Foundation/Local Chapters/United States/Pedestrian Working Group/Guide

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Notice
 PWG Main Page: Latest release - do not edit! Direct comments to the Draft Talk (Guide, Schema) pages!


This is a quick-start guide for pedestrian infrastructure mapping developed by the Pedestrian Working Group.

A full tagging schema for pedestrian infrastructure mapping is available here.

Questions? Email pedestrian@openstreetmap.us!

Anatomy of a Sidewalk

Our end-goal is mapping for a sidewalk network for navigation.

Tiers

A tier-based system is used to communicate which features and tags are possible with various resources and necessary for which use cases, as follows, with further details below:

Icon Name Description Use Cases Required Resources
Circular icon containing a pedestrian symbol with a bronze-colored background.
 Bronze Basic geometry and essential tags Basic everyday pedestrian navigation (Older) Low-quality aerial imagery
Circular icon containing a pedestrian symbol with a silver-colored background.
 Silver Detailed geometry and tagging Accessibility-focused applications (Somewhat recent) Medium-quality aerial imagery and/or low-quality street-level imagery
Circular icon containing a pedestrian symbol with a gold-colored background.
 Gold Micromapping and advanced tagging Advanced routers and visualizations (Recent) High-quality aerial and/or street-level imagery or in-person survey

If, for example, you want to map pedestrian infrastructure so that it can be used for basic everyday routing and only have low-quality aerial imagery available, you would include only the features and tags marked with a Bronze Tier symbol.

If you have access to high-quality imagery and want to map pedestrian infrastructure so that it can be used by accessibility-focused routers, you would include all features and tags marked with a Bronze Tier symbol or a Silver Tier symbol.

Mapping Guidelines

Sidewalks

  • way Sidewalk Way Mapping:
highway=footway + footway=sidewalk - Representational mapping of sidewalk centerline.

Crossings

  • node Crossing Node Mapping:
highway=crossing + footway=crossing - Node attached to the intersecting road, indicating the location of a crossing.
  • way Crossing Way Mapping:
highway=footway + footway=crossing - Representational mapping of crossing centerline.
⚠️ NOTE: The tactile_paving=* tag is common on footway=crossing way ways, but often incorrect because the tag, when applied to ways, is meant to indicate linear wayfinding tactile paving that is present along the entire way. This is exceedingly rare in the United States, so please review this section of the tactile_paving=* page for additional information and fix the tactile_paving=* tag if it is present and incorrect!

Connectors (exact tagging schema pending)

  • way Connector Way Mapping:
highway=? + ?=? - Connecting sidewalk centerlines and curb nodes, bridging representational mapping of centerlines and literal mapping of curb locations.

Curbs

  • node Curb Node Mapping:
barrier=kerb - Literal mapping of curb locations.

Elements

Included below are the Bronze Tier and Silver Tier tags, which represent a good level of detail to aim for while balancing the amount of work required to map pedestrian infrastructure in detail.

For a full listing of tags and their tier classifications, refer to the full schema here.

Sidewalks

  • way Sidewalk Way Tagging:
highway=footway + footway=sidewalk - Indicate sidewalk location
surface=* - Sidewalk surface material
surface=concrete - Concrete surface material
surface=asphalt - Asphalt surface material
surface=* - Any other applicable value

Crossings

  • way Crossing Way Tagging Only:
highway=footway + footway=crossing - Indicate crossing location
  • node Crossing Node Tagging Only:
highway=crossing - Indicate crossing location
tactile_paving=* - Specify tactile paving presence at curb nodes
tactile_paving=yes - Tactile paving is present at both curbs
tactile_paving=partial - Tactile paving is present at only one curb
tactile_paving=no - Tactile paving is not present at either curb
  • nodeway Crossing Node and Way Tagging:
crossing:markings=* - Specify presence and type of markings
crossing:markings=no - No markings
crossing:markings=yes - Markings present, type unspecified
crossing:markings=zebra - Zebra markings
crossing:markings=lines - Lines markings
crossing:markings=* - Any other applicable value
crossing:signals=* - Specify presence and type of signalization
crossing:signals=no - No signals
crossing:signals=yes - Signals present
crossing:island=* - Presence of pedestrian island
surface=* - Crossing surface material
surface=concrete - Concrete surface material
surface=asphalt - Asphalt surface material
surface=* - Any other applicable value

Curbs

  • node Curb Node Tagging:
barrier=kerb - Indicate curb location
kerb=* - Specify curb type:
kerb=raised - Raised curb
kerb=lowered - Curb ramp
kerb=flush - Flush curb
tactile_paving=* - Specify tactile paving presence
tactile_paving=yes - Tactile paving is present
tactile_paving=no - Tactile paving is not present

Islands

  • way Traffic Island Way Tagging:
highway=footway + footway=traffic_island - Indicate traffic island location
surface=* - Traffic island surface material
surface=concrete - Concrete surface material
surface=asphalt - Asphalt surface material
surface=* - Any other applicable value

Access Aisles

  • way Access Aisle Way Tagging:
highway=footway + footway=access_aisle - Indicate access aisle location
access_aisle:markings=* - Specify presence and type of markings
access_aisle:markings=no - No markings
access_aisle:markings=yes - Markings present, type unspecified
access_aisle:markings=zebra - Zebra markings
access_aisle:markings=ladder:skewed - Skewed ladder markings
access_aisle:markings=* - Any other applicable value
surface=* - Access aisle surface material
surface=concrete - Concrete surface material
surface=asphalt - Asphalt surface material
surface=* - Any other applicable value

Roadways

  • way Roadway Way Tagging:
highway=* - Indicate roadway location
sidewalk:side=* (sidewalk:left=* | sidewalk:right=* | sidewalk:both=*)
sidewalk:side=no - No associated sidewalk present
sidewalk:side=separate - Associated sidewalk is present and mapped as separate geometry

In-editor Examples

In many cases, centerlines break down as a model for complex intersections of footways. At intersections of three or more footways, it is often necessary to position the intersection point at the centroid of each incoming way. At the top left of this image, the intersection of seven converging footways is smoothed by creating multiple intersection points. When mapping intersections like this, it's important to consider directions of travel: if a pedestrian were to enter this intersection via way A and exit via way B, could their route be reasonably drawn along these centerlines?
In this example, two access aisles enter a parking lot across from each other. While a footway=access_aisle way ends where painted markings end, it is valuable here to connect the access aisles with an unmarked crossing to denote this navigable route.
At this corner, two perpendicular sidewalk centerlines cross but individually continue to meet the curb at two locations. Notably, one direction of travel has a curb ramp with tactile paving while the other one does not.
In this example, it makes sense to have the sidewalk centerlines at an intersection extend out to respective curb ramps. However, their ways are still split similar to "stubs" in other examples. This is so that we can tag surface=concrete rather than surface=paving_stones where appropriate.
A typical intersection corner with sidewalk centerlines mapped. Two perpendicular sidewalks converge at a single curb ramp, with a sidewalk stub connecting out to a lowered curb node and crossing ways.
Here, two curb ramps are installed at a single corner to serve crossings in different directions. Multiple stub ways are used to connect them to sidewalk centerlines to the north.
An example of a rounded corner with two curb ramps. The ramps are separated by a curb (not mapped). Separate sidewalk stubs connect each ramp to the sidewalk centerline.
Sometimes pedestrian infrastructure elements interact with driveways. Here, a marked crossing ends at a driveway (highlighted way) on its east side. The driveway apron in this example qualifies as a lowered curb.


PWG Guide and PWG Schema Releases

PWG Guide Releases
Latest Permanent link to latest version:
wiki.osm.org/PWG_Guide
Draft Permanent link to latest draft:
wiki.osm.org/PWG_Guide_Draft
Talk Permanent link to talk page:
wiki.osm.org/PWG_Guide_Talk
Version Date Changelog
1.0.0 2025-11-19 • Initial release
1.0.0-beta 2025-05-23 • Initial pre-release
PWG Schema Releases
Latest Permanent link to latest version:
wiki.osm.org/PWG_Schema
Draft Permanent link to latest draft:
wiki.osm.org/PWG_Schema_Draft
Talk Permanent link to talk page:
wiki.osm.org/PWG_Schema_Talk
Version Date Changelog
1.0.0 2025-11-19 • Initial release
1.0.0-beta 2025-05-23 • Initial pre-release
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