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How to tag “SLOW” road markings.

In the UK it is very common for the word "SLOW" to be painted in white across a lane when approaching areas where a reduction in speed is advised. There seems to be no consideration for this in OSM - not a single instance of slow appears as a tag.

There does seem to be a pretty much unused road_marking key that may be suitable. Another option is highway=slow as the semantics are similar to stop and give_way, maybe. Or just tag it as a traffic_sign=slow possibly with traffic_sign:type=road_marking? In fact, adding traffic_sign:type=road_marking may be beneficial as =stop and =give_way are often just indicated by road markings rather than an actual sign on a signpost.

So, any suggestions?

bestpractice tagging

asked 21 Mar '18, 15:22

Tim Rawlinson
36●2●2●4
accept rate: 0%

Does the "SLOW" marking always precede a zone with a lower speed limit as a warning, or is it just general advice?

(23 Mar '18, 20:08) keithonearth

Generally/often not. It is used more to warn of steep bends, a junction on a fast bit of road, approaching a stop/slow sign etc. I.e. at times went you ought to be slowing down. There's an overview here: https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Road_Markings/SLOW

(23 Mar '18, 21:16) Tim Rawlinson

One Answer:

There is a traffic_calming tag, but that's usually used for physical features that calm traffic, speed bumps and the like. I don't think it would be good to use it for something that's non-physical. (Although there are 10 traffic_calming=slow tags in the DB).

Maybe you could make up a new tag? traffic_advice=slow?

answered 21 Mar '18, 17:08

rorym
5.4k●14●49●100
accept rate: 11%

I do quite like the advice suggestion. I think I'm settling towards it being a sign, it's just painted on the ground. Marking it with traffic_sign:type=road_marking would show this. I also think I would like traffic_sign:advisory=yes or similar - this would also apply to "keep in low gear` signs etc.

(21 Mar '18, 17:16) Tim Rawlinson