with the high resolution bing satellite images, it's now possible to map areas with lots of details. i used the tag "area:highway=" + "area=yes" + "surface=" to map the physical area of streets and footpaths on a couple of streets in my neighborhood. this shouldn't interfere with the existing ways for highways and paths. if geoimage.at delivers higher resolution pictures some day in the future, i will have to correct the areas slightly, since geoimage is more accurate.

now i just have to wait until renderers display zoom level 19 and above. currently they can't really handle the amount of information in a meaningful way (for example 20 areas for parking should only be displayed as one "P"). maybe a more generic version of this proposal for all kinds of elements would help: osm.wiki/Relations/Proposed/Collected_Ways

you can take a look at it here: osm.org/edit?editor=potlatch2&lat=48.266687&lon=14.261904&zoom=20