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How to tag a geodesic tower?

1

Hi,

We have ~100 geodesic towers around the country, 10-20 m high concrete tubes with steps inside.

man_made=tower is sure, one may also add tower:construction=freestanding and material=concrete.

But what tower:type should be used? Their main purpose is to serve as a reference for the national surveyor grid - either to be aimed at by theodolites, also as a base point (at ground level). Only a few of them are open to the public, enabling the observation value.

asked 26 Aug '19, 08:54

ITineris's gravatar image

ITineris
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3 Answers:

0

If their primary purpose is for surveyors then manmade=survey_point may be appropriate. If tower:type would only be duplicating this information then it would probably be redundant and could be omitted.

answered 26 Aug '19, 11:48

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InsertUser
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"primary purpose" is an interesting question here - surely it was built as a survey point (although it sounds very different to examples in other countries), but I bet more people use it on a daily basis for directions ("turn left at the big concrete tower") than by people with theodilites.

(26 Aug '19, 12:00) SomeoneElse ♦

I'm not sure how interchangeable 'primary purpose' and 'most common use' are. Water towers are probably thought of more as landmarks than infrastructure by many people (even though they know what they're for). This doesn't change their purpose.

(26 Aug '19, 12:46) InsertUser

0

If it looks like a tower, then make sure that you tag it as one. People have used lots of values for tower:type; if none of those look suitable you could always add your own.

answered 26 Aug '19, 11:56

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SomeoneElse ♦
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1

They definitely look like a tower.

Though their primary purpose is survey, I cannot put two man_made tags on them. For the laymen, their most significant characteristic is that they are towers. And to my understanding a survey_point may be a small concrete heap, or a metal tripod, or even a steel bolt driven into the surface. These objects, however, are the most important part of the country's reference grid.

And, to complicate matters, some of them are used as viewpoints. This one was extended for tourists, for example You can see the original concrete tube in the center, maybe the steel tripod on the top as well. The wooden frame was added later.

@SomeoneElse: I've checked TagInfo before asking this question. If I had found any suitable candidates, I wouldn't ask it here. tower:type=monitoring was looking promising until I've seen what it's being used for.

(26 Aug '19, 12:18) ITineris
2

@ITineris I have converted your response from an answer to a comment. (answers can be voted up and down so it can get really confusing if they are used for discussion)

(26 Aug '19, 12:24) InsertUser

0

I think tower:type=observation applies: from these towers, you can take precise observations of surrounding things in the landscape. If you are concerned this tag implies the public has access, you can always add access keys to make clear any limitations.

answered 28 Aug '19, 14:37

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neuhausr
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