Hi Fluffy,
I'm not really sure why the wiki states that the "importance" definition is more commonly used in the west - by visual inspection of the map, it appears to be most common in the south (noting, importantly, that most of the road miles tagged trunk are built to expressway standards).

There has been years of debate over the "proper" usage of the 'trunk' tag in the US with no true consensus established. I am sympathetic to the argument that the 'trunk' tag would be better used in the US to tag major inter-city routes not serviced by a freeway. I have argued it to talk-us on multiple occasions. It makes sense to have a distinct tag for freeways given that they are clearly defined with a checklist of requirements (divided, full access control, full grade separation, access by ramps only). However, expressways tend to be fuzzier in the US and come in many shapes and sizes since they are not standardized nationally. I think the "best" way to negotiate this would be to orthogonalize route importance (using 'highway') and expressway construction standard (full, super-two, partial, etc) using an 'expressway' tag as proposed here: expressway=*.

A couple years ago, I bumped a number of major routes in the SW area of the US up to 'trunk' on this definition (US 395, 95; CA 70/99, 299). I have since bumped them back down due to the lack of consensus on this tagging scheme, deferring instead to the expressway definition given that the definition is more common (both in the US and the world over) and has a longer history of use in the US. I typically use 'trunk' to tag divided, partially grade separated highways as well as fully access controlled two-lane roads (see CA 108 and others). I think this definition is still reasonably robust and respects the lack of consensus as well as the history of the usage of the tag.

There is also reasonable evidence that the "importance" definition came into existence in the US when a user NE2 unilaterally bumped all US routes up to 'trunk' and added the "importance" clauses in the wiki (this can be verified by looking through wiki page history for highway tagging). OSM uses a consensus-based decision making process, so I don't think it's necessarily fair to carry artifacts of this unilateral edit into the present without the US community in general being on board, which I don't believe is the case as of now.

You are certainly welcome to argue your case for the 'importance' definition to talk-us, but it has been done many times without much success in the way of establishing consensus. It's frustrating, to be sure.

Why were urbanized parts of Mammoth Lakes covered with large 'natural=wood' polygons as well?

Hello,
Is this closure to motor vehicles a permanent change? Any information a quick google search turns up for me suggests that it is temporary, at least until the end of the lockdown order. Generally, what should be in OSM is the 'normal' state of things and not temporary closures (osm.wiki/Good_practice, see "Don't map temporary events and temporary features").

Bradley

Hello,
I noticed this edit changed a stretch of Pearblossom Highway near Palmdale to 'highway=construction'. Is this a long-term construction project where the road will be closed for a long period of time? Short-term (less than a year) reconstruction projects, especially where the road will be at most intermittently inaccessible, should not be tagged 'highway=construction'.

The ramps east of Jefferson Blvd either come directly from or spit you out directly at an at-grade intersection; they are not motorway_links. Freeways do not have left-hand turn pockets.

See also here (osm.wiki/United_States/Public_lands) for the correct tagging of USFS lands. Please correct these boundaries as well as any others you may have changed.

Hello,
Why were these relations changed from 'type=boundary' to 'type=multipolygon' along with an undocumented tag 'boundary:type'? The usage of the 'boundary=protected_area' tag is well documented (boundary=protected_area) and used everywhere else in the US for national forest lands.

Hello,
I've noticed a number of changesets from you recently that upgrade single interchanges on trunk roads up to motorway. In general, motorway should only be used on continuous stretches of fully access controlled highway. Expressway-grade roads (trunk) are allowed to have full interchanges, but also have at-grade intersections as well. If you find you are switching between motorway and trunk at an arbitrary point on the road, it is probably not a motorway.
Bradley

Hello,
This changeset broke the USFS Humboldt-Toiyabe & LTBMU boundary relations by merging Old Kingsbury Grade into one way. Please be mindful of relations when working with ways that are used as part of the relation.
Also, this road is residential and not a track - its primary function is to provide access to the residential property at the midpoint of the grade, and not for forestry access/use.
Bradley

Why was Bunny Hill Drive north of the small residential area bumped up beyond track or service at best? Have you ever physically been on it before?

There is a difference between a freeway permitting bikes in the shoulder and a roadway having dedicated, marked bike lanes. Freeways do not have bike lanes, nor sidewalks for the same reason. This doesn't address the fact that this roadway provides direct access to properties, something that is explicitly prohibited in a US freeway design. This is a nearly textbook expressway.

Freeways *do not* have RIRO access to adjacent properties; neither do they have bike lanes. The complete lack of access to adjacent properties is, in fact, a defining feature of a freeway. This is not "obviously and undoubtedly" a freeway, especially in a country with a national standard for a freeway (interstate), which this roadway does not meet. Please stop tagging every roadway with two grade-separated interchanges in a row as 'motorway'.

Once again, this is not up to 'motorway' standards for the US. This road has multiple single-carriageway sections, bike lanes, and sidewalks, which preclude it from being a freeway.

How are these Ventura Ave NB & CA 33 SB links 'motorway_link's if they don't connect to a motorway? Northbound link points you straight into a two-lane road, and the southbound link comes straight from a two-lane road.

Hello,
I noticed this changeset removed nearly all of the 'natural' mapping done in this area. I have reverted it, since there are in fact trees where the 'natural' mapping had suggested. Please do not remove these ways/tags where they are not directly erroneous.

Hello,
Please stop bumping Luther Pass Road (CA 89) up to 'primary'. I have lived in this greater area for over a decade and have driven this road many times - this piece of highway does not serve major regional traffic or any cross-country route, and best fits the definition presented here: highway=secondary.

Why have all these single interchanges been bumped up from 'trunk' to 'motorway'? This is against tagging guidelines as specified under the Motorway section here: osm.wiki/United_States/Road_classification

Why are so many urban roads in this area (as well as Los Angeles) being bumped up to primary? Per osm.wiki/United_States_roads_tagging#Primary_tag_2: "A few major urban arterials also may merit highway=primary if and only if they provide a clearly better routing (higher speeds and fewer delays arising from traffic signals, stop signs, or other obstructions) than available urban arterials bearing highway=secondary." NHS does not necessarily correspond to a road being 'primary' in OSM, especially not MAP-21 NHS roads (usually secondary).

I have driven this road a couple times and an unaware of any "Begin/End Freeway" signage existing south of the first at-grade past Santa Cruz Ave. Can you provide any evidence for this signage existing as claimed? Trunks are allowed to have grade-separated interchanges without forcing adjacent highway to 'motorway', and starting and stopping 'trunk' at arbitrary points is bad practice (should be signed at bare minimum to tag like this).

From osm.wiki/Highway_link: links should only be used for slip roads "physically separated by an obstruction or painted island", which this is not.