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This page serves as the primary resource for editors of Wisconsin. 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.
All Editors are welcome to join us in the Great Lakes Region Discord Server. By clicking the following link to join a Waze editor Discord Server, you are acknowledging that you have read, understood, and agree to the Waze Etiquette rules in their entirety. Click here to join.
Introduction
Wisconsin is a part of the Great Lakes region, which includes the states and/or territories of:
Before editing the maps in Wisconsin, 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.
The Statewide Parcel Map Initiative is an effort to create a digital parcel map for the State of Wisconsin by combining GIS data from city and county datasets into a single platform. You can access using this link, or by using the script. The WME WI GIS script is linked to Waze and will move when you pan around in WME.
Editing Scripts
There are many scripts available to assist in editing. Waze User Scripts
Wisconsin Google Drive Resources
We have a Google Drive that we use for documents and spreadsheets to help with many areas of editing in our state. The link is: Wisconsin Google Drive
Community
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 Wisconsin.
New editors should consider checking into the formal mentoring program available at no charge.
Wisconsin is part of the Great Lakes Region, that has its own wiki as well: Great Lakes Region Wiki
Our standard Welcome message to new editors can be found here: Welcome On that page (which can be freely modified to be personalized when copying and sending to new editors) you will also find a link to the form to gain access to the GLR Discord server. Discord is now our primary means of chat (this does not replace the Waze Forum). All editors are highly encouraged to join!
Wisconsin Editor Discord Channel
The Wisconsin editor community as part of the Great Lakes Region uses Discord to gather and communicate. This is where you can interact and chat with fellow editors along with your Area and State Managers. It will give you good insight into the best practices and policies in regard to map editing plus give an easy, convenient way for editors to stay in touch, ask questions, request downlocks or review of your work and get peer-to-peer mentoring.
By clicking the following link to join a Waze editor Discord Server, you are acknowledging that you have read, understood, and agree to the Waze Etiquette rules in their entirety. Click here to join.
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).
Towns in Wisconsin are named with the Twp suffix. This helps distinguish them from villages & cities and makes navigation to town addresses easier. When there are duplicate town names, the county name will be appended in parenthesis. eg: Maple Grove Twp (Shawano)
See Wisconsin/Cities and towns for a list of all Towns in Wisconsin.
City names on segments
Segment primary city name
When assigning the city name to a road segment or venue, use the name of the city, village, town(Twp suffix required), or census designated place(CDP). If the road type is Freeway set the city as None regardless of the location. Besides Freeway, every segment of every road type should have a city name in the primary field.
Segment alternate city name
If the city name in the primary city field does not match the city name designated by the U.S. Postal Service, the city designated by the USPS should be set as an alternate city name for that segment.
Military Bases
Wisconsin has one military base. Army base Fort McCoy, located in Monroe County.
Wisconsin uses the following standards for road naming:
Freeways - I-###
US Highways - US-###
State Highways - WIS-###
County Highways - CH-XXX Forest Roads - FR-###
Wisconsin uses the Wisconsin - State Main shield for state routes, Wisconsin - County Main shield for county highways, and Interstate Main & US Hwy Main shields for their respective federal roads (federal routes including descriptors such as ALT, BUS, SPUR, etc. should use their respective shield when available and not the "Main" shields).
At this time, shields should not be added to roads that are primarily shielded with unavailable shields such as state business routes WIS-## BUS & forest roads FR-###.
Quick reference chart
Refer to this chart to determine the road type of a given paved public road based on the functional class.
Highway Systems
Interstate
US Hwy
US Hwy Business
State Hwy
State Hwy Business
County Highway
Locally-maintained
example
I-94 E
US-151
US-151 BUS
WIS-23
WIS-11 BUS
CH-B
Robertson St
F u n c t i o n a l
C l a s s
Interstate
Fw
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Other Freeway
n/a
Fw
Fw
Fw
Fw
Fw
Fw
Principal Arterial
n/a
Major
Major
Major
Major
Major
Major
Minor Arterial
n/a
Major
Minor
Minor
Minor
Minor
Minor
Major Collector
n/a
Major
Minor
Minor
PS
PS
PS
Minor Collector
n/a
Major
Minor
Minor
PS
PS
PS
Local/not mapped
n/a
Major
Minor
Minor
PS
PS
Street
True Elevation
Wisconsin uses the concept of True Elevation on segments within the State. The use of True Elevation (TE) is to better represent segments in relationship with its surroundings/ground level. Most segments should have an elevation of ground unless they pass over another segment, waterway, or natural feature. Drivable and non-drivable segments are handled the same way with elevation.
The practice of True Elevation is NOT observed on freeway or ramp segments.
Segment travels over another segment (also known as overpass)
Segment travels over a river or body of water
Segment artificially elevated to pass over ground level objects and natural features.
Tunnel
A tunnel is any road segment that is underground and thus the GPS reception is inconsistent.
Implementation
Elevation of overlapping segments should be set relative to each other, with the lowest segment as Ground (unless that segment is a tunnel).
Only elevate/lower the actual bridge/tunnel section of the road.
Bridges should be cut at the start/end of the bridge where the land falls away. You can usually see guardrail at the start/end of the bridge section.
Do not cut segments for elevation purposes if the bridge starts/stops within 500ft/150m of an existing junction.
Do not create a segment less than 200ft/60m in length
No need to elevate segments over every small creek or box culvert. Only elevate over significant waterways or natural features.
Only set elevation as low/high as necessary. For example, no segment should be Elevation +2 unless it passes over another segment with Elevation +1.
Tunneled segments shall have lower elevation, relative to ground and Tunnel should be checked.
Only segments that are actually underground should have the negative elevation.
Tunnels should be cut at least 50ft/15m before and after the tunnel, to allow time for the GPS to regain signal.
The use of common sense is paramount in using True Elevation.
NOTE: If you use the Bridge tool to join segments, be aware that it raises the elevation of the joined segment. Lower the joined segment as appropriate.
Additional Notes For Wisconsin
New Roads
It is important to remember to add House Numbers (HNs) when adding new roads to Waze. Waze will not be doing any future imports or merges of external data for house numbers. This ensures that Waze will provide accurate routing to those new addresses. If you come across a new road that is part of a new residential development but HNs are not yet available, please add the road to the Wisconsin New Development Tracking Sheet. Add any relevant information to the project that you may have. This sheet is used to keep track of new developments to ensure roads and HNs get added to the map as quick as possible.
Dirt Roads
Example of a 2-track road. This would be set as Off Road / Not Maintained
All drivable unpaved (Dirt/Gravel) roads should be classified as per Functional Classification. The Unpaved checkbox should then be selected. Use the unpaved road attribute when the road is dirt or gravel but is maintained or improved by the city or county. This means that road is graded and leveled from time to time.
Trails and non-standard roads that may require special equipment to drive on, should either not be mapped, or be classified as an Off Road / Not Maintained. The Off-Road/Not Maintained road type will be used for 2-track jeep trail type unimproved roads. The Off-Road/Not Maintained type of roads are normally found in the rural areas of the state and should rarely be used around or in any city environment.
Using unpaved on a Local Street road type adds a time penalty to those segments of road and using Off-Road adds a larger time penalty. The time penalty is used by the routing server to determine the fastest route. In the app, there is a setting for Dirt roads. This can be set to Allow, Don’t Allow, and Avoid long ones. Just small lengths of Off-Road/Not Maintained will add a significant time penalty and these roads will be avoided by the app and may give users very long routes where the unpaved road attribute would have saved hours of time.
If you can't decide on what type to use just think, if a typical highway vehicle could easily travel at 15-25 mph should be considered a Local Street with the Unpaved road attribute.
Toll Roads
There are currently no toll roads in Wisconsin. No segments within the State of Wisconsin should be marked as 'Toll Road'.
Pedestrian Path
Routable Pedestrian Path, Non-Routable Pedestrian Path, and Stairway should not be mapped without approval from a State Manager for Wisconsin or the Regional Coordinator. These segment types can cause routing issues even when not connected to a drivable segment.
Solid White Lines
It is not illegal to cross a solid white line in the State of Wisconsin, unless posted Wisconsin Statute 346.13(3).
Some examples are: road edge lines, lane divider lines, or on/off ramp lane lines. Even though it is not illegal, it is a safe driving practice to not cross these lines. When mapping on/off ramps, please follow national guidelines in the Junction Style Guide/Interchange page.
There may be times when this is impractical, in such instances, contact a State Manager for further guidance.
Roundabouts at Freeway Interchanges
When there are roundabouts at freeway interchanges, leave the connecting overpass/underpass roads un-named. Waze will read forward to the next roundabout and provide proper TTS and visual prompts for the user to aid in proper lane selection at multi-lane roundabouts.
Here is an example of when not to name the segment(s): Do Not Name
The u-turn can be made in safety and without interfering with other traffic.
Not upon any curve, or upon the approach to or near the crest of a grade, where the vehicle cannot be seen by the driver of any other vehicle approaching from either direction within five hundred (500) feet.
Not explicitly prohibited by signage or local municipal law.
You are not required to back up during the course of the u-turn in order to complete it.
For Waze routing, u-turns should only be enabled where they provide the potential 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.
U-Turns are not allowed on any Freeway or Expressway.
If a construction zone is expected to last one week or longer, the following options are allowed to be made to the area:
Change speed limit to lower posted limit
Add crossovers for traffic changes and make one-way Freeway segments two-way.
If any or all of these changes are made, add the construction zone to the following spreadsheet for easy reference and followup by other editors.
WI Construction Zones
Locking standard
The following defines a set of minimum locking standards proposed for all roads within Wisconsin.
Any road of a certain type or category must be locked at least to the level in the chart below. Roads may be locked higher for protection and special situations (tricky design, frequent mistakes, imaging inaccuracies, and the like), but should not be locked lower.
It is understood that more rural or inactive areas may not yet meet this standard: editors are encouraged to recruit and mentor additional editors to build coverage.
A great time to implement these locks is while bringing the road types of an area into compliance with the current US road type standards (FC and highway systems). Lock the roads based on type after they've been set to current US Road Type Standards.
Note: One-way PLRs used outside of parking lots, such as alleys and streets through apartment complexes, should be locked at 2. See the GLR major roads page for additional information on the standards listed here.
Special roads
Drivable roads
Wisconsin 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.
As of October 31, 2018 (2018-10-31)[update], the new road type Passageway is not suitable for use in the US. At this time, DO NOT use the Passageway road type in the USA without explicit champ approval for each instance.
Alleys
Generally alleys are not mapped in Wisconsin. Alleys are drivable roads passing between or behind buildings and are not intended for thru-traffic. They can be an important component in routing when primary access is not on a local street or drivers start or end a route on an alley. However, their existence also presents many routing problems. Please avoid mapping alleys unless they meet the criteria set below:
Alleys should only be considered for mapping when one of the following criteria is met:
a) the main access to a business entrance is on an alley,
b) a parking lot entrance is in an alley,
c) current GPS tracks support a residential alley that is frequently used and would benefit from being added to the map, or
d) a UR indicates an alley should be added.
Please do not add every alley in a residential neighborhood.
All alleys should have their road type set to Parking Lot Road , should be named "Alley", and speed limit should be set to 15mph unless otherwise posted.
Please consult with an LAM or SM before adding or removing alleys to verify whether a certain alley would meet the criteria to be mapped.
Left-turn lane
Should the left turn lane be mapped?
Left-turn lanes (LTL) should only be mapped in very limited circumstances-
When there is a raised curb or median between the left turn lane and the through lanes for a long distance before the intersection that the driver might overshoot while waiting for a delayed "turn" audible. Wisconsin DOT calls these slotted left-turn lanes [1][2]. The main reason to map these in Wisconsin is the DOT has built many slotted left-turn lanes.
-or-
When the turn lane physically separates from the main road well in advance of the intersection
The routing server does not play nice with LTLs and will often create unnecessary right-turn/ U-turn or U-turn/ right-turn to route a left through these intersections. Often a junction box is required to help with routing when LTLs are created.
When in doubt, leave it out. Each left-turn lane complicates the map and adds to your workload when the time comes to check connectivity, direction, name, etc.
Road type
Essentially these left-turn lanes are the same road as the through road, we are just adding a segment for better turn instruction timing, so they should be mapped using the same road type as the through road.
Ex: Street to Minor Highway should be Street type.
Ex: Minor Highway to Primary Street should be Minor Highway type.
Ex: Primary Street to Primary Street should be Primary Street type.
Road name
In most cases, checking None for the Street name will be sufficient. Navigation instructions will simply use the name of the next segment to which the left-turn lane segment connects.
If there are specific signs at the intersection which are confusing or contrary to the destination road segment name, then a name can be applied to the left-turn lane.
Geometry and Turn restrictions
In general using geometry is sufficient for the desired turn instructions- keep left instruction entering the turn lane and turn left instruction at the turn. When geometry won't work use TIOs for these instructions. If U-turns are allowed use a U-turn TIO, if U-turns are not allowed restrict the U-turn.
Add turn restrictions to the left turn lane segment to prevent U-turn(if applicable) and right turns.Add turn restrictions to the adjacent through lane segment left turn(to force use of the left turn lane).
Speed Limit
Left-turn lanes should be mapped using the speed limit of the segment feeding into the left-turn lane(unless signed otherwise).
Speed Limits in Wisconsin change at the sign. This is important when determining where speed limit changes should be marked on the Waze map. USA guidance for states that "change at the sign" is given here.
Where speed limits change is an important decision for clear guidance to drivers. There are many considerations for appropriately marking speed limit changes on the map. Editors, especially new editors, should be familiar with the USA Speed Limits wiki, a link to which is shown above.
For example, if there is an intersection within 200 feet of the speed limit sign, then the speed-change location should be made at that intersection. If the speed-change location is within 200 feet of an existing junction node, not an intersection, then we don't add a new junction node.
Alleys in Wisconsin - max speed is 15 mph unless posted otherwise.
Always refer to the USA Speed Limits wiki for guidance, and check with your Area or State Managers for clarification if needed.
NOTE: all day values are relative to the date the FIRST editor response is sent to the reporter.
Response Timeline
Day 0: the first editor who is able to respond to UR should attempt to resolve the UR. If they are successful, they should comment as such in the UR and mark it closed. If more information from the reporter is required to make progress towards closure, a response should be sent to the reporter containing the information needed for resolution
Day 4+: polite reminders should be sent to reporters who have not responded to the initial request for information at any time, provided at least four full days have elapsed since the initial response was sent.
Day 8+: URs may be noted as closed due to lack of reporter response at any time, provided at least four full days have elapsed since the followup message was sent
Shared Ownership:
All editors are considered to have equal ownership of and responsibility for all URs in the Great Lakes Region.
All editors, regardless if they have worked the UR previously, may send any of the responses described above, provided they adhere to the minimum time spacing guidance between responses.
All editors are explicitly encouraged to attempt resolving URs at any point during their lifecycle, even if others happen to be actively working it at the same time
Notes:
The ideal timeline for UR response is when responses are sent as early as the minimum required time spacing between messages permits; experience has reliably shown that UR response rates are much higher when editors are able to send responses promptly
While strongly recommended, it is not required to send the followup message.
Process Chart
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.
Because the WiDOT has partnered with Waze via the Connected Citizens Program (CCP), the Large Area Managers and State Managers have extra resources for aiding in state road closures. If you have any questions regarding a closure, or a MP closure request, please contact your LAM, wxw777 or Lonewolf147.
Places
Wisconsin 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.
Locking Standards
Places should be completed as fully as possible any time they are created or updated. At a minimum, editors should:
verify correct spelling of the name, using the guidelines below
complete the address, including house number, street, and city to help when choosing among search results in the app,
add external provider, verify the correct Google maps link is added, and
ensure the correct location of the point or entry point, to guide drivers to the correct location. Note that this may not always be on the street side of the location.
Phone numbers and opening hours are also particularly helpful to Wazers. Complete them whenever possible, using an online search, if necessary. Photos should help Wazers recognize the destination when they arrive.
Recommended phone number formats: (414) 123-4567 or 715-123-4567 Others may not auto-dial properly in some phones. If you are running WMEPH, the script will automatically add the parentheses.
When completed, places should be locked, to prevent inadvertent damage. Please don't lock places to their highest level until most of their information is completed, but do lock to a level higher than 1, once you have verified any information, to help protect from accidental damage through client submissions. The following are recommended levels:
Wisconsin Minimum Place Locking Standard
Place category
Minimum Lock
Complete and verified
3
Police Station
4
Fire Department
4
Hospital / Urgent Care
4
Large areas - (State Parks, etc.)
4
Airport
5
All other places should be locked at 3 once completed.
If a place is locked higher than its recommended lock level, please contact the last editor or an SM before making any edits.
Naming Standards
We are standardizing the naming of most public facilities and businesses. This makes search results more consistent and useful, and gives Wazers a more professional and uniform experience. The names have been designed to work well with instant search, regular search, and to be clear and concise in the map display. Please follow these guidelines when naming the places described below.
Places which are part of a larger area place (e.g. parking lot area places in a university area, separate ER entrances in a hospital area, etc.) should be named with their unique name followed by a hyphen and the name of the larger area they belong to. For example "Student Parking Lot C - StudyHard University"
Government Agencies (selected)
All places for the following agencies should be named according to the standards as follows:
City and County Offices: City or County Name followed by City Hall or department or agency as appropriate, for example:
"Milwaukee City Hall"
"Kenosha County Probation"
"Door County Administration Center"
Police and Sheriff Department: City, Agency or Division Name followed by "Police Dept" or "Sheriff Dept", for example:
"Wausau Police Dept"
"Kenosha County Sheriff Dept"
Fire Department: Agency Name or abbreviation followed by “Fire Dept – “ and the station number. For example:
"North Shore Fire Dept - Station 5"
"Wauwatosa Fire Dept"
"Milwaukee Fire Dept - Engine 9"
United States Postal Service: See national Post office guidance
US VA Hospitals/Centers/Clinics: Should be named with their official name as the primary name. For VA hospitals/medical centers "(US Veterans Only)" should be added to the end of the primary name, and as the first line of the description. In the primary name, "VA" should be expanded as "Veterans Affairs", so as not to cause a TTS conflict with Virginia. Names can be shortened to remove extraneous words; for example, replace "Campus of the" from the official name with a hyphen (-). Any colloquial names should be added as alt names, so they are returned in search results, and also at the beginning of the description, so they are visible on the place preview page in the client. Some examples:
"Veterans Affairs - Tomah (US Veterans Only)"
"Beaver Dam Veterans Medical Clinic"
"Veterans Affairs - Clement J. Zablocki Medical Center (US Veterans Only)"
Place Name Harmonization
Name spellings, formatting, and websites are standardized for chain or franchise businesses across the United States so that Wazers will receive consistent results when searching in the client, no matter their location. We recommend you install WMEPH to help keep places standardized.
Miscellaneous Notes
Boat Launches
Boat Launches can be mapped as a PLR to the parking area and a Point Place. Do not map the actual ramp to the waters edge. If there is no off street parking for the launch, only map the Point Place. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) created a statewide inventory containing over 2,000 identified public boat access sites and over 100 developed shore fishing sites. It can be accessed here http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Lands/boataccess/ There is another site that has launch names and other details here http://wisconsinslakes.com/
If a launch has a fee to use, or any restrictions, put the details in the description of the Place.
Area and Point places for Interchanges, Exits and Junctions
Area and Point places for Interchanges, Exits and Junctions are NOT used in Wisconsin for normal mapping.
Use a map comment when special information needs to be noted about a location.
Alphanumeric House Numbers
Currently, Waze does not support alphanumeric house numbers with the exception of a single letter at the end of a number (123x). This is a known issue which may be fixed in the future.
In the meantime, there are a couple of work-arounds. The Waze app allows the creation of Residential Point Places (RPP) with alphanumeric prefixes. However, you must be at the location when doing so. Currently, the creation and editing of RPPs with an alpha prefix is not allowed in WME. For a working, app generated RPP, please do not attempt to edit, leaving it as-is if the RPP is in the correct location.
If neither the editor nor the user (in the case of a User Request) is able create the RPP via the app, the other workaround is as follows:
Create a Place Point (PP) for the location and put the full street address, with house number, as the Name. Make sure the city and state fields are also entered. Leave the category as Other. Add an external provider link, if possible, for Google pin.
Add a PL to the Place in the following spreadsheet so that it can be tracked.
If future developments allow for alphanumeric address, the spreadsheet can be used to locate all the places and properly convert them. If an address is “W1234”, do NOT change it to “1234W”. These two addresses are different. Alphanumeric addresses are determined based on their area’s street grid system.
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 Wisconsin.
Wisconsin legislature has not approved the use of red-light or speed cameras anywhere in the state. These camera types should not be mapped in Waze. Please delete any of these cameras that get posted to the map!
Based on information researched at the time this page was created, red light and speed cameras are prohibited statewide in Wisconsin.
No other camera types should be mapped in Waze.
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.
Ongoing To-Do:
Annual Restriction Review This document is to be used to enter in restrictions that require alterations on an annual basis.
Wisconsin New Development Tracking Sheet This sheet is used to track new or upcoming subdivisions in Wisconsin, ensuring new roads and house numbers get added to the map.
Wisconsin Large Area Manager (LAM) Program: The state of Wisconsin has initiated a program called Large Area Manager (LAM), which is an accepted program in the Great Lakes Region (GLR). Please see this page for details on the role: Wisconsin LAM Role
Area Managers
The table below identifies the editors also designated as Area Managers or higher who are editing in Wisconsin. If you have any questions, please consider contacting them directly as needed. If you are an Area Manager that covers Wisconsin, or a USA Country Manager that does a lot of work in Wisconsin, please add yourself to this list (alphabetical by username) in the correct rank section.
The editor who also serves as the Regional Coordinator for Wisconsin 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.
Wisconsin — Area, State, Country Managers, and Regional Coordinators
