Donmai

Freeway tag

Posted under Tags

Fenton

I've been updating some posts to include a new tag named freeway, which is distinct from a regular highway by its number of lanes per direction and the barriers dividing them. However, it appears that the most appropriate name for this tag is expressway, which is actually used in Japan, and freeway is a US term that might not be appropriate here.

By Japan's definitions, they consider these roads as:

  • Expressway for freeway (multiple lanes per direction).
  • National roads for regular highway (one road, two different directions).
  • Some prefectural roads are considered highway, but some aren't.
Reply
GreyOmega

A lot of terms are used interchangeably and vary by country and even regions within a country. This is why in most cases we should use US terms/meanings where possible for consistency. In this case, there is nothing wrong with the term freeway or expressway in the manner that you wish to use it. As far as common usage and even the US government definition goes, both terms will fit your intended definition with only a minor difference of degree of access being the primary difference if there is any.

The US Federal government defines them this way:

  • Expressway: A divided highway facility with partial control of access and two or more lanes for the exclusive use of through traffic in each direction; includes grade separations at most major intersections.
  • Freeway: A divided highway facility with full control of access and two or more lanes for the exclusive use of through traffic in each direction.

In short: Expressway = limited-access, Freeway = controlled-access.

Wikipedia currently defines them this way:

Wiktionary definitions

Wiktionary: freeway (plural freeways):

1) (US, Philippines, Parts of Canada and Australia) A highway with grade-separated crossings (rather than level crossings) and designed (and only permitted) for high-speed motor-traffic running in two directions on one separate carriageway each.

Synonyms: (Chiefly in Europe, Australia and New Zealand) motorway, (In Malaysia, Singapore and some parts of North America) expressway, (Chiefly in Quebec and France) autoroute, (Chiefly in Germany and Austria) autobahn, (If part of the Interstate Highway System) interstate, (Chiefly in Europe) controlled-access highway.

2) A toll-free highway.

Wiktionary: expressway (plural expressways):

1) (US, regional) A divided highway, especially one whose intersections and direct access to adjacent properties have been eliminated.

2) (Canada, parts of the US, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Philippines) A road built to freeway standards.

3) (UK, New Zealand) A road built for high speed traffic, but not up to motorway standards or designated a motorway.

Wiktionary: motorway (plural motorways)

1) (UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Queensland, New South Wales) A highway with grade-separated crossings (rather than level crossings) and designed (and only permitted) for high-speed motor-traffic (in Europe motor vehicles with a higher speed limit than 40 km/h) running in two directions on one separate carriageway each.

Synonyms: (in parts of Australia, Canada and the U.S.) freeway, (in Malaysia, Singapore and parts of North America) expressway, (in parts of North America where freeway is unused) highway, (chiefly in Quebec and France) autoroute.

2) (chiefly US) A racetrack venue designated especially for the sport of auto racing.

Wiktionary: controlled-access highway (plural controlled-access highways):

1) A motorway with grade-separated crossings (rather than level crossings) and designed (and only permitted) for high-speed motor-traffic (in Europe motor vehicles with a higher speed limit than 40 km/h) running in two directions on one separate carriageway each.

Wiktionary: limited-access highway (plural limited-access highways)

1) Expressway.

Wiktionary: superhighway (plural superhighways):

1) (US) An expressway, especially one designed for high speeds.

2) (by extension) A major route that carries most of the traffic going in a given direction by a specified mode of transportation.

3) (figurative) The primary mechanism used in the movement of electronic data or information; information superhighway.

Other sources

Dictionary.com: freeway:

American:
1) an express highway with no intersections, usually having traffic routed on and off by means of a cloverleaf.
2) a toll-free highway.
British:
1) another name for expressway.
2) a major road that can be used without paying a toll.

Merriam-Webster dictionary: freeway

1) an expressway with fully controlled access
2) a highway without toll fees

Cambridge dictionary: freeway

1) a wide road for fast-moving traffic, especially in the US, with a limited number of places at which drivers can enter and leave it

Dictionary.com: expressway:

American:
1) a highway especially planned for high-speed traffic, usually having few if any intersections, limited points of access or exit, and a divider between lanes for traffic moving in opposite directions.
British:
1) a motorway.

Dictionary.com: motorway

American:
1) (British) an expressway.
British:
1) a main road for fast-moving traffic, having limited access, separate carriageways for vehicles travelling in opposite directions, and usually a total of four or six lanes.
US Name: superhighway

Merriam-Webster dictionary: expressway

1) a high-speed divided highway for through traffic with access partially or fully controlled.

Cambridge dictionary: expressway

1) a wide road for fast-moving traffic, especially one in the US that goes through a city, with a limited number of places at which drivers can enter and leave it.

Michigan Highways.org: controlled-access
[...]
Definitions

Controlled-Access Highway – Designed exclusively for high-speed, unhindered vehicular traffic, with no traffic signals, intersections, or property access. These highways are free of any at-grade crossings with other roads or railroads, which instead use overpasses and underpasses to cross the highway. Entrance and exit to the highway is provided by ramps at interchanges. Opposing directions of travel are usually (but not always) separated by a median or some sort of traffic barrier. Generally, pedestrians, non-motorized vehicles and farm machinery are not allowed on these types of highways, although some exceptions do exist in certain areas

Limited-Access Highway – A highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many characteristics of a Controlled-Access highway (see above), including limited or no access to adjacent property, some degree of separation of opposing traffic flow, the use of grade-separated interchanges to some extent, and few or no intersecting roadways. Unlike Controlled-Access highways, pedestrians, non-motorized vehicles (e.g. bicycles), and farm machinery are not explicitly prohibited (although exceptions may exist). [...]

Freeway – In official use, a Freeway is the same as a Controlled-Access Highway. [...]

Expressway – In official use, an Expressway is the same as a Limited-Access Highway. [...]

Reply
ANON TOKYO

GreyOmega said:

A lot of terms are used interchangeably and vary by country and even regions within a country. This is why in most cases we should use US terms/meanings where possible for consistency. In this case, there is nothing wrong with the term freeway or expressway in the manner that you wish to use it. As far as common usage and even the US government definition goes, both terms will fit your intended definition with only a minor difference of degree of access being the primary difference if there is any.

The US Federal government defines them this way:

  • Expressway: A divided highway facility with partial control of access and two or more lanes for the exclusive use of through traffic in each direction; includes grade separations at most major intersections.
  • Freeway: A divided highway facility with full control of access and two or more lanes for the exclusive use of through traffic in each direction.

In short: Expressway = limited-access, Freeway = controlled-access.

Wikipedia currently defines them this way:

Wiktionary definitions
Other sources

I'm personally really not a fan of adhering to the US terms.

While I can't speak for everyone, at least in my own slice of not-the-US, when someone mentions "freeway" they're not just talking about controlled-access highways, they're talking specifically about the US freeways. Generally "highway" is used to refer to general high-speed motorways (as per the secondary definition listed on Wikipedia: Highway). However, because of the two different definitions, using this as the main tag name seems problematic and should probably be avoided.

For this reason I think "expressway" would be better (with utility aliases from freeway and other related terms), as it's still commonly recognized as meaning the same thing, plus it has the benefit of recognizing that we're still mainly dealing with Japanese artworks, where the in terms of access control there's basically just expressways and everything else (see asset #23179963 for an example of how non-access-controlled all but the expressways are).

I know it's not unprecedented that we stick to US-centric names/concepts for consistency and simplicity, but given the rather stark contrast between US, JP and rest of the world roads, I think it's better to construct a somewhat neutral approach.

Reply
Fenton

ANON_TOKYO said:

I feel like highway deserves a bit more consideration, since if we apply it based on it's real definition it'd just turn into a synonym for road.

I guess getting rid of the images with sidewalks and buildings from the tag?

Reply
ANON TOKYO

Fenton said:

I guess getting rid of the images with sidewalks and buildings from the tag?

Basically, the real-world definition is:

A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way.

That means it's.... basically everything? Using the tag for that doesn't seem very useful to me, and then there's the issue where some people are used to using "highway" to refer to what tis BUR would be calling expressways exclusively. Maybe someone has a better idea, but I'm not entirely sure what would be a good course of action with this tag.

Reply
GreyOmega

Thinking this over more, I see no point in this tag, as it's essentially what we're trying to use highway tag for to begin with. If you look at the images under Wikipedia there isn't a single image of minor roads and everything you're apparently trying to call an expressway.

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