User:BubbaJuice/Arizona Highway Classification Proposal
This page describes Arizona-specific classification for the US Highway Classification.
- This page is a draft and a proposal.
- It has not yet been finished.
Classification
Motorways
The top category, highway=motorway should only be applied to roadways that are either signed Interstate highways or have ALL of the following characteristics:
- Grade separation
- Limited access via on/off ramps
- No at-grade intersections or traffic signals (although on-ramps may have traffic control devices)
- Divided carriageways
- Designed and maintained to support high speeds over long distances
When roads only exhibit the above characteristics for a short distance they should not be tagged as a motorway
Trunk
As the top non-motorway classification, highway=trunk should be applied in the following cases:
- Divided carriageway linking populations centers or motorways
- More major 2 lane carriageways linking hamlets, villages, towns, cities, or motorways.
For 2 lane trunk carriageways here are the signs that they are more major than a primary road.
- Efforts to keep consistent traffic flow when intersecting primary or other trunk roads. (Bridges, tunnels, etc.)
- A higher maxspeed than other primaries.
- Obviously more cars on the road than other primary roads.
Trunk roads should continue to be trunk roads from the starting destination to the final destination that the road is linking.
Trunk roads will typically have stop lights at intersections when they reach populations.
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Primary
As the second highest non-motorway classification, highway=primary should be applied in the two following cases:
- A road that links hamlets, villages, towns, cities, or motorways.
- Not as important as a trunk road but still experiences a significant amount of usage.
Primary roads can also be large city arterial roads.
- In the Phoenix or Tucson metropolitan area.
- The largest arterial roads in the area.
Secondary
As the third highest non-motorway classification, highway=secondary should be applied in the following cases:
- A road that is a minor arterial road.
- A road that is a very major collector road.
- A minor road that connects very small populations, primary roads, or other secondary roads. It is often that they are not traveled frequently.
- Just because a road connects a very small population, it can still be a primary road over the whole course of the road if the requirements are met.
Tertiary
highway=tertiary should be applied in the following cases:
- Roads that connect shops, schools, neighborhoods, and other amenities.
- Handle low to moderate traffic.
- A collector road.
- Roads that are rural, have a low traffic count, but connect other roads to something of importance.
Unclassified
highway=unclassified should be used in the following cases:
- Roads of very low importance
- Roads in importance under Tertiary roads and do not classify as any other road.
Unclassified roads also have some common characteristics:
- Narrower than a residential or a small tertiary road.
- Used for access and not linking settlements.
- Lack of visible classification.
Residential
highway=residential should be used when a road's primary use is to support a single subdivision level traffic. They should have houses connected to them, directly or through driveways.
Living Street
highway=living_street should be used when a road has special laws in place that prioritizes pedestrians and bicyclists, pedestrians have the right of way, and cars have a very slow maxspeed=*. These roads should be very rare or non existent in Arizona.
Service
highway=service should be used on roads that provide access to something and does not fall under a more important classification. Specific use cases of the tag are listed below.
Driveway
Driveways are minor service roads leading to property such as houses, garages, businesses. They should be tagged with highway=service along with service=driveway.
Parking Aisle
Parking aisles are roads with parking spaces directly on either one or both sides of the road. They should be tagged with highway=service along with service=parking_aisle.
Alley
An often narrow service road between buildings and properties such as houses, backyards, and fences. They should be tagged with highway=service along with service=alley.
Emergency Access
A road for emergency services to access things that the public can not. These can also be emergency crossovers on motorways. Emergency access roads should be tagged with highway=service along with service=emergency_access.
Drive Through
A road for customers so they can visit a business without leaving their cars. They should be tagged with highway=service and service=drive-through.
Track
highway=track should be used in the following cases:
- A road used primarily for agriculture.
- A road for off roading.
- A road for accessing small agricultural reservoirs, with no development near them.
- An unmaintained, dirt road that runs next to power lines.
- An unpaved forest road that is not another other classification.
Pedestrian
highway=pedestrian should be used on roads that:
- Do not allow public motor vehicle transport.
- Strictly for bicycles and/or pedestrians.
- Bollards/barriers on either end of the road to prevent motor vehicle traffic from entering.
State of Cities
Guaranteed, not all roads will have converted to this classification yet. Below is a list of cities and their implementation of this classification.
Tucson
Tucson recently has been in dispute about having primary roads and which should and should not be primary roads. Tucson still needs Primary roads to be introduced.