New York (state)/Route relations/Networks

State Routes

New York state route relations are tagged network=US:NY.

State Route proposal

This proposal suggests expanding the NYS network tags for state routes to account for the several types of NYS route and the varying approaches to signage.

Types of NYS Routes

There are three broad categories of NYS routes, with some overlap.

Touring Routes

Touring routes are conventional state highways. All are signed, and the route numbers are in the range 1-899.

Reference Routes

Reference routes are state maintained highways. In many cases they are considered too insignificant to sign (for the major exception see Parkways below). Note that there are actually 4 reference routes which are signed (961F, 962J, 990L, and 990V). Any tagging scheme must account for these exceptions. Reference Routes have route numbers in the range 900-999, followed by a single letter.

Parkways

New York has an extensive system of parkways, many associated with New York City. These parkways frequently predate the Interstate Highway System and their quality varies greatly. Some meet motorway standards, some are not even close. The signage on the parkways generally consists of their names, with the first letter of each word in the name given special prominence (e.g. the Taconic State Parkway aka TSP). They have reference numbers assigned from the reference route system or from local systems, but may have more than one such number in cases where maintenance is divided between several authorities.

Proposed Tagging changes

unsigned_ref

For reference routes which are unsigned, unsigned_ref=* should be used, e.g.

unsigned_ref=927B

This tag should appear on the relation if the entire route has a single reference route number, and on the ways comprising the route in cases of multiple reference route numbers. This tag should be used on parkways to indicate their assigned number in the reference route system. Note that unsigned_ref=* is not documented, but is in common usage. It probably should be officially adapted.

ref

For touring routes, ref=* will be used in the traditional way. For any reference route where there is signage with the route number, ref=* will also be used. For parkways, ref=* will contain the 3 or 4 letter acronym which is most prominent on the signage, e.g. ref=TSP for the Taconic Staste Parkway.

Network

The proposed network tags match up with the three categories.

Highway category	Network tag value
Touring Route	network=US:NY
Reference Routes	network=US:NY:Reference
Parkway	network=US:NY:Parkway

To Be Addressed

This system does not account for cases where a Parkway is maintained all or in part by a county and so has a reference number in the county system rather than the state system. Suggestions on handling this are welcome.

County routes

network	County	Shield	Ranges
US:NY:Albany	Albany
US:NY:Columbia	Columbia
US:NY:Dutchess	Dutchess
US:NY:Erie	Erie
US:NY:Franklin	Franklin
US:NY:Fulton	Fulton
US:NY:Greene	Greene
US:NY:Montgomery	Montgomery
US:NY:Nassau	Nassau
US:NY:Rensselaer	Rensselaer
US:NY:Saratoga	Saratoga
US:NY:Schenectady	Schenectady
US:NY:Ulster	Ulster
US:NY:Warren	Warren
US:NY:Washington	Washington