This page serves as the primary resource for editors of West Virginia. 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 Mid-Atlantic 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
West Virginia is a part of the Mid Atlantic region, which includes the states and/or territories of:
Despite its relatively small size (24,000 square miles), the Mountain State is home to over 3,000 communities including 234 municipalities and another 205 Census-designated places. To link them (and to provide an important part of the transportation of the state’s abundant natural resources), there are nearly 39,000 miles of public roads and more than 7,000 road bridges in the state. The state of West Virginia maintains 34,700 miles of that system (89%) with municipalities maintaining 3,300 miles and federal agencies maintaining 900 miles. The road system is 83% rural and includes 556 miles of interstate highway and another 82 miles of the non-interstate strategic highway system.
Mapping resources
Before editing the maps in West Virginia, 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.
Please Click Here for Scripts/Extensions/Plugins/Addons/Tools to make the Waze Map Editing experience a little easier. This page also includes several resources to easily locate County GIS pages and overlays that include cities, highway mile markers, roads, and parcel information. A reference table detailing which address layers shown when using the WME GIS Layers script have correct information is also included here.
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 West Virginia.
New editors should consider checking into the formal mentoring program available at no charge.
Waze Mid-Atlantic Discord Server
We have created a channel on the Mid-Atlantic Server just for West Virginia. This channel is where you can go to 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 (any questions, we all started at Rank #1 at some point), request downlocks or review of your work and get Peer-to-Peer Mentoring.
If you are editing in West Virginia please join us on the Mid-Atlantic Discord Server. You can join easily with this link.
West Virginia User Report Management
Response Timeline
(NOTE: all day values are relative to the date the FIRST editor response is sent to the reporter)
Day 0
The first editor who is able to respond to a User Report (UR) should attempt to resolve the UR. If they are successful, they should comment as such in the UR and mark it "Solved". 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. These need to be marked as "Not Identified" and a brief comment sent.
Shared Ownership
All editors are considered to have equal ownership of and responsibility for all URs in West Virginia. 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 to resolve 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. The 4+ day followup / reminder has shown remarkable improvement in reporter responses everywhere that it has been implemented.
The script URComments streamlines the process of responding to a UR and provides comments based on the UR type and can be edited prior to sending to fit your needs.
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).
West Virginia follows the general road naming and road type guidelines of the USA.
State & County Route Naming
State highways that are primarily signed at entering intersections with a State Route number like rather than a road name should be named WV-### ("WV-2"). County roads that are primarily signed at entering intersections with County Road numbers like or rather than a road name should be named CR-## or CR-##/## ("CR-65" or "CR-91/1").
West Virginia 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.
Definitions
Bridge
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. Also the pavement type may change (Asphalt to Concrete for example).
Do not cut segments for elevation purposes if the bridge starts/stops within 60m/200ft of an existing junction.
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 15m/50ft 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.
Speed Limits
West Virginia follows the USA Guidelines for Speed Limits. The ONLY speed limits that should be added to the map are Regulatory Speed Limits. Consult the Speed Limits (USA) Wiki for details on how to set speed limits on ramps, At-Grade Connectors, Roundabouts, Private/Parking Lot Roads, and Construction Zones. Note for WV, speed limits change at the sign; consult the Wiki for guidance on when to create a new junction for the Speed Limit change.
MAR Minimum Road Lock Standard
Minimum Road Lock Standard
Segment Type
Direction
Lock
Freeway
5
Ramp
4
Major Highway
4
Minor Highway
3
Primary Street
One-way Two-Way
3 2
Street Private Road
One-way Unpaved Two-Way
2 2 1
Off-road / Not maintained
2
|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| Railroad |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|
2
• • • • Ferry • • • •
5
⁃ ⁃ ⁃ ⁃ ⁃ Runway ⁃ ⁃ ⁃ ⁃ ⁃
4
Other Named Types
5
Special roads
Drivable roads
West Virginia 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.
Walking Trails / Pedestrian Boardwalks
Pedestrian Boardwalks and Walking Trails
It is our policy that we do not map Pedestrian Boardwalks. Waze is a vehicle navigation application, and Pedestrian Boardwalks do not add to that function, since they serve no routing purposes. Walking Trails are navigable in Waze, to a point, and may be utilized with prior approval from the State Manager. Any Walking Trails you find that do not serve an apparent purpose (routing to boardwalk addresses along the beach, for example) should be removed from the map. If it does appear to serve a useful purpose, please bring it to the attention of State Manager for approval and lock.
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.
Construction projects or emergencies that cause roads to be closed should be reported in the West Virginia forum, on the WV Closure Form, or by using the WME Form Filler Script (choose "WV Closures" in the pulldown). Please make sure WME Form Filler is version 1.4.6 or later. Current closures and events in West Virginia that have been reported to Waze are shown in the WV Closures Sheet.
Closures needing prompt attention may also be reported in the #west_virginia channel of the MAR Discord server. You will need to have a permalink to the segment(s) that need closed, the start time and the end time, and the reason for the closure.
See West Virginia/Closures for more details, along with information sources for road closures in West Virginia.
Places
West Virginia 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.
Place Update Requests
Place Update Requests (PUR) should be reviewed for accuracy; once approved, all relevant information pertaining to the place should be added/entered. Please use each company's website to gather all the information you can. Once a place is complete please lock to the Mid-Atlantic standards for Place Locking. It is strongly recommended you install and use WMEPH on each place to ensure standardization.
MAR Place Locking Standards
Place Type
Minimum Lock Level
Area/Point Places
2
Gas Stations
3
Hospital/Urgent Care
4
Fire Department
4
Police Station
4
Airports
4
Parking Lots
3
Naming Standards
PLACE NAMING STANDARDS/HARMONIZATION IS CURRENTLY UNDER NATIONAL REVIEW. The most up to date information has been entered into WMEPH. It is highly recommended to use this addon when doing place editing.
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. 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 "ER - J. W. Ruby Memorial Hospital"
Use the official name as the Primary Name. Put any local/colloquial names, if known, as alternate.
J. W. Ruby Memorial Hospital
Alt Name: WVU Hospital
United Hospital Center
Alt Name: UHC
Government Agencies
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:
Clarksburg City Hall
Marion County Courthouse
Monongalia County Recycling Center
Police and Sheriff Department: City, Agency or Division Name followed by Police Dept or Sheriff Dept. For the West Virginia State Police, put the name of the detachment at the end. For example:
Morgantown Police Dept
Monongalia County Sheriff Dept
West Virginia State Police - Morgantown
Fire Department: Agency Name or abbreviation followed by Fire Dept and the station name or number. For example:
For Contract Postal Units and Village Post Offices, see Places/Post Office for specific naming guidance
US VA Hospitals/Centers/Clinics: Follow the hospital guidelines plus the following naming conventions below. If it is not clear that these places are for Veterans Only, preface the name with V.A. (with the periods so the TTS does not conflict with Virginia). Add VA (without the periods) as alternate name to aid in searches. Spell out CBOC (Community Based Outpatient Clinic). Also expand Vet to Veterans to avoid ambiguity with Veterinary Services.
V.A. - Martinsburg Medical Center
Alt Name: VA - Martinsburg Medical Center
V.A. - Petersburg Community Based Outpatient Clinic
Alt Name: VA - Petersburg Community Based Outpatient Clinic
Greenbrier County V.A. Clinic
Alt Name: Greenbrier County VA Clinic
Note: Vet Centers are not hospitals or clinics
Princeton Veterans Center
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 West Virginia.
Based on information researched at the time this page was created, red light and speed cameras are prohibited statewide in West Virginia.
No other camera types should be mapped in Waze.
[1] of the West Virginia Code prohibits use of cameras to detect or prove traffic law violations.
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.
The table below identifies the editors also designated as Area Managers or higher who are editing in West Virginia. If you have any questions, please consider contacting them directly as needed. If you are an Area Manager that covers West Virginia, or a USA Country Manager that does a lot of work in West Virginia, please add yourself to this list (alphabetical by username) in the correct rank section.
The editor who also serves as the Regional Coordinator for West Virginia 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.
Mid-Atlantic Region Large Area Managers (MAR-LAM) help manage large sections of the state working with the local Area Managers. You can also reach out to them for assistance. A map of the areas they coordinate is below.
West Virginia — 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.
rather than a road name should be named WV-### ("WV-2"). County roads that are primarily signed at entering intersections with County Road numbers like 
or 
rather than a road name should be named CR-## or CR-##/## ("CR-65" or "CR-91/1").
