South African Tagging Guidelines

Specific tagging guidelines for South Africa

Uploading GPS track logs

Please always upload gps points with the tag "South_Africa" so other people can search for it Recently Uploaded tracks

Proposed standards for tagging ways:

Road type	Keys	Description	Example	Photo
Any freeway	highway=motorway oneway=yes ref=...	Divided highway with limited access - i.e. on/off ramps.	N1, M5 - only where they are freeways
N roads	highway=trunk ref=N..	The primary network of highways connecting the country together - national roads and the main provincial roads.	N1, N3 (where they are not freeways)
2-digit R roads	highway=primary ref=R..	Major routes off the national highway network.	R27, R43 (where they are not freeways)
3-digit R roads	highway=secondary ref=R...	Minor inter-town routes.	R101, R326 (where they are not freeways)
"low-number" M roads	highway=primary ref=M..	The major roads within a metropolitan area.	M3, M12 (where they are not freeways)
"high-number" M roads	highway=secondary ref=M..	Smaller main roads within a metropolitan area.	M52 (where they are not freeways)
other roads	highway=unclassified or highway=residential	Everything else.

Also have a look at Map features

Translating street-name abbreviations

When using the name=* tag on streets you should use the full name, not an abbreviation (i.e. Main Street, not Main St). The following table lists some abbreviations and their English/Afrikaans equivalents.

English		Afrikaans
Abbreviations	Name	Abbreviations	Name
AL	Alley		Steeg
AVE	Avenue	LN	Laan
BLVD	Boulevard		Kringweg/boulevard
CL	Close
CRES	Crescent	SGL	Singel
DR	Drive	RLN	Rylaan
PL	Place		Oord
RD	Road	WEG	Weg
ST, STR	Street	ST, STR	Straat