Tag:designation=public_footpath
 designation = public_footpath
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A legal classification of a highway on which the public have a right to travel on foot. 
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| Group: highways |
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| Status: in use |
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The tag designation=public_footpath is used to describe the legal classification of a highway (e.g. highway=footway).
Current usage
- Main article: Access provisions in the United Kingdom
This tag is almost exclusively used in England and Wales to describe a type of public right of way, known as a public footpath. A public footpath is way along which unobstructed public access, via foot, is legally enshrined by the UK's Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. The route of the public footpath will be contained within a local authority's definite map and statement. Such footpaths may cross public or private land, and may be paved or completely invisible on the ground.
In England and Wales, this tag is to be used only for a way legally designated as a public footpath. In Northern Ireland, there is some usage on legally designated footpaths. There is some usage of the tag in Scotland, but no direct legal equivalent to it there. It should usually be accompanied by the following tags:
highway=*foot=designateddesignation=public_footpathprow_ref=*(if known)
In England and Wales, a public footpath confers a legal right of way on foot only. Most highway authorities generally state that a bicycle is not considered a pedestrian’s "usual accompaniment" on a public footpath, and that cycling, pushing, or carrying a bicycle is not part of the public right of way and therefore requires the landowner’s permission[1][2]. If explicitly signposted or otherwise known, the actual permissions may be recorded explicitly using access tags such as bicycle=no + bicycle:pushing=no or, where cycling is permitted by the landowner or by signage, bicycle=permissive.
Note, the highway=* tag does not necessarily need to be highway=footway as public footpaths may share a route with a higher classification of highway. For example, it is very common for public footpaths in the countryside to also be farm tracks and so the more appropriate tag is highway=track. See Further guidance on tagging Public Rights of Way in the United Kingdom for more information on this.