Advertising, information signs and guideposts in Uganda

    

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Advertising, information signs and guideposts in Uganda
This page is localised for Uganda - UG
Status:	Draft (under way)
Proposed by:	Bert Araali
Tagging:	advertising=*
Applies to:
Definition:	An extended and advanced scheme to tag all kinds of advertisement and information signs, including billboards and guideposts in Uganda
Drafted on:	25 Dec 2019
Voting members:	talk-ug+Core Members

Terminology

We distinguish, describe and give conventions/guidelines on how to map them properly on the following types:

Advertising boards and Billboards (also called a hoarding): for advertising. See advertising=board and advertising=billboard
Information: to indicate the name of roads, educational or information signs along roads and on buildings etc...
Guideposts: to indicate the directions to different destinations or names of places or routes.

How to map

Advertisement

Generally, the keys used and their possible values are:

Tag or key	Type	Requirements	Values in Uganda with description
advertising=*	Identification	Mandatory	advertising=board: Is the standard tag on OSM to identify a board (small scale advertisements). advertising=billboard: Is the standard tag on OSM to identify a billboard (large scale advertisements). advertising=tarp: Is the standard tag on OSM to identify a tarp. advertising=flag: Is the standard tag on OSM to identify a billboard in the form of a flag.
man_made=*	Identification	Optional	man_made=advertising: Should be added additionally to the mandatory advertising=billboard tag to support all kinds of rendering and to identify it specifically as a man made structure.
support=*	Technical details	Optional	support=post: The billboard is supported by one or more posts. support=pole: The billboard is supported by one or more poles. support=trunk: The billboard is supported by a unique trunk (analogy with the trunk of a natural tree, this type of device is also called an "advertising tree"). support=mast: The billboard is supported by a mast. support=wall: The billboard is supported by a free-standing wall or a wall of a building. Also applicable for billboards on shelters, kiosk or toilets when they are mapped as buildings. In cases where the attachments is not mapped separately, use the support=street_furniture: instead. support=wall_mounted: The billboard is mounted on a wall. Also applicable for billboards on shelters, kiosk or toilets as these are separately drawn as buildings. We prefer not to use the key support=street_furniture:* in these cases. support=fence: The billboard is supported by a fence. support=scaffold: The billboard is supported by a scaffold. support=ceiling: The billboard is hanged on a ceiling. support=ground: The billboard is directly put on the ground. support=pedestal: The billboard is supported by a pedestal. support=billboard: The billboard is supported by or is a part of another billboard. You should split the billboard into sections (only applicable if drawn on the map as a way) in case different parts have different technical characteristics, f.i. a part is fixed and another part has winding posters. support=street_lamp: The advertising board is attached to a street lamp. The street lamp itself is tagged as highway=streetlamp. Do not add any additional tags for the size of the board as all sizing tags apply to the street_lamp. If you want to add separate size tags for the board add another node in the same position and tag it completely separately. support=street_furniture:information: The billboard is part of an information street furniture, billboard, or poster box for example. support=street_furniture:map: The billboard is part of a map board. support=street_furniture:bench: The billboard is part of a bench. support=street_furniture:bin: The billboard is part of a trash bin. support=street_furniture:recycling: The billboard is part of a recycling container or disposal. support=street_furniture:clock: The billboard is part of a clock.

• Appearance
  • size=* : the dimensions of the billboard itself (omitting its support)
  • height=* : the height of the billboard (including its support)
  • lit=* : is the billboard lit ?
  • luminous=* : is the billboard luminous ?
  • animated=* : is the billboard animated ? By which method ?
  • sides=* : how many sides does the billboard have (generally 1 or 2)
• Management
  • operator=* : the company or government organisation operating the billboard
  • ref=* : the billboard reference
  • access=* : can everybody change the content of the billboard ?
  • land_property=* : who is the owner of the land under the billboard ?
• Content and visibility
  • message=* : the kind of content shown on the billboard. The key message=* gives an indication on the type of message of an advertising device. It is NOT the message itself (refer to Key:message). Since the message can change regularly, DO NOT store it. Static, non changing messages can be stored for information guideposts, like street names. The name is then defined in the key name=*. In all other case the key name=* is NOT USED.
  • display_surface=* : the surface dedicated to the display of message (without the frame)
  • orientation=* : how is the billboard directed compared to people/traffic flow
  • direction=* : how is the billboard directed (using cardinal points)
  • visibility=* : how far is the billboard visible ?

Advertisement

Sign type	Image	Rendering on OSM / Mapnik	Possible or proposed rendering	Description	Tags
Public billboard - trunked Advertising tree		not rendered		Major public billboards located typically along major roads. The advertising content can change often as it is sold or leased by authorities or officially contracted companies to advertisers on a limited time base. It is a grounded advertising billboard, supported by a single trunk (analogy with the trunk of a natural tree, this type of device is also called an "advertising tree"). Some are lit and/or animated with winding posters, multiple sides, installed. In most cases on public domain along (busy) public roads.	General mapping: due to their mostly significant size map as an . Add tag advertising=billboard. Detail mapping: add additional tag man_made=billboard and support=trunk or support=pole as described above. Micro mapping: at the position of the support, as part of the previously defined , add a for the support. Tag it with support=trunk or support=pole. Add additional tags for size, position, colours etc... as described below. In Uganda you can distinguish the Public billboards from the Private billboards by adding the tag land_property=public for this type.
Public advertising board or billboard other then advertising tree		not rendered		Major public billboards located typically along major roads. The advertising content can change often as it is sold or leased by authorities or government contracted companies to advertisers on a limited time base. It is free standing supported by a pole or trunk. Some are lit and/or animated with winding posters. Single or double sided. Can be installed on public domain (government property) along (busy) public roads or private property (buildings, fences and walls). They are supported by posts or poles which differentiate them from the single trunk supported advertising trees.	In regard to supports three major cases: self supported on posts or poles, tag as a way , similar as the advertisment trees described above. supported by a separate structure that is mapped as a way or area . Add a node and add the tags to this node. supported by a seperate structure that is mapped as a node . Add the tags to the existing node or add a new node add the location next to the existing one, at the side where the board is located. In regard to size two major cases: 'small' sized boards, rule of thumb is height and/or width not exceeding 2 m, tag as advertising=board 'large' sized boards, rule of thumb is height and/or width exceeding 2 m, tag as advertising=billboard General mapping: as an or , depending on the mapping of the feature it is attached to. Add tag advertising=board or advertising=billboard depending on the size. Detail mapping: add additional tag man_made=billboard and support=* with one of the specific values as described above. Micro mapping: at the position of the support, as part of the existing , add a to describe the supporting means and/or the size and appearance of the board. Add additional tags for size, position, colours etc... as described below. In the case a node is the supporting structure, add an additional node, very close to the existing, at the side where it is located, and add tags and additional keys to this node. You could add a cluster relation to link the board with the other node, although we don't do this since we consider it overkill. The relation is clear due to their proximity. In Uganda you can distinguish the Public billboards from the Private billboards by adding the tag land_property=public for this type.

Information signs

Sign type	Image	Description	Tags
Information signs		Information signs	Tagging

Guideposts

In Uganda we follow the approved tagging scheme described in tourism=information with the key information=guidepost.

Special case: official street name markers

A proposal or apporved tagging scheme on OSM for tagging street name markers does not exist. Different solutions are used in different countries, due to the different formats of how to mark street names in the field. In Uganda there is no consistent or official way for the marking of street names. The following table is a proposal how to tag the different formats so they can easily be identified in the field and on maps. They are used to mark the start and or end of an officially named highway, so therefore we use the common key marker=*. To distinguish or detail the marker additional tags may be optonally used as described below.

How to map

Create a separate node at the exact position and tag with the values described in the following table. Please do not tag a crossroads or a node on a highway.

Sign type	Image	Rendering	Description	Tags
Street name as guidepost		in OSM Carto: with the name value under the symbol at higher zoom levels.	Example of a street name installed as a guidepost (Nakasero, Kampala by KCCA-Kampala Capital City Authority). They are part of the street real estate and get vandalised or stolen quite often. In case that during a field survey the guidepost has disappeared, try to find out if it was deliberately removed or replaced by the operator or was illegally removed. In the latter case don't remove the node.	For all mapping styles: Tag Required Description marker=post required To define it as marker and in this case its mounting on a post. tourism=information required Mandatory to use with the information=* key. Without this key you get validation warnings. information=guidepost required To further define its format as a guidepost or signpost. name=* optional The name of the street inscribed on the guidepost. Use camel case. To store the exact description as on the signpost (f.i. all capitals like in this example) use optional key destination=* (see below). ref=* optional Reference number of the guidepost. Be careful, in case a reference number or given on the sign this should be included in a separate key destination:ref=*. This is the reference number of the marker or post as used by the operator. It might be inscribed on a sticker or plate on the post.

For detailed and micro mapping the following tagging scheme can be added:
Relation:destination_sign is used for the complete description of the signpost. This is a complex tagging scheme as it requires its own relation with at least three members for the direction the sign points to.

Key	Value	Required	Example	Description
type=*	destination_sign	Required	destination_sign	The type of relation.
destination=*	a name	Required	MACKINON ROAD	The destination as it says on the sign. Do not include any given reference numbers. See destination:ref=*.
height=*	a height in meters (m)	Optional	3	The height of the complete post including the sign.
size=*	a size in the format length*height	Optional	0.5*0.2	The size of the actual inscribed sign (see size=*).
colour:back=*	a colour	Optional	white	The background colour of the sign (see colour=*).
colour:text=*	a colour	Optional	black	The text colour of the sign.
colour:arrow=*	a colour	Optional	white	The border/arrow colour of the sign.
material=*	a material	Optional	metal	The material the inscribed sign is made of (see material=*.
destination:ref=*	a reference	Optional		The reference as indicated on the sign. See Destination details.

For signs pointing containing additional symbols, the tag destination:symbol=* could be used. So far we have not found any in the field.