Talk:Key:destination:colour

Color-coded destinations

Color-coded destination signs at JFK Airport in New York City

@Mueschel: I think your description of this key is accurate with respect to how the key has been used in Europe and Asia, where some countries color-code destinations by varying the color of the sign background based on road classifications. However, the infobox depicts a sign from the U.S., where all standard destination signs have a green background, regardless of the current or connecting road's classification. (Airports and theme parks sometimes use a different background, but it's purely for decoration.)

The MUTCD does have a concept of color-coded destinations but calls for the sign to include a small color swatch. [1] These are most commonly found at airports and amusement parks, but some localities color-code routes as part of the public road network as well. I'm pretty sure this is what every occurrence of destination:colour=* and destination:colour:lanes=* in the U.S. actually indicates. If these ways should really be retagged destination:colour=green based on the sign background, then I'm unsure how to indicate the destination's color other than destination:colour=*.

 – Minh Nguyễn ^💬 22:39, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

There is colour:back=* in type=destination_sign that's clearer. --- Kovposch (talk) 07:28, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

Unfortunately colour:back=* can't be used on highways, but only on destination sign nodes/relations. destination:colour:back=* is also already in use, but with the same meaning as destination:colour=*. From all that I can see colour:back=* and destination:colour=* are used as synonymous tags depending on context.--Mueschel (talk) 07:50, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

@Kovposch: As long as it's OK for the U.S. to continue using destination:colour=* for color swatches, I don't think it would ever be necessary to tag the sign's background color as a property of the link road or even the type=destination_sign relation; rather, it should be tagged on only the traffic_sign=*, and only in the rare cases where it isn't green. – Minh Nguyễn ^💬 19:30, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

I'm not familiar with US signs - are there cases where individual entries on the sign have a colored background instead of a colored box next to them? If not I guess destination:colour is perfectly fine and we can add this as a general rule how the tags need to be interpreted when rendering signs. We already need these national rendering rules e.g. for normal background colors so this is not a problem.--Mueschel (talk) 07:50, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

@Mueschel: The colored box is the only option endorsed by the national standard. I haven't read all 42 subnational standards to see if they allow for European-style color panels, but it seems unlikely. Destination signs at airports and in downtown areas [2] sometimes do use color panels, but these signs are usually slapped together with no adherence to any standard, so I don't think they should influence tagging overall. – Minh Nguyễn ^💬 19:27, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

Given the disparity in usage, I think we should change the infobox image to one that illustrates European color panels. I've added a gallery of analogous MUTCD color swatches to avoid confusion, but I haven't come across a good image of the European concept. – Minh Nguyễn ^💬 19:32, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

@Minh Nguyen: Would it be feasible to mark color coded destinations as destination:symbol=* as the symbols might be just empty and unframed rectangles, squares or circles? However, this symbols needs to be known as SVG images such as motorway reference backgrounds. Characters inside could be the destination:symbol:text=* , the destination color as destination:symbol:colour:back=* ? Additionally it will be possible to define destination:symbol:text:colour=* and a contrast frame by destination:symbol:frame:colour=* .

Even in Germany you may find color coded destinations. For example detours which are marked with colored dots, most times in red.

--Vanagaudi (talk) 16:43, 29 May 2025 (UTC)

@Vanagaudi: The U.S. also posts destination-specific symbols, especially on tourist-oriented destination signs (TODS). However, the colors that we're using destination:colour=* for aren't symbols, they're just colors associated with the destination. As in some public transportation systems, the color could appear in a different form factor and the text could be in a different color, but it would still be associated with the same destination. – Minh Nguyễn ^💬 20:29, 3 June 2025 (UTC)