User:Karrows/test

For Road Types in the editor see Road types/USA

This page covers road names for the country listed in the page title. For other countries see this page.

Road naming

NOTE: we are in the process of revising the names as they appear in WME. In the future we may be able to display alternate names for each segment / road, and choose which one of these is the 'common' name. This is also true for road shield generation which is partially broken so shields may or may not be displayed in your area.

If you are not sure about changing the name of a road, it is best to ask in the forum or wait until the changes described above are implemented.

IMPORTANT! Due to upgrades in the client, some naming conventions have changed. The altered conventions will be marked with a bolded *NEW*. These changes have now been finalized. Thank you for your cooperation.

All roads in our base maps came with the names as defined in the US TIGER dataset.

However, you might notice a few problems with the original road names: Some of the names are not the 'common' names (usually, waze will display the 'name' of the hwy while most people know this hwy by its number).

On other examples, the same highway will have a different name on each side (for example, US Hwy 101 going North, and Bayshore Fwy going South).

Some roads actually have two 'common' names (for example, the NJ Turnpike is also I-95 and both are relevant names), but currently we can only display one name per road.

For all these issues, we ask that you currently leave the situation as is. We are working on a few fixes, that will automate the proper naming and also allow multiple names for each segments (with a 'Primary' name as the one being displayed, but other names that bring up the same search results).

Concurrent names

Overlapping Highways - When two or more numbered highways (or interstates) run concurrently (one stretch of road has multiple route numbers), the segment should be named after the primary of the routes. The primary route will usually have one or more of the following attributes:

• The route whose mile markers are used for the concurrent segment
• The route whose exit numbers are used for the concurrent segment
• When the concurrency ends, the route whose path does not get signed as a numbered exit.

The other route number(s) can be entered as alternate names. If alternate names are entered, be sure not to introduce any alternate name discontinuities which may trigger the big detour prevention mechanism.

Highways through cities/towns - In situations where a highway passes through a town, the road in those areas is typically named something other than the numbered route. In these situations the road should be named based on the following conditions:

• If the local street signs provide guidance with the local name, that should be used as the primary name in the Waze map. The numbered route should be added as an alternate name.
• If the local signs only indicate the route number, then that should be the primary name and the local road name should be added as an alternate name.

United States Interstate Highway System

Components of the Interstate Highway System should be denoted as shown:

I-10 E for Interstate 10, Eastbound

I-310 S for Interstate 310, Southbound

I-35E N for Interstate 35E, Northbound (Letter suffixes are only in Minnesota and Texas)

Nearly all interstates are divided highways by necessity, and they should be drawn as such in the map for navigational accuracy.

United States Numbered Highways

The naming of highways is, of course, somewhat more complex than that of normal roads. Therefore, conventions must be followed to assure consistency throughout the map.

Certain formatting guidelines must be followed to ensure that highway shields are shown in the Live Map and in the client. Note that currently shield generation is not currently operating at 100%, so some areas do not have the shields on all roads. Waze has said that there will eventually be a process allowing map editors to add shields to road segments in a way that is not connected to the name OF that segment.

US Highways

Federal highways should be denoted as follows. Note that the trailing N, S, E, W cardinal direction indicator is used for numbered highways and interstates which are split into two 1-way segments, per the guidelines.

US-61 S for U.S. Highway 61, Southbound

US-425 W for U.S. Highway 425, Westbound

US-90 BUS S for U.S. Highway 90 Business, Southbound

(note that BUS should be all uppercase for TTS to pronounce as "business". "Bus", "bus", etc. will pronounce as "Bus".)

US-90 ALT E for U.S. Highway 90 Alternate, Eastbound

US-199 SPUR for U.S. Highway 199 Spur

Also refer to the concurrent names section when the highway passes through a city or town that also has a local name for the road.

State, County, Township highways and roads

State, County, Township and other local roads have many regional variations across the country. Local standards have been established at state levels. It is very important to check the highway naming table along with the other state guidelines that can be found by selecting the state in the table below.

Road Badges

Unique road sign badges for each state or region is a feature that is in the works for the future, but there is no estimate on when this feature will be implemented.

State Highways should always be named according to the state's naming standard which standardizes the formats for future road badge implementation.

Maintaining consistency to the state naming standards also applies to county, township, or other roads listed in the standards for potential future road badges for these roads as well.

Road Name Details

For deicing the primary name of a road with multiple possible names, see the concurrent names section above

All road names needed for any purpose need to be included as alternate names if they are not used as the primary name. Alternate names needed may include

* All concurrent route names when they are not the primary name.

* City street name used for residential addresses

* Alternative street names for streets bordering two cities that cause the street to have more than one name.

* Long-form alternate names needed for residential address searches. For example; On a road named "CR-J" a search for a residential address of "123 County Road J" will not find any Waze address results unless the road has an alternate name of "County Road J" on that segment of road. On a highway named "SR-10", an address search for "123 State Highway 10" will not return any Waze results unless the road segment also contains an alternate name of "State Highway 10". So it is important to understand how the local address names are typically communicated so that alternate names can match user searches.

State and local routes may be split if they meets the guidelines to do so. Split routes may have the cardinal direction at the end of the name to denote the direction of travel. For example, if SR-10 is a split highway it may have the sides named "SR-10 N" and "SH-10 S".

Also refer to the concurrent names section when the highway passes through a city or town that also has a local name for the road.

Text to speech

Specific text to speech details can be found at Abbreviations and acronyms/USA

Special care must be given to routes named with letters that include cardinal directions (N, S, E, W) so that they are pronounced as the letter rather than the direction (for example having the text to speech to say the letter E rather than the word East.

Also refer to the concurrent names section when the highway passes through a city or town that also has a local name for the road.

Exit ramps and entrance ramps (on-ramps)

This revision of a section is currently undergoing modifications. The information and guidance is currently considered accurate enough to be followed now. Content is being prepared by one or more users. Do not make any changes before you post a message in this forum.

Exit ramps and Entrance ramps are to be set as  Ramp  road type. The name of the ramp should match the exit or entrance signage as closely as possible. Minimal disparity between sign and instruction is our goal. If done properly, the driver will not have to struggle to compare Waze's on-screen or verbal instructions with what he or she sees in real life on the road.

• If an exit is signed and numbered, name the exit ramp as such: "Exit 24: US-103 / Schwarzenegger Rd". In other words, start with the word "Exit" followed by the exit number, follow the exit number with a colon (": "), and separate all elements (shields and names) after the colon with slashes (" / ").
• If an exit is signed and unnumbered, name the exit ramp as such: "to SR-33 / Kindergarten Ct". In other words, start with the word "to" (lowercase) followed by all elements on the sign (shields and names), separated with slashes (" / "). (Rule change: August 2014.)
  • If the exit number is assigned and designated by the local roadway agency, but does not yet appear on the sign, it is OK to include the exit number in advance of it appearing on the road sign. This prevents additional updates later when the numbered sign is added to the roadway and it helps visual guidance when other exits before that one are numbered. Drivers can better anticipate their approaching exit.
• If an exit is unsigned, include the designation and/or name of the road as if it is signed (i.e., starting with "to"). For example, if an unsigned exit serves "US-12", a signed highway which is locally known as "Michigan Ave", name the ramp segment "to US-12 / Michigan Ave". If only a local name or only a highway designation are present, use only that.
• If a single exit serves multiple roads or cities, use a slash with leading and trailing spaces: "Exit 32: Terminator Blvd / Total Recall Rd".
• If an exit number contains one or more letters, include it exactly as displayed on the sign: "Exit 33B: Running Man St", or "Exits 35C-B-A: Junior Dr / Twins Ave / Jingle Allthe Way".
  • Separate sub-exit letters with a hyphen. Do not leave spaces between the hyphen and the adjacent characters.
• Include everything that is present on the last sign prior to the exit. Do not combine all possible pre-ramp signage into the single ramp segment name.
• Remember to abbreviate common words following the abbreviations and acronyms page.
• If the exit off the main interstate or highway serves multiple exits further down the road, it may be advisable not to name the first exit ramp, but rather name only the ramps which are the first one to a distinct destination. The Waze client will give all the proper exit and keep left or right instructions to guide the driver to the correct exit, even if the first one is not named. That said, this should only be done if the signage for the first ramp is the same as that on the subsequent, named ramp.

For entrance ramps, use this format: "to [street name] [direction] / [control city]", where applicable. For example,

• "to I-10 W / Baton Rouge"
• "to Clearview Pkwy N / Mandeville"
• "to US-90 BUS W"
• "to LA-1 / Thibodaux / Lockport"
• Similar to combined exit ramps, when multiple on-ramps combine before merging into the main interstate or highway, it is advised to name the last common ramp with the conventions listed above. This will usually be the last ramp which is the one which actually joins the main interstate or highway.
• Using "Ramp to", "West", "WB", and "Westbound" should be avoided as "WB" is pronounced "double-you bee" and not 'westbound.' Further, the "to" will be automatically omitted from Text-to-Speech instructions. Do not omit the word "to", because this could cause confusion with, say, the "Select entire street" function.
• State highways: When naming ramps and exits that lead to state highways, local naming should be used. This will maximize the clarity of navigation prompts for the majority of users in a given area. For example,
  • In New Jersey, highways are generally colloquially referred to as "routes". To distinguish from other (federal) highways, a sign for State Route 45 in New Jersey should say "to State Rte 45". In this case, the abbreviation "to SR-45" may also be used.
  • In Louisiana, state highways are generally colloquially referred to as "LA" (ell-ay) followed by the highway number. A ramp to Louisiana Highway 308 should be say "to LA-308".
  • In North Carolina (NC), state routes are generally colloquially referred to as "NC" followed by the route number. A ramp to NC Highway 55 should be say "to NC-55".
  • In general, follow the chart in the road naming by state article.
• Similar to exit ramps, put multiple destination information, even from multiple signage, onto the single on-ramp name. Major destinations or highways/interstates can be included, but don't go crazy and add every possible town and city in that direction. "to US-90 BUS W / to I-10 W / Miss River Brg / Baton Rouge" is fine.

New streets

Sometimes, there is a brand new road that does not yet have a name visible to drivers. Or the person who used the pave option did not leave a note giving the name of the new road. In these cases, it is okay to leave the name of the road blank by marking the "None" checkbox next to the Name field in the Address Properties in the editor. Always make sure to choose the proper road type and confirm the other road details to ensure that the road appears on the client app.

Incomplete segments or red roads

Incomplete.jpg

Be sure to select country, state, enter the city name or check "None", and enter a street name, or check "None". Until you do this, your road will not be routable and will not show on the client map. These incomplete segments are colored bright red in WME.

This must be done on all streets created in WME, and on all streets created with the client "Pave" function.

"Paved" streets must also be connected to their adjacent roads, and turn restrictions must be set in order to be routable.

For more detailed instructions on how to address red roads see: Confirming the road by updating details

Navigation instructions for unnamed segments

1. REDIRECT Navigation instructions for unnamed segments/Conditions

Abbreviations and acronyms

Only abbreviations that Waze recognizes should be used within the editor. Since Waze uses TTS (Text-to-Speech) prompting, it is important that the correct abbreviations are used to produce the correct speech output.

A basic rule of thumb is, "when in doubt, spell it out".

Refer to the Abbreviations and acronyms/USA page for a list of suffix abbreviations.

Construction zones and closed roads

This standard has recently changed as of December 2014. Please pay close attention to the changes.

This section describes the naming of roads that are closed. See the article Real time closures for instructions on how to enact a closure on a road segment. The closure should be enacted before renaming the road segments.

This section also describes what actions to take when a road remains open, but there are significant changes to it while construction completes.

Brief closures

Roads can be closed using the Waze application for brief closures. Don't change the map for closures that will last less than about a month. Instead, use the Waze app Road Closed reporting function.

Long term closures

Updated as of December 2014

The requirement to add '(Closed)' to a road segment has been deprecated. Adding this phrase to a road segment can cause routing/navigation issues for Wazers.

Major construction without closure

Updated as of December 2014

It is no longer necessary to add '(Construction Zone)' to any road under construction. Adding this phrase can cause routing/navigation issues and serves no purpose in the app or for the Wazer.

If there is a significant change to traffic patterns or geometry (lane shifts), adjust the geometry, connections, and restrictions of the segments to match the current traffic pattern. You must be able to monitor the area, and readjust once the construction is complete, or when additional changes are made during construction.

Official sources of mapping information

Being in the Waze community of editors means sharing information you discover and learning from the discoveries of others! You can see some of the (old) official sources of mapping information (US only) provided in the forum or check out the (new) mapping resources wiki page (preferred).

Feel free to add new resources as you find them.

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