Question on nodes that intersect with major highways:
(Please note, I have yet to run the northern section showing the unchecked nodes)
Displayed on the map are about 8 nodes on a triangular section of road that intersects with a major highway (In NJ, US-46 East). Western section is traffic exiting US-46 East; Eastern section is traffic entering US-46 East.
This road has traffic driving at 60+ MPH. In most cases, I’ll grab these nodes at very early times in the morning when traffic is quiet. However, knowing that this is probably dangerous for pedestrians to be milling about, would you recommend changing the designation of those sections in OSM? Or, just suck it up and deal with the traffic?
I see some similar situations where those sections are reclassified as “Trunk Link”.
Without seeing the physical interchange it’s hard to say. The designation for ramps moving on/off I-25 in my town is “Motorway Links” in OSM and CityStrides doesn’t count them. However, similar roads for US-24 are marked “Tertiary Roads” here and do count. Any chance pedestrians are prohibited there so you could mark it accordingly in the OSM “allowed access” field?
For sketchy sections where I didn’t think I could justify a change in OSM, I waited for weekends around the Summer Solstice and ran them at like 4:45am as fast I could. But that’s kind of a dumb approach and I wouldn’t recommend it unless you are 100% sure you can do it safely. I’m guessing “major highway” means something much more intense in New Jersey than it does where I live in Colorado. Good luck!
I used this intersection as an example but it’s more a principled discuss of safety vs. OCD.
In the name of 100% completion, I’ve definitely run some sections of road where I’ve thought, “I probably shouldn’t be running here”. They are sections of road that are technically “pedestrian accessible” but lack adequate room for pedestrians/cars to navigate safely. Or, they’re just sections of road where a driver shouldn’t be expecting to see pedestrians (or runners decked out like a Christmas tree in reflective gear).
A good example of this was a street named South Orange Ave in Livingston, NJ. It’s a 4-lane (2 each side) road, 50 mph, with no sidewalks or shoulder. Both sides of the road have woods that prevent someone from even running off the road.
Personally, I have no problem living a bit dangerously but I know a lot of other people would be very nervous (or avoid completing certain cities) due to roads like this.
So, revisiting the question, should roads like this be marked as inaccessible to pedestrians?
IMHO they should be marked as Foot=no. I know this might be questionsble according to OSM rules, and maybe this differs between countries, but I’ve marked several streets like that here in Sweden, and got no complaints the last three years.
