Information related to using Waze in the State of Texas. All editors in the state are required to have a non usa_username, have their private messaging turned on, and turn live users on in the layers tool. Please pay attention to the chat window in the lower right hand part of the screen. You can find useful info there and ask questions.
Cities and towns
There are 6386 Cities and Towns spread across 254 counties in the state. See Cities in Texas for proper naming information.
Roads in Texas
Road naming
Interstates throughout the state
- I-2 Rio Grande Valley
- I-10 New Mexico to Louisiana
- I-20 Midland/Odessa to Louisiana
- I-27 Lubbock to Amarillo
- I-30 Fort Worth to Arkansas
- I-35 Mexico to Oklahoma
- I-35E Hillsboro to Denton through Dallas
- I-35W Hillsboro to Denton through Fort Worth
- I-37 Corpus Christi to San Antonio
- I-40 New Mexico to Oklahoma
- I-45 Galveston to Dallas
- I-69 Brownsville/Edinburg/Laredo to Texarkana (will follow US-59)
- I-369 Spur to west side of Texarkana
- I-410 Loop around San Antonio
- I-610 Loop around Houston
- I-635 Spur through DFW Metroplex
- I-820 Loop around Fort Worth
Special roads
- When not to split a two-way road
- Divided Roads
- Carpool, HOV, Transit lanes
- Roundabouts and Traffic Circles
- Cul-de-sac's
- FM Roads not grouped into functional class are to be set to Primary Street east of US-281 and north/east of I-37. All other FM roads are set to Minor Highway .
- Dirt Roads. In Texas ALL roads that are normally unpaved are considered dirt roads as this is how GPS Nav users (any brand) expect the "Avoid Dirt Roads" feature to behave. These roads should be deleted when going through farm land, ranch land, or mountainous areas throughout the state, as they are most likely base import roads and not real roads.
- Parking Lot Roads
- Toll Roads
- Frontage roads not classified as Primary Street by functional class are to be classified as Street . They are also to be labeled "Frontage Rd" unless the corresponding highway has an alternate name. I-635 Frontage roads are labeled as "Lyndon B Johnson Freeway" as that is the local name for I-635.
- Alleys and driveways are NOT MAPPED
Non-drivable roads
Generally, if a road can't be driven on (e.g. Walking Trail, Pedestrian Boardwalk, Stairway, Ranch road in the middle of nowhere) then it should not be mapped in Waze. This is due to the way the routing engine works, as Waze WILL route users to drive on these "Non-Drivable" road types. Please note there are several Railroads mapped in Texas, these railroads are mapped in a VERY particular manner by Senior Area Managers and Country Managers to prevent Waze from routing on them.
Miscellaneous
All freeways are set to ground level. If two freeways cross each other, look at the actual intersection to discover the layers of the intersection.
U-turns are labeled as "turnaround."
Functional Classification of Roads
See Road names/USA and Road types/USA.
Texas is participating in the new Functional Classification in a limited capacity. Cities/areas with a population greater than 250,000 will be turned over to functional class. At this time, rural towns and rural Texas are to be left alone. The counties listed below are approved for FC change over:
- Bexar
- Brazoria
- Cameron/Hidalgo
- Collin south of US-380
- Dallas
- Denton
- Ector/Midland
- El Paso
- Ellis between I-35 and I-45 north of US-287
- Fort Bend
- Galveston
- Harris
- Lubbock
- Montgomery
- Nueces
- Potter/Randall
- Rockwall
- Tarrant
- Travis
- Webb
- Williamson south of the northern city limits of Georgetown
FC cross reference
- An Urban Interstate, Urban Principal Arterial Freeway & Expressway is a Freeway
- Any road that acts, looks, & feels like a freeway should be set to Freeway road type.
- An Urban Principal-Other is a Major Highway
- An Urban Minor Arterial is a Minor Highway
- An Urban Collector is a Primary Street
- All other roads are to be classified as Street
Refer to this chart to determine the road type of a given road based on the functional class. (TXDOT map is here - click on Functional Class on the left).
| Fw | Freeway |
| Major | Major Highway |
| Minor | Minor Highway |
| PS | Primary Street |
| Street | Street |
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.
Areas (formerly known as landmarks)
In late 2012 a discussion was started in the Connecticut Section of the Waze Forum that determined the existing worldwide guideline of "don't map individual businesses" wasn't enough and we needed a more complete set of guidelines for landmarks in worldwide. As a result of that discussion a set of guidelines was created. If you wish to propose changes to these guidelines, please do so in the forum.
- Guidelines for Landmarks in Connecticut
- Approved Texas landmarks
- Current list of areas/places
Please do not forget that a recent update to WME has enabled the Address properties for Landmarks (House number, street name, city, state & country) and ensure this information is filled out & correct.
When to use Area or Point in Texas
Here is the Texas guidance on selecting Area or Point for Places in the Waze Map Editor. All areas are to be landmarked from fence line to fence line to include all parking lots, roads, and anything associated with the property. Parking lot roads (PLRs), parking lots, and gas stations all serve the same purpose. There is no need to mark a PLR through a gas station or a parking lot.
The Primary Category for a Place is used to determine whether to use a Point or Area.
| Parent | Category | Type | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car Services | Car Wash | Point | |
| Car Services | Charging Station | Point | |
| Car Services | Garage / Automotive Shop | Point | |
| Car Services | Gas Station | Area | Many gas stations also have convenience stores and ATMs. Remember to use "Gas Station" as the primary category and the add any others which are relevant. |
| Car Services | Parking Lot | Both | There are very few parking lots which should be mapped at all. Please see the Places/Parking lot article. Parking lots on universities are authorized. |
| Transportation | Airport | Area | Special-handling |
| Transportation | Bridge | NONE | |
| Transportation | Bus Station | Both | Greyhound stations are area, city bus stops, point |
| Transportation | Ferry Pier | Point | |
| Transportation | Junction / Interchange | NONE | |
| Transportation | Seaport / Marina / Harbor | Area | Size-dependent. |
| Transportation | Subway Station | NONE | |
| Transportation | Taxi Station | Point | |
| Transportation | Train Station | Point | |
| Transportation | Tunnel | NONE | |
| Professional and public | Cemetery | NONE | |
| Professional and public | City Hall | Area | |
| Professional and public | College / University | Area | |
| Professional and public | Conventions / Event Center | Area | Size-dependent |
| Professional and public | Courthouse | Area | |
| Professional and public | Embassy / Consulate | Area | |
| Professional and public | Factory / Industrial | NONE | |
| Professional and public | Fire Department | Area | |
| Professional and public | Government | Area | |
| Professional and public | Hospital / Medical Care | Area | |
| Professional and public | Information Point | Point | |
| Professional and public | Kindergarten | Point | |
| Professional and public | Library | Point | |
| Professional and public | Military | NONE | See below |
| Professional and public | Offices | NONE | |
| Professional and public | Organization or Association | Point | |
| Professional and public | Police Station | Area | |
| Professional and public | Prison / Correctional Facility | NONE | |
| Professional and public | Post Office | Area | |
| Professional and public | Religious Center | Area | |
| Professional and public | School | Area | |
| Shopping and services | Arts & Crafts | Point | |
| Shopping and services | ATM | NONE | |
| Shopping and services | Bank / Financial | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Bookstore | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Car Dealership | Point | Size-dependent |
| Shopping and services | Car Rental | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Convenience Store | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Currency Exchange | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Department Store | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Electronics | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Fashion and Clothing | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Flowers | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Furniture / Home Store | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Gifts | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Gym / Fitness | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Hardware Store | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Jewelry | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Laundry / Dry Cleaning | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Market | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Music Store | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Personal Care | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Pet Store / Veterinarian | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Pharmacy | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Photography | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Shopping Center | Area | |
| Shopping and services | Sporting Goods | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Supermarket / Grocery | Point | Standalone could be an Area, but a Point if it is part of larger shopping mall/center. |
| Shopping and services | Swimming Pool | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Toy Store | Point | |
| Shopping and services | Travel Agency | Point | |
| Food and drink | Bakery | Point | |
| Food and drink | Bar | Point | |
| Food and drink | Coffee shop | Point | |
| Food and drink | Dessert | Point | |
| Food and drink | Fast Food | Point | |
| Food and drink | Food Court | Point | |
| Food and drink | Ice Cream | Point | |
| Food and drink | Restaurant | Point | |
| Culture & entertainment | Art Gallery | Point | |
| Culture & entertainment | Casino | Area | There's only one casino in Texas |
| Culture & entertainment | Club | Point | |
| Culture & entertainment | Game Club | Point | |
| Culture & entertainment | Movie Theater | Point | |
| Culture & entertainment | Museum | Point | |
| Culture & entertainment | Music Venue | Point | |
| Culture & entertainment | Performing Arts Venue | Point | |
| Culture & entertainment | Racing Track | Area | |
| Culture & entertainment | Stadium / Arena | Area | |
| Culture & entertainment | Theme Park | Area | |
| Culture & entertainment | Theater | Point | |
| Culture & entertainment | Tourist Attraction / Historic Site | Both | Size-dependent. If not sure, ask |
| Culture & entertainment | Zoo / Aquarium | Area | Size-dependent |
| Other | Construction Site | NONE | |
| Other | Residence / Home | NONE | |
| Lodging | Bed & Breakfast | Point | |
| Lodging | Camping / Trailer Park | Point | |
| Lodging | Cottage / Cabin | Point | |
| Lodging | Hostel | Point | |
| Lodging | Hotel | Point | |
| Outdoors | Beach | NONE | |
| Outdoors | Golf Course | Area | |
| Outdoors | Park | Area | |
| Outdoors | Playground | Point | |
| Outdoors | Plaza | Point | |
| Outdoors | Promenade | Point | Unsure about mapping these at all |
| Outdoors | Scenic Lookout / Viewpoint | Point | |
| Outdoors | Ski Area | NONE | Not in Texas |
| Outdoors | Sports Court | Point | |
| Natural features | Farm | NONE | |
| Natural features | Forest / Grove | Area | Only map official state/national forests, not every stand of trees. |
| Natural features | Island | NONE | |
| Natural features | River / Stream | NONE | |
| Natural features | Sea / Lake / Pond | NONE |
Major construction projects
See TxDot for a list of LONG TERM road closures & changes to traffic flow that impact the Waze map.
If you are aware or made aware of any long term closures (construction, work closures and emergency closures), please fill out this form. Your submission will be reviewed by US Champs and submitted to the Waze team upon approval.
I-35 (Austin to DFW)
pjlasl is the lead editor for changes for I-35 between Austin and DFW. Please contact him prior to making any major changes (i.e. adding or removing ramps).
Cameras
Currently, the only way to add cameras to the editor are from the app. When placing a camera in the app, drop a general error with "RLC W" where W = the direction the camera is facing. This will allow other editors to know which way the camera is facing when they go to approve it in the editor.
Red light cameras
Red Light Cameras are LEGAL in the State of Texas.
Contrary to popular belief, these cameras do not sit on the top of lights at an intersection. If you've gotten to an intersection, you've already passed the red light camera.These cameras mounted on traffic signals are used as part of the signal control. These compare sequential images of the intersection approach to determine if there is a vehicle (car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, etc) waiting and will trigger the sequence. These devices CANNOT issue tickets.
There are traditional traffic monitoring cameras covering most of the major highways in the state. These send live feeds to the various traffic agencies around the state and are for monitoring traffic only.
Speed Cameras
Speed cameras are currently ILLEGAL in the State of Texas. Any request for a speed camera, or any approved speed cameras need to be removed from the map.
Military Bases
Texas has a long standing tradition for support the US military. If you have questions concerning any military base in the state, please do not hesitate to ask. All military bases in the state are set to the current installation standard.
- All gates at the military bases are set to private road in/street out with some gates having restrictions on them for the various gate closures.
- If you know of any changes in the hours of a gate, please let a US Champ know and they will adjust it accordingly.
- All gates are locked at a level 5 or 6.
Landmarks approved for military bases are:
- Commissary
- PX/BX
- Gas stations
- Parks
- Museums
To do list
Want to help out with the map in Texas? Stop adding parking lot roads everywhere, solve URs, ask questions to anyone listed below, and seek out advice when/where needed. Please adhere to the rules for editing. Parking lot roads do not need to go through gas stations. The gas station area suppresses traffic so map problems (MP) do not show up in the editor.
Mapping utilities
- TxDot Maps
- Road Conditions throughout the state.
- List of State Routes in Texas
Editors in the State
| Username | Area Managed | Comments | Forum PM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank 6 Editors | |||
| txemt |
US South Central & US Territories Regional Coordinator | Based out of Miami, FL born/lived/travelled through most of Texas | |
| jasonh300 | US South Central Regional Coordinator | Based out of New Orleans, LA | |
| pjlasl | North Texas | Based out of Weatherford | PM |
| Rank 5 Editors | |||
| LittlestLou | DFW Metroplex | Based in the DFW Metroplex | PM |
| ctpoole | Austin | From New Orleans, Lived in Austin 25+ years | PM |
| Rank 4 Editors | |||
| jstrangfeld | DFW Metroplex | PM | |
| shadoh | DFW Metroplex | El Paso native (25+ years) - live in DFW Metroplex (15+ years). | PM |
| randcon | Houston | Houston native (40+ years) |
PM |
| jakflash | Lampasas | PM | |
| karlcr9911 | East Texas | Lived in Texas my whole life and routinely travel the country. Live in Longview, work in Tyler. | PM |
| coontex | Houston | Lived in central Louisiana most of my life and now in the Katy/Houston TX area. | PM |
| Rank 3 Editors | |||
| itzrandi | Houston/East Texas | Metro Houston and Hwy 59/96 corridor | PM |
| jeigh17 | El Paso | PM | |
| MisterTodd | East DFW Metroplex | PM | |
| tcalvert317 | San Antonio | PM | |
| danofsatx | San Antonio | PM | |
| PvilleT | Austin | Based of out Pflugerville, born in Corpus Christi |
PM |
| Audi_Chris | Houston, San Marcos | Lived in Texas for majority of my life! |
PM |
If you are an editor in Texas, or a USA Country Manager that does a lot of work in Texas, please add yourself to this list or ask to be added.
Discipline
Waze has been designed to be an open community with various levels of editors. Rank 5 and 6 editors are senior editors. They are here to help you and are to be respected at all times. Instructions from senior editors are to be followed, unless it conflicts with this page. If you have any questions or issues, please feel free to PM one of the rank 6s or 5s in the list (if you're having a problem with one, please PM the regional coordinators). We will try to handle the issue as quickly and peacefully as possible.
It is not possible to list every occurrence of problems which can occur in the editor, but the following are some examples of what has happened in the past:
- Deleting and redrawing roads
- Creating mass amounts of parking lot roads
- Creating roads on top of already existing roads
- Disrespect to higher ranking editors
- Not cleaning up your own mess
- Not responding to private messages
- Willful damage to the map
Everyone is allowed one free pass, but disciplinary actions after the first occurrence for the above may include:
- Formal mentoring
- Temporary suspension of editing rights
- Permanent suspension of editing rights
User Reports (URs)
Recently, there have been a rash of editors giving long winded responses to URs. The average person is not going to read beyond the 3rd or 4th line. In this example:
"Many drivers think a report shows their destination and route information, it doesn't. It doesn't even tell us who filed the report.
We volunteer map editors only see where you are when you start your report and short pieces of the recommended and driven routes. We need more information to fix your problem. Thank you for the report and all the WAZE you help. If you respond to my query and I do not acknowledge within 1 day, please e-mail me at xxxxxxxxx@waze.com with a repeat of the information.
This report will be closed as 'not identified' if there is no response within 7 days."
and this example:
"Please provide more details so we can investigate the "General error" you reported. Volunteer map editors only fix map problem. We don't see what you see on your screen. We only see where you were located when you started your report and a short segment of the WAZE recommended route and a short segment of the route taken.
To test the routing, we need to know the approximate start and end points of your route.
Your routing options are important. Do you Avoid toll roads? Avoid major highways? Dirt roads allow/don't allow/avoid long ones?
Have you selected 'fastest route' or 'shortest route'?
Thank you for the report and all the WAZE you help.
If no response within 7 days, this report will be closed as 'Not identified'."
the user will most likely either not get beyond the "We need more information to fix your problem" or they will skim through it and not pay attention to what is being asked of them. Please keep responses to URs at a minimum. Asking someone to explain more information about their issue does not require a novel, it should read like the box score to a game in the newspaper.
A shorter, more to the point response should suffice. An example:
"You reported a general error at ______________________ and ______________________ but left no info as to what's wrong. Can you please elaborate, so we may look into and resolve the issue? Thank you."
or
"You reported a missing road, but didn't tell us the name of the road. Could you please give us the name, so we may add it to the map? Thank you."
These are short, simple, to the point, and don't bother the driver with useless information about satellites, sun spots, the curvature of Earth's horizon in relation to Mars' gravitational pull, or other weird explanations from editors which have popped up on URs.