Key:towpath
 towpath
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Describes a road along an inland waterway. 
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| Useful combination |
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Status: in use
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A 
towpath is a road along an inland waterway, allowing people to tow boats and such. Nowadays, they’re mainly used by cyclists and pedestrians for recreational and transportation purposes. Mapping them explicitly is particularly important where the towpath leaves the waterway (e.g. for tunnels).
How to map
Draw the towpath way 
and tag it with towpath=yes.
Some users prefer to add the tag on the waterway itself with left or right (orientation being given by the water stream) in a similar fashion to roads with cycleways and sidewalks. This should not be done when the way is also used for other purposes as it would impede the amount of details which can be added to it.
Relation
Considering the reasons for separation between waterways and towpaths, it’s been suggested to use relations to link them. No scheme has been proposed so far since 2008.
See also
- Waterways in the United Kingdom — Instructions about using this key on waterways in the United Kingdom
- waterway=*
- highway=path