Tag:cycleway=separate

cycleway=separate indicates that a cycleway is mapped as a separate geometry. It is analogous to sidewalk=separate for sidewalks.

cycleway=track is used to mark a cycleway that is not mapped with a separate geometry (other keys from this tag family are also in use - cycleway:left=track / cycleway:right=track / cycleway:both=track).

Foto	Tags
	cycleway=separate on road line highway=cycleway on line representing cycleway
	cycleway:right=track cycleway:right:oneway=no Cycleway is not mapped as a separate line. Tagging above assumes that line representing road is leading in direction away from photographer. See left and right for more info.

Relation to bicycle=use_sidepath

bicycle=* describes the access restriction for cyclists on a road or way. bicycle=use_sidepath specifically is set on the road line to indicate that cyclists are forbidden (in some cases partially forbidden) from cycling on the road itself because there is a compulsory cycle path mapped as a separate geometry. This implies that there is a separately mapped cycle path nearby.

cycleway=separate on the other hand only indicates that there is cycle path nearby that has been mapped separately. It does not make any statement about whether that separately mapped cycle path is compulsory or not.

Are not all cycle tracks compulsory?

No. In some regions, such as Germany, a cycle track is only compulsory if it is signed to be compulsory (e.g., with this sign )