Talk:Key:winter service

Is there any difference between winter_service:gritting=*, winter_service:salting=*?

It appears that "gritting" is a British English term for applying rock salt to roads to prevent formation of ice, and thus is equivalent to "salting". Are the two tags winter_service:gritting=* and winter_service:salting=* identical? --Jeisenbe (talk) 16:50, 24 December 2020 (UTC)

I see that neither tag has ever been used, per taginfo. So can we just delete them from this page? --Jeisenbe (talk) 17:38, 24 December 2020 (UTC)

Salt doesn't work if it's too cold. But I don't think this is relevant and I agree that these tags are not needed. Whomever is in charge of winter maintenance is going to use whatever methods are most appropriate for the climate and weather conditions at the time. That could be some combination of plowing, salting, sanding or just letting the snow pack down until the weather warms up enough that it gets too soft and slippery to drive on. ScottNelson (talk) 06:08, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

== A value missing

This key, in my opinion is missing a tag. The most restrictive value is:

no = No winter servicing at all. The usability of the feature might be significantly worse than in the summertime at least by foot and on normal vehicles.

In Norway this can be a little tame. A new value should be added:

closed = No winter servicing at all. The feature is unusable or ILLEGAL to use in the winter.

• Example of spring snow cleaning for a winter_service=closed road: https://youtu.be/FPxAvHdrK6U where it is illegal to use the road in winter.
• Example of trunk road winter_service=yes https://youtu.be/DM9QHnfDHdQ, where the goal is that it is open 24/7 year round.

By the current definition, "no" is to tame for Norway.

--Mikemenk (talk) 16:39, 20 July 2023 (UTC)

We have similar issues in coastal British Columbia where deep snowpacks linger well into the spring at high elevations, we have a summer season where everything is accessible, a winter season where winter_serivce=no means no way are you going there and a shoulder season where it's weather dependent. At low elevation, there isn't a real winter season and the shoulder season is effectively December - March. At higher elevations December - May is only accessible to snowmobiles and the shoulder season is November and June. IMO this is more about the weather in a particular location, than about the service provided, so so puts it beyond the scope of a winter_service tag. I think this tag should really be about how heavily highway maintenance crews prioritize keeping the road clear.

One thing that I think could be improved is to have a tag for roads that are plowed once, typically in the spring, when the risk of additional snowfall is low but there is still a lot of snow on the ground. In BC and Washington state, this typically happens in May or June but it is weather dependent. Or perhaps just use winter_service=yes combined with seasonal=spring/summer/autumn. ScottNelson (talk) 06:08, 18 August 2023 (UTC)