I may be to much of a novice to explain myself. I'm did not intend to make this change. I was learning JOSM simply by looking at an area I know well. By survey though there are four ways from the two parking lots to Crane Beach.The most northerly is tagged highway=boardwalk, quite correctly. The one south of the Boardwalk, tagged Highway=footway is surface with a heavy duty mat across the dunes installed to permit emergency vehicles. This is the most used footway by beach visitors. The most southerly two are indeed boardwalks, but seem to be tagged only as stairs. Thats beyond my skill level to fix.

Thanks for you comments, you provided a learning opportunity.

BTW, how can I see a list of changesets I have made?

Karl