Exit numbers more important than road numbers?

[jidanni]

At https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=37.8025936&mlon=-122.4685063#map=11/37.8025936/-122.4685063
we have to zoom in many levels until we finally learn what the highway numbers are. Until that time all we are looking at is exit numbers.

Yes perhaps in countries where there is only one big road, and everybody doesn't even remember the name of it, maybe exit numbers are more important. But that's not the case where there are a lot of different roads.

[imagico]

This is formulated as a question so let me try to answer that question: Yes, ref labels highway=motorway_junction are more important than ref labels on highway=motorway ways. Regarding rendering ref labels from highway routes - see #596.

[jidanni]

I see. Well perhaps road numbers and exit numbers, are exactly like street names and house numbers.

Carto has been doing a good job not letting house numbers obliterate street names.

So perhaps the same exact algorithm can transplanted to be used on the case of road numbers versus exit numbers.

[ntrip6]

I came here to inquire on this as well. When OSM is used a cartographic basemap the highway exit numbers dominate and the highway label itself sometimes doesn't appear.
For example, Highway 101 isn't labeled but the exits are at Zoom 14
https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=14/34.42340/-119.70300