Tag:highway=road

This tag is used for a road/way/path/street/alley/motorway/etc. with an unknown classification. This tag is intentionally vague: Anything which has been tagged highway=road can basically be any kind of “road” from the smallest footpath to the largest motorway (see it as a “wildcard” for highway=* values). Warning: This tag should only be used temporarily until the road/way/etc. has been properly surveyed. Do not use this tag when the type of road/etc. is known. As soon the road type is known, use one of the more specific values of highway=*.

Treat it as an error

Mappers and mapping software should treat it as an error when a way is tagged with highway=road. Mapping software can issue warnings to make sure the mapper really does not know the road type. The error is fixed by using the correct road classification.

When this tag is used it also implies a fixme=*. So you do not need to add a todo=FIXME, fixme="Unknown classification", etc. It's just duplicate work for the next person to change the highway type AND remove the fixme tag.

Roads with no name

Often this tag is used also in case the road most likely has a name, nonetheless the survey done hasn't properly determined what it is, or no survey was done at all. If the road indeed has no name, that is survey has determined that there are no signs indicating its name, etc., then see this proposed feature to indicate the road has no name.

Rendering

Since this tag is so vague, it is hard to recommend a particular rendering for end users. When in doubt, don't render this tag. If it is decided for a particular map to render this tag anyway, then it is recommended to make it look distinct from all other rendered ways, in order to avoid ambiguity.

Standard tile layer

On the Standard tile layer, it is rendered like this:

Other usage implications

Mappers should not expect that ways tagged like this will be useful to the end-user in any form. The ambiguity makes this rarely useful for data consumers. This has the following implications:

• Do not expect highway=road to be rendered
• Do not expect highway=road to be routable
• Do expect highway=road to be ignored by applications directed at end users

Possible tagging mistakes

highway=yes

		$1%
		$1%
		$1%
		$1%

More details at taginfo

• highway=yes

If you know places with this tag, verify if it could be tagged with another tag.
Automated edits are strongly discouraged unless you really know what you are doing!

Rendering Support

Here’s a list of commonly used renderers and their compliance with the rendering guidelines mentioned above. Feel free to expand the list, submit a report, or increase the visibility of existing reports.

Status	Provider / Renderer	Hidden by default	Distinct Style	Report
✅️	openstreetmap.org (openstreetmap-carto)	No	Yes
✅️	tracestrack.com (base/topo)	No	Yes
✅️	komoot.com	Yes	-
✅️	locusmap.app	Yes	-
✅️	maps.me	Yes	-
✅️	caltopo.com	Yes	-
✅️	opencyclemap.org	Yes	-
✅️	thunderforest.com (Transport Map)	Yes	-
✅️	strava.com	Yes	-	2024-07-27: solution deployed 2024-07-20: submitted support ticket form
✅️	mapy.cz	Yes	-	2024-07-28: submitted support ticket form 2024-07-30: solution deployed
✅️	ridewithgps.com	No	No	2024-08-24: solution deployed 2024-08-22: emailed bug report
⏳	cyclosm.org	Yes	-	https://github.com/cyclosm/cyclosm-cartocss-style/issues/6862024-08-10: solution committed
⏳	gurumaps.app	No	No	2024-08-13: emailed bug report + solution committed
⏳	osmand.net	No	No	https://github.com/osmandapp/OsmAnd/issues/203572024-08-24: solution being working on
❌	hotosm.org	No	No	https://github.com/hotosm/HDM-CartoCSS/issues/339
❌	organicmaps.app	No	No	https://github.com/organicmaps/organicmaps/issues/8735
❌	gaiagps.com	No	No	2024-07-20: submitted support ticket form
❌	opentopomap.org	No	No	https://github.com/der-stefan/OpenTopoMap/issues/366
❌	windytv.com	No	No	2024-08-22: emailed bug report
❌	wikiloc.com	No	No	2024-08-22: emailed bug report
❌	drivemodedashboard.com	No	No	https://github.com/johnkeel-thork/DMD2/issues/200
❌	Mapbox	No	No

See also

• Proposed features/Generic road