A common issue I see often is the lack of tags used to confirm unconnected ways.
I am sure you have experienced it before:
someone using unclear imagery creates a new road in a residential area with a section overlapping some building(s)
then another mapper using local knowledge splits the roads in two and leaves a gap to indicate it’s not connected
finally, someone remotely wants to do good and reconnect both segments using maproulette/osmose…
and so on…
This common issue could be easily avoided by adding:
a) a highway=path segment when both road segments are connected via a narrow path
b) a highway=turning_circle tag at the end node when there is a widened area that allows vehicles to u-turn
c) a noexit=yes at the end node when there is no possibility to travel further (most common)
It’s always best to add these based on local knowledge/survey, but I personally add these sometimes when the imagery is clear, e.g.:
inside a gated housing estate with a clear wall separation and visible main entrance (most only have 1)
a double track ending at a farm with no visible paths extension.
Even if some of these end up being false positives (wrong), they can be easily fixed with local knowledge, while the opposite is a lot harder to detect/fix.
Do you have any personal tips on how you deal with this issue?
Note: I am raising this topic because I believe it’s the responsibility of regular/experienced mappers and organized editing teams to set a good example and indirectly give guidance to new mappers.
You are fighting a loosing battle over the zealous morons who armchair map from a land far away. Take this one, a road I know well … Don Pin Soi 9 … right next to the old Ducati dealership … https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=19/18.74085/98.95627
In 2018, I realised there was a concrete wall across the northern end, so split the road there, and believe I even drew in the wall to show it was blocked. I must have been bored as I also showed the change in surface from asphalt to gravel and remember my edit.
However, checking today, and it seems like someone has taken the barrier (wall) away, and rejoined the road yet again. While Kaarts Mr InnerPace decides to contribute further incorrect info and decides it has 2 lanes ! Look at it, is that a 2 lane road ??
Now of course its possible the wall has been removed but with the OSM edits occuring in 2019, and Googles imagery dated 2020, still showing the wall, I very much doubt it. I cant work out who did the edit, but I strongly suspect Kaarts Mr Spence142’s version#10 entitled “fixing a barrier” is the culprit. Perhaps someone can confirm this.
I will leave a changeset comment, but give it a few months and I expect some moron, will no doubt re-join it !