As a pedestrian lane on the road for alternative ways to map that |
| yes | Either both sides or one side of this street have sidewalks. Use a more specific tag if possible. |
| separate | This road has sidewalks but these are mapped using separate ways. Consider the more specific tags below. |
Separately mapped sidewalks
When a sidewalk is mapped separately, the separate value can be used to indicate this on the street itself, but when used as sidewalk=separate it isn't clear whether there is a separate sidewalk on both or just on one side. sidewalk:both=*, sidewalk:left=*, and sidewalk:right=* can be used as follows to be more specific.
When there is a separately mapped sidewalk on both sides of the street, sidewalk:both=separate can be used (this is more explicit than the slightly ambiguous sidewalk=separate.
When there is a separately mapped sidewalk on only one side of the street (e.g., when there is a narrow grass verge or parking bays that separate it from the carriageway but not on the other side, or the other side lacks a sidewalk altogether). sidewalk:left=* and sidewalk:right=* tags may be used.
| Example | Description |
|---|---|
| sidewalk:both=separate | There is a separately mapped sidewalk on both sides of the road. |
| sidewalk:left=no + sidewalk:right=separate | There is a separately mapped sidewalk on the right side of the road, and no sidewalk on the left. |
| sidewalk:left=yes + sidewalk:right=separate | There is a separately mapped sidewalk on the right side of the road, and a sidewalk on the left which is not mapped separately. |
sidewalk:left=* and sidewalk:right=* are more specific than sidewalk:both=*, which in turn is more specific than sidewalk=*. Mappers should avoid mixing them and prefer sidewalk=* unless the situation cannot be represented by it (such as the three examples listed above).
Additional tags
Additional tags can be added by using the sidewalk: prefix, in combination with the :left/right/both suffix (becoming an infix here). For example:
- sidewalk:both:surface=paving_stones
- sidewalk:left:smoothness=*
- sidewalk:right:width=* / est_width=*
- sidewalk:right:bicycle=yes
- sidewalk:both:incline=*
- sidewalk:both:kerb=*
- sidewalk:both:wheelchair=*
- sidewalk:both:tactile_paving=*
- sidewalk:right:traffic_sign=*
When a sidewalk is mapped separately (as indicated by sidewalk=separate, sidewalk:both=separate, sidewalk:left=separate, or sidewalk:right=separate), then any properties of that sidewalk should be mapped on that separately drawn way instead (not using the above tags on the road itself).
Editing with JOSM
In JOSM the Map Paint Style Sidewalks and footways (with knobs on) can be used to visualize the sidewalk=*, sidewalk:both=*, sidewalk:left=* and sidewalk:right=* tags:
.png)
An alternative is SidewalksPlus (this style currently lacks support for sidewalk:both=*).
Deprecation of sidewalk=none
In discussions on several different forums support has been voiced for the deprecation of sidewalk=none in favour of sidewalk=no, though retagging is not always supported.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
A comparison of the usage of both tags can be found at Taginfo and OSM tag history
Please note that updating none to no without manual review should be done in compliance with the Automated Edits code of conduct.
Usage on cycleways
Cycleways, like streets, can have sidewalks too, the presence of which can be tagged using sidewalk=*. (For the Netherlands, this is the preferred approach[8]).
Like streets with sidewalks, the mapped way 
is then typically aligned to the centre of the cycleway, rather than the middle of both the cycleway and the sidewalk (as in the example below). This prevents a jarring transition where the sidewalk stops or branches off.
Relation to segregated=*
Cycleways can be tagged with segregated=* to indicate whether pedestrians and cyclists have dedicated lanes or share a single lane without segregation. The presence of a sidewalk indicated by a suitable sidewalk=* (or sidewalk:left=* or sidewalk:right=*) value implies segregated=yes (because sidewalks are segregated by definition). segregated=yes can be omitted in this case.
Combined foot- and cycleways
Depending on the country, cycleways with a segregated lane for pedestrians may be considered combined foot- and cycleways instead (sometimes marked with a sign like 
). These can be mapped using multiple tagging schemes; a typical one is highway=path + bicycle=designated + foot=designated + segregated=yes. In such cases — where the footway is considered an integral part of the combined foot- and cycleway — sidewalk=* tends to be omitted in favour of segregated=yes.
A list of tagging schemes for combined foot and cycleways sidewalks can be found on the Sidewalks page.
The distinction between cycleways with sidewalks and combined foot- and cycleways can be subtle (e.g., the presence of absence of a raised kerb, signage, or markings), and may depend on local definitions and culture[9]. As usual, follow the locally dominant tagging scheme, unless the local community agrees to introduce alternative mapping strategies.
Rendering
- A slippy map version is available online. OpenStreetMap detailed overlays generates a road overlay with lanes, cycleways (cycleway=lane), parking and sidewalks rendered at higher zooms (16+).
- Useful Maps 2 feature rendering of sidewalk=* (limited to UK)
- Streets GL renders sidewalk=* tags on highways
Possible tagging mistakes
See also
- footway=* for mapping sidewalks as a separate way
- foot=use_sidepath - Use compulsory parallel footpath instead
- Sidewalks for a survey of sidewalk tagging approaches
- Proposed features/Sidewalk - proposal for this key
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References
- ↑ https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Talk:Key:sidewalk#Is_sidewalk.3Dnone_valid.3F
- ↑ https://github.com/openstreetmap/id-tagging-schema/pull/222
- ↑ https://josm.openstreetmap.de/ticket/21242
- ↑ https://josm.openstreetmap.de/ticket/21235
- ↑ https://github.com/streetcomplete/StreetComplete/pull/3194
- ↑ forum.openstreetmap.org - Netherlands "Overbodig foot=yes en sidewalk=none (door Potlatch?)" from 2017 with discussion restarting in 2021
- ↑ forum.openstreetmap.org - Poland "Przetagowanie botem sidewalk=none na standardowe sidewalk=no" that approved Mechanical Edits/Mateusz Konieczny - bot account/retag sidewalk=none in Poland
- ↑ https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/NL:Cycleway#Troittoir
- ↑ For example in Poland cyclist is generally considered by people as special kind of pedestrian, even if legally cyclist is a special kind of vehicle. This is also reflected in how infrastructure is designed, operated and in de facto law enforcement. As result someone describing footway+cycleway as "cycleway with sidewalk" would be quite weird, even where cycleway and footway are separate by a raised kerb.