Tag:cycleway=opposite

This feature has been labeled as deprecated. The recommended replacement is: oneway:bicycle=* and regular cycleway=* tags.
The reason is documented in Deprecated features. You are still free to continue to use or interpret this tag as you see fit since OpenStreetMap does not have “banned features”.
Under no circumstances should you (semi-)automatically change “deprecated” tags to something else in the database on a large scale without conforming to the automated edits code of conduct. Any such change will be reverted.

cycleway=opposite was used in situations where cyclists are permitted to travel in both directions on a road which is one-way for normal traffic, in situations where there is no dedicated contra-flow lane marked for cyclists. It's deprecated in favour of oneway:bicycle=* and regular cycleway=* tags.

For routing purposes using just oneway:bicycle=no is enough and using only oneway:bicycle=no is getting more and more popular.

When using the combination of the two, this tag, just like cycleway:both=no, can be seen as way to explicitly describe the lack of cycling infrastructure and some may prefer to not spend time on adding it. For example without cycleway:both=no or this tag it is not clear that somebody surveyed location and confirmed that there is no separate contraflow lane.

If used without oneway:bicycle=* on oneway=yes it is usually safe to assume that bicycles can travel in direction opposite to way direction. But it is highly recommended to mark it clearly and add such tag to make data interpretation easier.

Examples

Picture	Tags
	cycleway=opposite oneway:bicycle=no oneway=yes highway=residential surface=asphalt ...

Contraflow lanes

Note that roads oneway for most vehicles but not oneway for bicycles, with a separate dedicated lane for bicycles, should be tagged as oneway=yes + oneway:bicycle=no + cycleway:left=lane + cycleway:left:oneway=-1 (or older, less specific tagging: oneway=yes + oneway:bicycle=no + cycleway=opposite_lane) rather than cycleway=opposite.

Picture	Tags
	highway=residential oneway=yes oneway:bicycle=no cycleway:left=lane cycleway:left:oneway=-1

See also

• cycleway=opposite_lane
• cycleway=opposite_track
• cycleway:left=*
• cycleway:right=*
• Proposal:Deprecate_cycleway=opposite_family

Rendering

• OpenCycleMap

Deprecated in the Netherlands

Just two and a half years before this tagging was generally deprecated in mid-2024, it had already been deprecated and replaced in the Netherlands.

Deprecation follow-up

Deprecation vote

This tag has been formally deprecated by a community vote on 2024-06-22.

Transition stats

• Use history of the cycleway=opposite tag: https://taghistory.raifer.tech/#***/cycleway/opposite
• Use history of both cycleway=opposite and oneway:bicycle=no tags: https://taghistory.raifer.tech/#***/cycleway/opposite&***/oneway:bicycle/no

Tasks

Please help the community to transition from cycleway=opposite to oneway:bicycle=no with the following tasks:

Documentation

Task	English	Every other language	Comment
Update cycleway=opposite wiki page	Unknown	Unknown
Update oneway:bicycle=no wiki page	Unknown	Unknown
Update the deprecated features page	yes	N/A
Update every other mentioning the cycleway=opposite tag (listed here) excluding users & discussion pages	Unknown	Unknown
Update deprecated cycleway=opposite data item	no	N/A
Update approved oneway:bicycle=no data item	no	N/A
Update Changelog	yes	N/A
[Please add any documentation that might be relevant]	N/A	N/A
How to use this table?

Tools

See https://taginfo.openstreetmap.org/tags/cycleway=opposite#projects for more details about the tools using this tag.

Mission	Task	cycleway=opposite tag deprecated	oneway:bicycle=no tag supported	URL of the request	Comment
For every editorː change preset	Update JOSM preset	yes	yes	https://josm.openstreetmap.de/ticket/23770
	Update iD preset	Unknown	Unknown	Please replace this cell with the specific URL of the request made on https://github.com/openstreetmap/id-tagging-schema/issues
	Update Vespucci preset	Unknown	Unknown	Please replace this cell with the specific URL of the request made on https://github.com/simonpoole/beautified-JOSM-preset
For every Q/A toolsː suggest to enforce the proposal	Create a JOSM/Validator preset	yes	N/A	https://josm.openstreetmap.de/ticket/23770
	Create a NSI preset	Unknown	Unknown	Please replace this cell with the specific URL of the request made on https://github.com/osmlab/name-suggestion-index/issues
Other toolsː suggest to enforce the proposal	Update Organic Maps preset	Unknown	Unknown	Please replace this cell with the specific URL of the request made on https://git.omaps.dev/organicmaps/organicmaps/issues
	[Please add any editor, tool, search engine, router, render or other project that might be relevant]	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
How to use this table?

Render

See https://taginfo.openstreetmap.org/tags/cycleway=opposite#projects to find out which renders are using this tag.

Mission	Task	cycleway=opposite tag deprecated	oneway:bicycle=no tag supported	URL of the request	Comment
Render	Update OSM Carto render	N/A	N/A	Please replace this cell with the specific URL of the request made on https://github.com/gravitystorm/openstreetmap-carto/issues
	Update OpenCycleMap	no	Unknown	Please replace this cell with the specific URL of the request made
	[Please add any render that might be relevant]	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
How to use this table?