This page serves as the primary resource for editors of Utah. Review all the sections to better understand how the guidelines for this state might deviate from the overall USA or worldwide guidelines. If you have any comments or questions about this page or state refer to the community links below.
Make sure you change your Language in the editor Settings to "US English" (not just plain "English"), otherwise some road types and other editor elements won't match this wiki.
Introduction
Utah is a part of the Southwest region, which includes the states and/or territories of:
Utah follows the USA national guidance with a few exceptions and clarifications.
Mapping resources
Before editing the maps in Utah, be sure to fully review and understand the editing manual.
The Waze user community follows the Waze etiquette guidelines discussed in the Wiki. Be sure to familiarize yourself with these guiding principals while editing the maps and this Wiki, as well as when communicating with other Waze users.
Functional Classification
Utah follows the Functional Classification (FC) system for both state and non-state roads. This change from the previous road-typing guidance was changed in September 2014. As of January, 2016, all counties in Utah have been updated to the new standard.
To properly type a Freeway, Major Highway, Minor Highway, or Primary Street, refer to the Utah Arcgis site and cross reference that against the Waze Functional Classification table. Enabling the "Topographic" layer under the "Basemap" heading is helpful.
The Waze forum is a great place to find answers to previously asked questions and also a place to ask new ones. Below are links to the forums specific to Utah.
New editors should consider checking into the formal mentoring program available at no charge.
Cities and towns
One of the most common errors when editing the maps is when an editor creates a road and does not confirm the road by setting the city and road name (or stating it has none).
Some states and territories manage a separate page on cities and towns to identify the specific city names that should be entered, and no others. For states that do not have a separate page to track the names, see this Wikipedia link and find the state or territory in question.
The approved format for State Highway naming in Utah is: SR-##
Locking Standard
In Utah we have a set minimum standard for locking roads based on segment type. Any road of a certain segment type must be locked at least to the rank (level) in the chart below. Roads may be locked higher for protection and special situations (areas with construction, tricky design, frequent mistakes, imaging inaccuracies, and the like), but should not be locked lower.
The Utah Functional Classification system is on par with the Nationwide standard, and consists of 7 Road Types.
UT to Waze FC conversion
Utah's Dept of Transportation has made Functional Classification maps available online, in PDF format, for each county. They also provide an interactive statewide map.
The Utah Classification and Color scheme come from the official Utah D.O.T (UDOT) Functional Classification (FC) map that is published by UDOT. The legend shows what classifications UDOT uses and what color is assigned to each class.
↑When a state highway "SPUR" route is used to connect a state highway with another state highway, a US highway, or an Interstate (i.e., when it is used as a connector/CONN route), use the first state highway column.
↑All FC "Local" roads with a State Route designation (SR-XXX) discovered so far have been local roads serving a state facility campus, and are more appropriately typed as Primary Street, Street, or even Parking Lot Road. Check with a state manager for any of these.
If you encounter a specific type of road (Interstate/US Hwy Business route, etc) that is not shown, reference the main FC Quick Reference chart
Functional Classification Exceptions
These roads have changed from the recommended Functional Classification for the reason noted.
U-turns are permitted in Utah where they are safe [1], except where prohibited by signage or restricted by local municipal law. Legal U-turns includes those made from a two-way (i.e. shared) turn lane. [2]
U-turns on Primary Street through Major Highway type roads may be enabled in either of the following two circumstances (Do not enable U-turns on Street type roads):
) The U-turn is explicitly allowed by signage; or
) The U-turn is otherwise legal and safe, and there is at least 10.1 m (33 feet) from the left edge of the departure lane to the "destination" curb. This can include any median that may exist to the left of the departure lane. (The measurement is intended to accommodate the turning radius of most passenger vehicles.)
Do not make a point of enabling all U-turns valid under this guidance, only as you encounter them and they are necessary. For Waze routing, U-turns should only be enabled where they provide for improved routing, which includes recovering from missed turns. A common example is a median-divided primary street that has homes/businesses with their driveways/entrances directly on it, where reaching them would otherwise require lengthy, multi-turn deviations through side roads in order to end up on the correct side of the median.
Note that when editing, a functional U-turn can arise from more than just the u-turn flag on a road segment, such as with these common scenarios:
Divided roads with box and partial-box intersections where the median segment is 15 m (49 feet) or longer.
Divided roads with explicitly-mapped inside turn lanes unless the turn arrow in the u-turn direction is disabled.
Utah follows the Waze speed limits guidance. Please read that page carefully before editing any Speed Limits (SLs).
Utah does not alter speed limits for temporary reductions such as school zones or work zones, unless the work zone duration will exceed 3 months and the signs present are fixed-speed and on permanent style mountings (no digital variable speed limit signs, no portable signs).
Speed Limit standards
The following are the speed limits laws of Utah, except where posted signs indicate differently (higher or lower speed limits).
Utah practices "True Elevation" where almost all segments are set with elevation Ground unless they are passing over/beneath another segment, major waterway, or natural feature.
Drivable and non-drivable (Railroad, etc.) segments are handled by the same rules.
Only segments that "cannot see the sky" should have negative elevation (e.g. tunnels, underground parking garages)
Only set elevation as high as necessary, with the relative elevations representing the true physical relationships. Example: Nothing should be +2 unless it is crossing over a +1 segment, which is crossing over a Ground level segment.
If you use the Bridge tool to join segments, be aware that it raises the elevation of the newly-joined segment. Lower the joined segment as appropriate.
Only elevate/lower the actual bridge/tunnel section of the road.
Bridges should be cut with a junction node at the start/end of the bridge where the land falls away. You can typically see guardrail at the start/end of the bridge section, an expansion gap in the pavement where the bridge starts/ends, and/or a pavement change (asphalt to concrete, for example).
Don't create elevated bridges for water unless the waterway is of significance (i.e. don't bridge every 5 foot rural box culvert).
Tunnels should be cut with a junction node at least 15m / 50ft before and after the tunnel, to allow time for the GPS to regain signal. Set the "Tunnel" checkbox as well.
Do not cut segments for elevation purposes if the bridge/tunnel starts/stops within 60m/200ft of an existing junction. Re-use that junction that is "close enough." Also be aware of cutting segments "too close" (which is always relative) to an intersection.
The use of common sense is paramount in using True Elevation.
Special roads
Drivable roads
Utah follows the standard USA guidelines for all of the following special road types.
Review the Wiki guidelines for non-drivable roads to ensure compliance with the general guidelines.
Railroads
Railroads/light rail are mapped according to special guidelines in the USA. As of 2016-06-28, Railroad segments should not be named except for special, approved cases. No such cases are currently approved in Utah.
Routable Pedestrian Path (Walking Trail)
Do not map hiking or biking paths/trails. It is common for newer editors to see "missing" paths/trails on the map, and see a readily available Walking Trail segment type to choose from, but mapping trails in Utah is an error. If you have changed your editor language to US English, this becomes clearer as that segment type is then named "Routable Pedestrian Path." This segment type is routable by Waze and will cause unintended results for nearby destinations. There are rare cases where a Routable Pedestrian Path segment can be added to the map to improve routing, but all uses must be approved by a Routable Pedestrian Path expert.
Use of this type in Utah is currently limited to one special case: Outdoor plazas where what would otherwise be a thru-road has been converted to permanent and exclusive use by pedestrians. Map the Non-Routable Pedestrian Path as you would a basic road, but do not connect the segments to actual drivable roads (leave a 10m / 33ft gap). This use case has the sole purpose of making it obvious to all editors that there is no drivable road missing from the map, so it is not necessary if the plaza is obviously not a road (ex: Main St Plaza @ Temple Square). These segments should be locked at rank 3.
Stairway
Do not use this type.
Off-road / Not maintained
Utah follows the following functional classification for Gravel and Off-road / Not maintained trails. (expandable section)
Gravel Roads
Functional Classification
Minor Arterial Minor Highway
Minor Collector Primary Street
Local/Not Mapped Street
Off-road / Not maintained
Functional Classification
Minor Arterial Off-road / Not maintained
Minor Collector Off-road / Not maintained
Local/Not Mapped Off-road / Not maintained
Images demonstrated above cannot cover all scenarios for mapping maintenance level to Waze road type. These roads may undergo variation in quality over seasons depending on the climate (rain/snow). Particularly, some gravel roads may have qualities that are closer to Off-road / Not maintained than Street. Editors with local experience and Street View images may help in this determination.
Driveways / Private Roads
Please follow the following guidelines for Private Driveways. Wiki standard can be found here. Driveways
Mapping rural diveways
If an address/location cannot be reasonably guided to without a private drive, it can be added.
A single house at the end of a 1 mile (1609m) long private drive = it probably isn't needed.
If it's 5 houses at the end of a single shared 1/4 mile (402m) long private drive, it probably is needed.
If it's a house at the end of a 500m (1640 ft) long private drive, which is right up against another street from which you cannot access the address (stop point will be on the segment closest), then a private drive is probably needed.
Closures
When managing a section of roadway under construction or being closed for a major event, follow the Wiki guidelines on construction zones and Real time closures.
Road Closures
You can follow UDOT Traffic on Twitter to stay up to date on the latest traffic conditions and road closures.
This section contains details about road closures, mainly state highways, but can contain City, Urban and Rural streets in the state of Utah. If you perform a road closure at any time please use the Waze Closures form and report all closures here.
Utah follows the USA standard for Places. Do not deviate from the guidelines without first obtaining consensus to do so via the state forum linked on this page.
Minimum Acceptable Information
All Places added to the map must contain the following entries:
Proper Category
Place Name
Address (including address numbers)
Placed in the correct location on the map
This is the minimum acceptable amount of information for inclusion on the map.
Locking Standard
Utah Place Lock Level Standards
PLACE TYPE
LOCK LEVEL
Military Installation / Airport
4
Hospitals / Urgent Care / Police & Fire Dept
4
National & State Parks and Monuments
4
Gas Stations / Charging Stations
3
Schools / Universities / Colleges
3
Government Buildings / Consulates
3
All Places that have complete information (to include, at a minimum, address/city, hours of operation, phone number) are to be locked at Level 2. This is to prevent loss of data due to automatic acceptance of Place Update submissions from Trusted Users, or Place Update Request approvals from other editors without careful examination.
If you do not have a high enough enough rank to lock the place as indicated, please lock it as high as you can, and notify a higher rank AM, SM, CM, or Champ to lock it higher.
Hospitals / Urgent Care
Utah follows the USA standards for Hospitals, Emergency Rooms, and Urgent Care facilities. Clinics and medical offices which do not offer urgent medical care for walk-ins should use the Doctor / Clinic and any other appropriate categories instead.
Cameras
Not every camera-looking device at an intersection is a speed or red light camera. Generally speaking:
a speed camera takes a photograph of a vehicle when it passes by the camera at too high a speed.
a red light camera takes a photograph of a vehicle that enters an intersection after the light is red. In some areas, it takes the photograph when a vehicle is not clear of the intersection some period after the light turns red.
When adding a camera, be sure to review the camera placement recommendations.
Laws regarding speed and red light cameras vary between the states and territories, so be sure to understand the details of camera legality in Utah.
Based on information researched at the time this page was created, red light and speed cameras are illegal statewide in Utah.
No other camera types should be mapped in Waze.
Speed Cameras and Red light Cameras are NOT CURRENTLY USED in the State of Utah. Or more specifically the restrictions on use are strict enough that no entity is using Speed Cameras. The reason is that unlike most states that allow such devices, Utah's law requires that a certified Law Enforcement Officer must personally approve each ticket at the time of the infraction.
To do list
Many states and territories keep an active list of pending or closed actions that need to be done in the state by the editors. All editors are welcome to contribute to the list of activities.
This state does not currently have an active "to do" list at this time. Check in the Utah section of the Waze forums to discuss creating one.
Other
Working with URs
Utah has adopted a ASAP/7/7 day standard when dealing with User Requests.
Our goal is to respond to new URs as soon as possible. Fix the issue and solve the UR (if within our control, and identifiable), or solicit additional needed information from the reporter.
If there is no response from the reporter within 7 days, "bump" the request with a reminder message.
If there is a response from the reporter, and a conversation starts about the error and how to resolve it, the 7 day clock starts over.
Resolve URs that have no response to comment in 7 days, or are completed. NEVER close a UR without leaving a closing comment, even if it's something as simple as "No info received, closing." This includes URs you've left for yourself to address, as closed URs with zero comments show up as "red flags" to area managers.
When responding to URs, please remember the wise words of the scholar, brevity is the soul of wit.
More than likely, the user is going to be reading your response in the Waze App, so try and keep it as short as possible, while still conveying the information, or request desired.
If you're editing in Utah, we ask that you turn on the LIVE USERS layer in the editor. If you see another editor show up where you are editing, and move around you, please check WME Chat. Also, check and see if you have a Private Message (PM) in the Forum.
There may be an issue with the area you're editing in, or what you are doing.
Never Be Unreachable!
Area Managers
The table below identifies the editors also designated as Area Managers or higher who are editing in Utah. If you have any questions, please consider contacting them directly as needed. If you are an Area Manager that covers Utah, or a USA Country Manager that does a lot of work in Utah, please add yourself to this list (alphabetical by username) in the correct rank section.
The editor who also serves as the Regional Coordinator for Utah is automatically listed at the top of the table. That editor may not be highly active in this state and therefore may not be listed separately in the table.
Utah — Area, State, Country Managers, and Regional Coordinators
The following editors are also editing in the state and may be working towards an Area Manager position. Feel free to contact them for assistance in their respective areas.
