Parking lots
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As of June 2018[update], guidance changed to recommend more detailed mapping of Parking Lot roads, in those lots which should be mapped. There is no priority to adapt existing lots to the new standards, unless working on or near the lot for other reasons or there is guidance from a senior editor to pursue it. |
Mapping the roads inside parking lots serves the following purposes:
- It allows Waze to provide door-to-door directions to Places within the lot.
- It allows Waze to recognize that the client is off the main road, avoiding erroneous traffic reports.
- The Parking Lot Road road type prevents routes from transiting the lots to other destinations.
- It allows Waze to calculate estimated times for walking from the parking lot to destinations, and to calculate walking times for users leaving Places near the lot.
- Increasing the number of segments inside parking could reduce the likelihood of instructions that use names from nearby named streets.
For information on how to map parking lot Places, see the Places/Parking_lot page. Parking lot roads are not limited to use with the parking lot place type, though they are best used in combination.
The Parking Lot Road type exists to allow proper navigation into and out of parking lots while discouraging routes through parking lots. Waze applies a penalty to routes which transition from Parking Lot Road to other road types. This transition penalty decreases the chances that Waze will route through a parking lot as a shortcut, but doesn't interfere with navigation to or from points within parking lots parking lots. Avoid mixing road types within a parking lot so as to avoid triggering the transition penalty unnecessarily. See Road_types#Parking_Lot_Road for more information on this road type.
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A reminder that all roads, including parking lot roads, must have a city name applied or the ‘None’ checkbox must be checked for both city name and road name. If RPPs are used along the parking lot, be sure to include the primary city name according to state guidelines and any appropriate alternative city names for the addresses in the nearby RPPs. |
Large Parking Lots
When mapping large parking lots, map each aisle of the parking lot. Add any appropriate turn restrictions, one-way segments, etc., as you would with any road.
On any two-way segment which travels directly along perpendicular parking spaces, set the U-turns at either end of the segment to Allowed. This enables the routing server to implicitly direct the user to exit their parking spot in the optimal direction. Typically aisles for angled parking are one-way, and U-turns are not available. In rare cases, angled two-way parking may occur, and in this case, u-turns should be Prohibited.
PHOTOS GO HERE
Parking Garages
Parking garages should not have each lane visible on the uppermost parking level mapped. Instead, each entry and exit road should be mapped as one-way or two-way as appropriate. As of June 2018[update], Parking Lot Areas (“PLA”) do not support multiple entries. For this reason, connect the entry and exit road segments to a single segment, with the PLA’s entry point set along that segment. This allows Waze to choose the best entry to the garage depending on the route’s starting location.
Small Parking Lots
For small lots, if there is only one entrance and one exit, or if there are multiple entrances/exits near to each other on the same road, then it may not be necessary to add PLRs at all, especially if the entrances and exits are on a divided or one-way road (so there's effectively only one way in and one way out). Small parking lots should be mapped if: there are entrances/exits to the lot on more than one street; there are nearby PLRs that might cause a user to be snapped to the wrong lot; the Place served is a gas station or has a drive-thru.
If the small lot is on at the corner of two or more non-PLR roads, the value of the lot should be carefully weighed against the damage to (turn timing) done by adding nodes near an intersection. Consider if the addition of a Junction Box is needed to resolve data collection concerns..
If it is determined that PLRs are desirable in a small lot, then follow the same instructions as when mapping a large lot. However, in cases where a small store-front parking lot has a pair of one-way aisles, such at at a ‘strip mall’, it is acceptable to use a single two-way road segment that approximates the location of both aisles. In this case, enable the u-turns on either end of the segment, so users traveling in either aisle will get efficient routes.
PHOTOS GO HERE