Key:sidewalk

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Public-images-osm logo.svg sidewalk
Sidewalk and zebra-crossing.jpg
Description
Indicates the presence or absence of a sidewalk (pavement/footway). Show/edit corresponding data item.
Group: highways
Used on these elements
should not be used on nodesmay be used on waysshould not be used on areasshould not be used on relations (except multipolygon relations)
Requires
Useful combination
See also
Status: de factoPage for proposal
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
none 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:

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:

Sample of Sidewalks and footways (with knobs on) in JOSM. The dashed lines along the street indicate the presence (separately mapped or implied) or absence of sidewalks.

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 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.

A highway=cycleway with a sidewalk that splits off. Note that the way is aligned to the centre line of the cycleway. The cycleway with sidewalk=right here is rendered as a dotted light green line. The part where the sidewalk has branched off is tagged with sidewalk:right=separate, shown in a dashed dark green.

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

Combined footway and cycleway

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

Possible tagging mistakes

If you know places with this tag, verify if it could be tagged with another tag.
Automated edits are strongly discouraged unless you really know what you are doing!
If you know places with this tag, verify if it could be tagged with another tag.
Automated edits are strongly discouraged unless you really know what you are doing!
If you know places with this tag, verify if it could be tagged with another tag.
Automated edits are strongly discouraged unless you really know what you are doing!
If you know places with this tag, verify if it could be tagged with another tag.
Automated edits are strongly discouraged unless you really know what you are doing!

See also

References