Illinois/Special roads/Main

Alleys

Alleys are driveable roads that often provide access to the rear of a business or residence. They can be an important part of the map for routing purposes especially for places with rear access only and for drivers starting a route from an alley.

Guidelines for Mapping Alleys in Illinois:

Generally speaking, only residential alleys should be mapped, and only if they are the locally accepted destination for parking at or near a residence. Alleys should only function as a starting point or final destination, not as a thoroughfare.

In the city of Chicago and the suburbs, do not delete already mapped alleys. Outside the Chicagoland area, alleys may be deleted if they are not necessary for proper routing.

If an alley is to be mapped or updated, be sure to nudge the house numbers.

Road type should be set to  Parking Lot Road  and should be named "Alley".

Update Requests

Illinois encourages cooperation between editors in resolving issues. Clear status notes in URs are strongly suggested. While keeping a reporter apprised on a timely basis, detailed inter-editor conversations are often best kept in private messages or in hangout conversation to avoid involving a reporter in editing minutia or protracted discussions. Remember: Courtesy counts.

Illinois uses the Great Lakes Region Update Requests Response System outlined below.

Overview

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 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 of whether they have worked the UR previously, may send any of the responses describe above, provided they adhere 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.