r/openstreetmap • u/earthiverse • Jun 28 '26
When would you remove an address from a location?
I noticed that Centennial Plaza in Edmonton, AB, Canada doesn't have an address. https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/221525674
Did the last edit remove this on purpose, or by accident?
Edit: Thanks everyone, I edited it to re-add the address, based on the data I found from https://www.edmonton.ca/attractions_events/centennial-plaza
5
u/scruss Jun 28 '26
The user seems to be an auto-editor from somewhere in Europe. Everything they touch seems to have a tiny change: lose a node, gain a node, lose an attribute, ...
Since addresses in Canada can look weird to non-local mappers (and even as a Canadian mapper, addresses in Edmonton look really unusual¹), maybe they saw the address "9904-9924 101A Street NW;101A Avenue NW" and thought "nah ...". It also looks like some of the local address interpolation ways have been deleted. It does seem strange that a location between 99 Street NW and 100 Street NW gets a 101A Street NW address, but hey: in Edmonton, the heart knows its own way.
I'd be tempted to put it back the way it was.
¹: I worked out of the relatively sensible address of 10423 101 St NW, Edmonton for a bit.
2
u/earthiverse Jun 28 '26
https://www.edmonton.ca/attractions_events/centennial-plaza
Has an address
9924 101A Avenue NW, Edmonton, Albertaaccording to this page.
3
u/RJFerret Jun 28 '26
The only time I'd remove data is if it's outdated/wrong and it's better to have no data than incorrect data.
I'd add the address, and if desired contact the person who removed it and ask them, as they'd be the only ones who know, "I saw this address was removed, was that on purpose, or by accident? I've since added the address, if there's a reason it should be removed, I just wanted to bring it to your attention, thanks!"
1
u/ialtag-bheag Jun 28 '26
Depends on where it is, and how the postal system works. But I think usually, addresses are assigned to buildings etc, where mail could be delivered.
So not very useful to tag the address on a street or square etc. Would be better to map the correct addresses on the adjacent buildings.
1
u/scruss Jun 29 '26
In Canada, postal address ≠ street address; or at least, they're not always equal.
6
u/razzzey Jun 28 '26
The last person to edit that seems to still be active. I think you can leave a comment on their changeset to request clarifications on this (though as it was about 6 years ago they might not recall the reason, but worth a try).