Road Attributes

Please do not edit this page without Country Management permission.

Road Name & Type

See this page.

Road Type Checkboxes

Unpaved

Check this box for standard non-paved (gravel & dirt) roads. This should be used in the overwhelming majority of cases where there is no pavement.

Tunnel

Use this for Tunnels (below ground) that are extended to the point where GPS would drop out. This box if checked helps the Waze routing system detect traffic jams and flow detection. It also allows extended periods of time without GPS signal, avoiding approximations.

Next to Carpool/HOV/Bus lane

This is not used in Australia. Please don't check this box.

Routing Preference (L4+)

Unfavoured (-1)

Has the effect on routing of lowering the road type by 1. e.g. if this is set on a Primary Street, the routing type will be Street.

Neutral (default)

No change on routing, the type it is, is the type that will be used for routing.

Preferred (+1)

Has the effect on routing of upgrading the road type by 1. e.g. if this is set on a Primary Street, the routing type will be Minor Highway.

NOTE:

Please be careful when adding routing preferences, as this has the effect of soft-locking all changes on those segments to L4 (effectively locking, but not obvious to lower level editors).

Restrictions

See Scheduled Restrictions (Global)

Direction

Two Way

This should be the direction for most roads, as Waze works best when not divided.

A->B & B->A

One way roads, Dual Carriageways and roundabouts all have these directions. See Dual Carriageways for more information about road division / undivision.

Unknown

Please don't set segments to Unknown direction, as it makes routing directions misleading.

Speed Limits

Each direction of travel on a road can have a speed limit set on it. This speed limit has no effect on Waze routing decisions. Waze uses the speed limit to (optionally) warn the driver when they're exceeding the limit. Editors should map the speed limits on roads with the following considerations:

• Map only unambiguous legally-enforceable speed limits
• Avoid mapping speed limits on roundabouts, as they have no use.
• Do not map advisory speeds, only speed limits.
• Where variable speed limits are in use (such as digital signs, alternate speed when raining, school zones), editors should always map at the higher speed limit.

Lock Levels

This part of the policy is not intended as a guide to whether or not a segment should be locked. That should always be an informed decision made by an editor based on the best way to label the road type that would be helpful to the driver on that road. This policy is a guide for the MINIMUM locking level to be used for the convenience of the community, plus some notes about when not to lock:

• You should not normally be locking segments unless they are complete:
  • Segments aligned to aerials (there may be some exceptions to this)
  • Junction geometry adjusted for proper navigation instructions
  • Turn restrictions set correctly
  • Road type set correctly
  • Correctly named
• You should not lock segments unless you are regularly visiting the forums to deal with unlock requests.
• If you lock segments, your name will be recorded on them and you will generally be considered responsible for their state.

Any editor found mass-editing lock levels simply because this policy suggests a minimum lock level is likely to face reduction of editor rank and/or removal of AM/CM rights.

Segment Type (UK Name)	Lock Level
Freeway (Motorway)	5
Ramp	3/5^
Major Highway	3
Minor Highway	3
Primary Street	2*
Street	1
Private Road	1
Parking Lot Road (Parking Road)	1
Narrow Street	3
|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| Railroad (Runway) |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|	2
⁃     ⁃        ⁃        ⁃        ⁃ Runway ⁃        ⁃        ⁃        ⁃        ⁃	3

^: Most ramps should be L3, but some very complex Ramp configurations may be locked at L5 to protect routing integrity.

*: Updated in Oct 2018 from L1 to L2 over concern that routing between towns was being accidentally broken by L1 editors, per forum post.

A special note on locking:

Motorways, Major Highways & Minor Highways are vital for routing calculation in Waze, therefore they need to be locked to prevent especially new editors from unintentionally damaging these traffic arteries. But keep in mind that a lock also blocks lower level editors from adding streets. So only apply a lock on a segment, if all roads are connected.

If creating a new road in a not yet mapped area, you also may choose to add just one short segment of a connecting road (a handle) to create the junction and allow a lower level editor to connect the surrounding streets later without being blocked by the locked highway.

Elevations

The "Seagull Rule" represents Waze's policy for setting elevation levels. The reason for it is related to the representation of roads, tunnels and bridges in the live map and the app.

Typical Elevation setup at a Bridge

• If a seagull can fly right under it, it’s a bridge (Level 1+).
• Seagulls don't fly underground, these are tunnels (Level -1 and lower)
• For every other case the road is ground level (Level 0), even if it’s artificially elevated or dug under street level.

For example:

• We mark bridges with level = 1.
• We only mark a road as level 2 if there’s another bridge (1) running underneath it.
• Same logic applies for tunnels (in opposite direction), and further (3,4 & -3,-4).

Note:

In many cases we will need to split segments into two or more segments to correctly mark only the right parts of the road as a bridge or a tunnel. (This is important for the map’s fidelity and as cues for drivers, see image on the right)

These bridges should be marked relatively tightly. This also applies to railroad segment types.

Dual Carriageways

This guidance is based on the global best editing practice for divided roads.

The following convention should be followed where possible, although it is acknowledged that you may need to deviate from it in some circumstances.

A road can be divided into be 2 one-way roads if all of the following conditions are met:

1. The central reservation is greater than 15m.
2. There's a visible gap between the GPS traces (when viewed at the 100m/500ft zoom level).
3. It is split by physical barrier (e.g. Grass, raised concrete, jersey barrier etc).

Pedestrian refuges and painted road separations (cross hatching that can be driven over) should not normally be divided.

Special Note

Keep in mind that Waze actually works best when roads are not divided, because all reports made in the app for the other carriageway on divided roads are in vain - the app currently doesn't support these kinds of reports. In addition, representing a road as two one-way sections makes it difficult to control U-turns properly - see https://wazeopedia.waze.com/wiki/USA/Routing_penalties/Controlling_U-turn_penalties for the reason why. Road dividing used to be more common in the past, so we have since increased the conditions to be met before dividing a road. If there is a perfectly working divided road that does not meet the above stated conditions in the editor, don't un-divide it. It's a lot of work that can be put into improving other areas of the Waze map, rather than the risk of losing valuable traffic data if editing is not done correctly. If a divided road isn't working and should be un-divided, then it is important to follow these instructions carefully, and get a second experienced (L4 and above) editor to verify the entire un-divide within 24 hours.

Other Situations

Roads Not Matching Aerials

When using Google aerial imagery and Street View there can be some situations where the images are out of date and don't show the current road layout. It is advisable to add a map comment documenting that, and lock the segments at L3+, to prevent well-meaning editors "correcting" them. When verifying an area that looks "wrong", first turn on the GPS arrows layer to see where drivers have driven using Waze. We map using the GPS indicators, as they serve as a better indicator of where the road "is" with respect to drivers.

"Unexpected" Situations

These are odd situations that occur sometimes. For example: a no-right-turn where you wouldn't expect one; a short one-way segment at the end of a two-way road; a deliberate no-name segment joining double-mini roundabouts. If you think that a feature is likely to be reverted by someone who doesn't know what was intended, it is acceptable to lock it. If you find such a situation, please also accompany it with a map comment explaining what you have done and why.

Vandalism

If an area is subject to repeated bad edits, it may be locked up. This should only be done after discussion with the Australian Community team and the approval of the Country Managers (who may want to take further action).

If you believe an area is under active vandalism, please notify your State Manager / Country Manager. The current Management team is listed here.

Toll Segments

These should be locked to L5 to prevent interference. Please also note that there is a 3 minute transition penalty for toll roads. This is currently being looked into being removed as of July 2019.

Level 6 Locks

So far we have not identified any occasions where we really need to use L6 locks. We don't have so many L5 editors that we can't all keep track of what's going on, so we hope not to need it. But, if you have a situation that you feel needs a L6 lock, please post on the forum for discussion.