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SCR Wiki Draft

Welcome to the South Central Region (SCR) Wiki. Below you will find information related to editing for Waze in the South Central Region, which includes the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas. All editors in the region are required to have a non usa_username, have their private messaging turned on, and turn live users on in the layers menu. Do not edit in Invisible mode if you are a rank 3 or below.

Getting Started as an editor in the South Central Region

Want to help out with the map in the South Central Region? Add missing streets, solve URs, improve place details, etc - ask questions to anyone listed at the bottom of the page, and seek out advice when/where needed. Please adhere to the rules for editing

Key Wazeopedia Links

If you haven't already done so, please be sure to review the following links before and as you begin editing (we recommend bookmarking them!):

This South Central Region page you are currently on
The Waze map editor welcome page
The map editing quick start page
Edits to avoid
The Waze glossary

Communicating with other editors

Slack

We encourage you to join Slack as this is the best way to chat with SCR and state-specific editors, as well as the state managers (SM) and regional coordinator (RC), request unlocks, get help, etc. Once you receive the Slack invitation, there are several different channels you can join.

#scr-general - Automatically joined: This channel is for all editors who are interested in editing anywhere in the South Central Region
#arkansas, #louisiana, #mississippi, #oklahoma, #texas: State-specific channels for editors working in those states. This is the primary location for unlock and help requests.
#off-topic: - Automatically joined: Channel for casual conversation with your fellow editors.
#closure-requests - Automatically joined: Use this channel if you have closure requests that are not getting seen in your state-specific channel. If you post your closure request in this channel, make sure to remove from the State channel to prevent duplicate work.
#special-events - Automatically joined: Use this channel if you need to report special events that will need attention in WME from local or senior editors. This channel is also used during major weather events that are causing many road closures.

As you continue to edit in the SCR, you may be invited to private channels now and then for different activities such as map raids and other projects. You may also use Slack to direct message one or more users if you wish to talk directly with someone. We highly recommend posting editing questions in your corresponding state channel, however, as we are all constantly learning, and your question may help someone else too.

WME chat window

Please pay attention to the chat window in the lower right-hand part the map editor (and introduce yourself if you're a first-time editor). You can find useful info there and ask questions.

Waze Forum

You can also find useful information in the US South Central forum or the various state forums.

Google Hangouts

While the South Central Region does not use Google Hangouts as a primary means of communication, other regions do, so if you edit outside our region, you may sometimes end up in a GHO chat on occasion.

States, Counties and Parishes, and Localities

States in the South Central Region

Arkansas

Arkansas is divided into 75 counties and contains 502 incorporated municipalities consisting of cities and towns. See Cities and Towns in Arkansas for the proper names to use.

Louisiana

Louisiana is divided into 64 parishes, which are equivalent to counties, and contains 308 incorporated municipalities consisting of four consolidated city-parishes, and 304 cities, towns, and villages. See Municipalities in Louisiana for the proper names to use.

Mississippi

Mississippi is divided into 82 counties and contains 299 incorporated municipalities consisting of cities, towns, and villages. See Municipalities in Mississippi for the proper names to use.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is divided into 77 counties and contains 597 incorporated municipalities consisting of cities and towns. See Cities in Oklahoma for the proper names to use.

Texas

Texas is divided into 254 counties and contains 6386 cities and towns. See Cities in Texas for proper names to use.

How to use city names in Waze Map Editor

City limits are clearly defined by the roadside signs. Use of Google Maps to find where a city is highly discouraged. Be sure to have the Cities layer enabled in WME to see what Waze currently has as the incorporated city limits when working with city limits. See City Names for complete information, but a quick summary of how cities names are used is shown below:

Road segments

When creating or editing road segments, the primary segment should include the official city name as defined by the roadside signs (or official GIS if needed). If the road segment is in an unincorporated area, check None to indicate no city. Alternate segment names can be added with common city names to aid in searches. Use the USPS zip code lookup tool to find the correct alternate city name for the area. Road segments should be cut at the city limits so each segment accurately reflects the correct city value.

Places

When creating or editing places, the location should include the name of the city as listed on the place website or advertisement since this is what the users are most likely to recognize when searching for the correct location among a list of search results. Cities listed in places do not have any effect on city boundaries in the Waze application.

Roads in the South Central Region

Road naming

	AR	LA	MS	OK	TX
Interstates	I-XX	I-XX	I-XX	I-XX	I-XX
US Highway	US-XX	US-XX	US-XX	US-XX	US-XX
State Highway	AR-XX	LA-XX	MS-XXX	SH-XX	SH-XX
State Loop	AR-XX LOOP				Loop XX
State Spur	AR-XX SPUR				Spur XX
State Park Road					Park Rd XX
State Rec Road					Recreational Rd XX
County Road	CR-XXX		CR-XXX	Varies by Cnty	CR-XX
Farm/Ranch to Market					FM XX
Private Road					Private Rd XX

Business Roads

All business roads should be suffixed with BUS:

Business Interstate = I-XX BUS

Business US Highway = US-XX BUS

Other road names

The South Central Region conforms to the USA Standards for TTS abbreviations for prefixes and suffixes. Please see the Road Naming Abbreviations & Suffixes page for more details.

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 the South Central Region. We have chosen to implement this guideline because due to the way the routing engine works, Waze WILL route users to drive on these "Non-Drivable" road types.

Railroads mapped in the South Central Region should follow the current standard of editing. All crossings should be connected to drivable segments accordingly. If no crossing exists, elevate the segment accordingly.

ONLY enter a name for the railroad segment if the tracks are historical in nature, a major landmark, or a routine destination for Wazers. In the SCR, very few segments should be named and most 'routine destinations' will be covered by a Place point/area for the train station.

The Waze app now renders railroad tracks as such so naming serves little purpose any longer.

Special roads

When not to divide a two-way road
Divided Roads
Carpool, HOV, Transit lanes
Roundabouts and Traffic Circles
Cul-de-sacs
Dirt Roads. In the South Central Region ALL roads that are unpaved or gravel 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. For roads which are labeled with names and are actually dirt on SATIMG, please keep these and make them dirt roads. To do so, select the Street or Private Road type (as appropriate), then check the Unpaved box.
Parking Lot Roads
Toll Roads
Frontage roads Name as "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. [NOTE] Is this frontage road information true for all states? [NOTE]
Alleys and driveways are NOT MAPPED
Any road which is a main road for a state park can be a Primary Street . Other roads can be Street .

Miscellaneous

U-turns are labeled as "Turnaround" and set to whatever type identified in FC (if not typed in FC, match it to the lowest road type that it touches - similar to AGCs).

[NOTE] Need to add information about Median U-turn segments located on the LA state page Louisiana [NOTE]

Segment and turn restrictions

[NOTE] Need to fill in content here [NOTE]

Interstates in the region

[NOTE] These are on the state template. How much information do we want to show on the main page? [NOTE]

Major construction projects by state

Major construction projects in Arkansas

Major construction projects in Louisiana

Major construction projects in Mississippi

Major construction projects in Oklahoma

Major construction projects in Texas

Functional Classification of Roads

See Road names/USA and Road types/USA.

The South Central Region participates in functional classification across all states. We promote a hybrid FC to ensure for the best routing possible for all Wazers. The hybrid FC basically means a state highway would never be typed less than Minor Highway (mH).

Frontage roads along Freeways should be matched to FC. If FC does not list the frontage road, type it as a Primary Street.

Turnarounds (those labeled as Turnaround, not cross-overs), should be matched to FC. If FC does not list the Turnaround, match it to the lowest road type that it touches - similar to AGCs.

FC Maps by state

Use the appropriate link below to access the Functional Classification map for the state you are working in. Once you have reviewed the map, then refer to the FC cross reference chart below to determine what road type and lock level should be assigned to the roads in the area. For roads that need to be locked at a higher level than you are able, change the street to the correct type, then request a lock from a higher-level editor.

State	Map Link	Notes
Arkansas	AHTD FC Overlay for ArcGIS	The AR FC map is an overlay added to the base ArcGIS map. To use the overlay, click on the "Modify Map" in the upper right corner of ArcGIS. On the left side an "Add+" tab will pop up. Click on it and select "Add Layer from Web" and paste in the URL for the overlay provided by the link to the left. If you have never used ArcGIS before, you may be asked to create a Public Account.
Louisiana	LaDOTD Interactive Online Map	Static FC maps are also available if desired.
Mississippi	MDOT	Click on Functional Class Maps to find the various FC maps available.
Oklahoma	ODOT	Look in the middle of the page to find links for Rural Functional Class maps and Urban Functional Class maps.
Texas	TxDOT Statewide Planning Map	Select Functional Classification & Urban Areas in the left menu to turn the FC overlap on.

FC cross reference

[NOTE] This is the Texas chart, tweaked from the main USA chart. Is it possible to reconcile FC to a single set of rules? Even if we can't reconcile to a single set of rules, is it possible to reconcile to a single matrix? If not, this will need to move to the state pages. [NOTE]

Refer to this chart to determine the road type of a given paved public road based on the functional class.

To use this chart, first determine the functional class of a road, and whether it is a signed, numbered highway in a particular highway system.

Where the column for the road's highway system and the row for the road's functional class meet, you will find the proper road type for that particular road.

A number of examples are given below the chart.

		Highway Systems
		Interstate	Interstate BUS/LOOP /SPUR	US Hwy (incl. some special routes)	US Hwy BUS, SPUR, LOOP	State Hwy (incl. some special routes)	State Hwy BUS, SPUR^[a], LOOP, Frontage Rd	FM / County Route	Locally-maintained
	example	I-10 E	I-94 BUS	US-190	US-460 BUS	SH-23	SH-400 LOOP	FM 40 / CR-15	Robertson St
F u n c t i o n a l C l a s s	Interstate^[b]	Fw	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
	Other Freeway^[c]	n/a	Fw	Fw	Fw	Fw	Fw	Fw	Fw
	Other Expressway^[d]	n/a	Major	Major	Major	Major	Major	Major	Major
	Other Principal Arterial^[e]	n/a	Major	Major	Major	Major	Major	Major	Major
	Minor Arterial^[f]	n/a	Major	Major	Minor	Minor	Minor	Minor	Minor
	Major Collector	n/a	Major	Major	Minor	Minor	PS	PS	PS
	Minor Collector	n/a	Major	Major	Minor	Minor	PS	PS	PS
	Local/not mapped	n/a	Major	Major	Minor	Minor	PS	Street	Street

^a 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.

^b Also known as Principal Arterial - Interstate.

^c Also known as Principal Arterial - Freeway.

^d Also known as Principal Arterial - Expressway.

^e Also known as Principal Arterial.

^f Also known as Other Arterial.

For example,

An Interstate Business Loop classified as a Minor Arterial is a Major Highway .
A US Highway classified as a Minor Arterial is a Major Highway .
A US Highway Spur route classified as a Minor Arterial is a Minor Highway .
A State Highway classified as an Other Freeway is a Freeway .
A State Highway classified as a Collector is a Minor Highway .
A County Route classified as a Minor Arterial is a Minor Highway .
A County Route classified as a Collector is a Primary Street
A locally maintained road classified as an Other Principal Arterial is a Major Highway .
A locally maintained road classified as a Collector is a Primary Street .

**Legend**
Fw	Freeway
Major	Major Highway
Minor	Minor Highway
PS	Primary Street
Street	Street

FC issues on State Maps

If you find any issues where FC changes unexpectedly such as in the image (the small section of green in between 2 red sections), please let the Regional Coordinator (RC) know exactly where this is located, so the appropriate DOT can be notified.

Road Lock Standards

In the South Central Region, we have a set minimum standard for locking roads based on segment type. Any road of a certain segment type must be locked at least to the rank (level) in the chart below. Roads may be locked higher for protection and special situations (areas with construction, tricky design, frequent mistakes, imaging inaccuracies, and the like), but should not be locked lower. If you find a road locked to a higher level than its minimum, please leave it locked no lower than that level when you have finished editing.

Segment Type	Lock Level
Freeway	5
Ramp	4
Major Highway	4
Minor Highway	3
Primary Street	2
Street	Automatic (1)
\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\| Railroad \|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|	2
• • • • Ferry • • • •	5
Private Road	2

Speed Limits

Click to view the USA Speed Limits Wazeopedia Page

Where speed limits change

Speed limits should change where they legally go in effect for your state, that may be at the sign, a specified distance before the sign, or the nearest intersection. When a speed limit changes in the middle of a segment, a new junction should be added to support the SL change.

However a new junction should never be added for a SL if it will be within 200 feet of an existing junction, or potential junction.
A new junction should always be added if it will be more than 1,000 feet from the nearest existing or potential junction.

Creating a new junction for a speed limit change

When creating a new junction solely for the sake of showing a speed limit change, you can attempt to get more value from the junction. Survey the area around the speed limit change, determine if there is a PLR or other segment which should be connected to the road and would result in a junction. You may find that there's a parking lot which could benefit from being added to the map within the allowable distance of 200 feet (or more depending on your area) to where the SL changes. In such a case connect that segment and use that junction. Otherwise you should create a new junction to show where the SL changes.

On roads where traffic for one turn direction typically backs up waiting to make the turn further than 200 feet, and traffic going straight or turning the other direction does not have to wait as long to pass through, turn delays can be affected even with the new junction 200 feet away. In these cases you may choose to extend the buffer zone to beyond the point where traffic backs up, and instead make the change at an existing junction node. These situations are governed by editor discretion and local guidance.

Click Expand for details on the rationale behind these rules.

It is very important that we do not create new junctions too close to existing intersections, yet marking the speed limit change too far can have a negative impact on the user experience.

The minimum distance of 200 feet was chosen because a distance less than that is negligible, and unnoticeable in the client experience. It is not much different than the delay we expect with GPS lag and error anyway. For example think of where you hear the turn prompts announced, they can sometimes precede a junction by up to 200 feet.

We have confirmed directly with the routing developers that adding a junction node connecting only 2 segments does not have an associated routing penalty. We have also confirmed that creating and adding new junction nodes where necessary using these above guidelines will not have a negative effect on route calculation.

However there is a legitimate concern when adding new junctions too close to existing intersections / interchanges, that they may interfere with and pollute the ability for Waze calculate accurate turn delays.

The reason to use a minimum of 200 feet from the nearest junction as a buffer is to account for turn delay calculations. If we create junction nodes very close to intersections we will effectively eliminate Waze's ability to differentiate the time it takes to go straight, vs the time to turn left or right. A distance of less than 200 feet between junctions poses a significant risk to the ETA calculations (turn delays). Over 200 feet it is up to local practice , and the editor's discretion to determine if a junction node there will negatively impact turn delay calculations. We must stipulate a minimum buffer zone, but it doesn't need to be exact. The area between 200-1,000 feet is open to interpretation, editor discretion, and local guidance.

If an exit or turn lane does back up over 1,000 feet, it is unlikely that traffic beyond the 1,000 mark will be drastically affected by the new junction placed that far away. However specific exceptions with the consultation of Regional Coordinators, or State Managers will always be allowed.

The turn delay issue could potentially be mitigated by adding Junction Boxes to each of these situations to correct them. However doing so would result in a lot more work for editors, and a lot more strain on the servers. It would make it harder to manage these intersections since all the included segments, and turns get locked from editing. It will have an effect on route calculation timing as well. We therefore had to come up with a compromise that is still visibly accurate, without anything being noticeably different to the client user, yet maintaining the ability for Waze to calculate proper ETA timing through intersections.

Work zones

Speed limits in work zones are often lowered to protect workers and prevent collisions. If these speed limits appear on regulatory black and white signs, they MAY be added to the associated WME road segments. Speed limits should only be changed in work zones when the change will be in effect for at least 30 days. Add the construction zone speed limit to the affected segments and place a [CONSTRUCTION] note on the map listing the official speed limit so when construction is complete, an editor can easily reset the speed limit.

Places

Info for Places

Places should be completed as fully as possible anytime they are created or updated. At a minimum, editors should:

verify correct spelling of the name, using the guidelines below
complete the address, to help when choosing among search results in the app, and
ensure the correct location of the Point or Stop 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. Recommended phone number formats: (903) 654-3210 or 903-654-3210. Others may not auto-dial properly in some phones. Photos should help Wazers recognize the destination when they arrive. However, DO NOT COPY FROM WEBSITES as this is plagiarism and will not be tolerated. The most common form is copying straight from Wikipedia. Please refrain from copy/paste anything from websites into the description field. They will be removed when discovered.

Place Locking Standards

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 (minimum) levels:

Place Type	Lock Level
Hospitals, universities, park and ride lots, arenas, airports	4
Police Dept / Fire Station / Government facilities	4
Large areas - (State Parks, if mapped, etc.)	4
Gas Station	3

Most other places should be locked at 3 once completed.

Place 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. place points for parking lots 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 "ER - Parkland Hospital"

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:

"Dallas City Hall"

"Travis County Probation"

"Bexar County Courthouse"

Police and Sheriff's Departments: City, Agency or Division Name followed by "Police Station/Dept" or "Sheriff's Office/Dept" (should match signage), for example:

"Dallas Police Dept"

"Austin Police - North Substation "

"Tarrant County Sheriff's Dept"

"Travis County Sheriff's Office"

Fire Stations: Agency Name or abbreviation followed by “Fire Station – “ and the station number. For example:

"DFD Fire Station - 15"

"Austin Fire Station - 3"

"Whitehouse Vol Fire Station - 2"

Light Rail Stations: Start with the Agency, which line, followed by the station name. For example:

"DART Rail – Akard Street Station"

"DART Green Line – Fair Park Station"

In general, City Bus stops should not be mapped.

United States Postal Service: Start the name with CDP or Station name, then append “Post Office”. Place the City name and the ZIP code of the Post Office in the Description box, so it will be viewable in the app GO page. Alternate name should be “USPS”. For example:

"Oak Lawn Post Office"

"White Rock Station Post Office"

Here is the USPS tool to find the names of specific post offices. https://tools.usps.com/go/POLocatorAction!input.action

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 - Healthcare Center at Harlingen (US Veterans Only)"

"Veterans Medical Clinic - McAllen"

"Veterans Affairs - North Texas Health Care System (US Veterans Only)"

When to use Area or Point in the South Central Region

Here is the SCR 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.

The Primary Category for a Place is used to determine whether to use a Point or Area.

View this list full-screen in Google Sheets

Place Name Harmonization

These name spellings are standardized so that Wazers will receive consistent results when searching in the client. Please use them when you edit one of these chain or franchise businesses.

If you don't find the business you're looking for, please use this form to submit the missing information.

Fast food chains or businesses that can sometimes be nested inside other businesses should be labeled as such. For example, if a Starbucks is inside Target or a Subway is inside Walmart, you would list it as Starbucks (inside Target) or Subway (inside Walmart) as the primary business name. This will allow for Wazers searching for a Starbucks or Subway to immediately know they may be routing to a coffee shop or sandwich shop with no drive-thru or standalone business as they may want or expect.

Eating / drinking establishments at airports and known to be inside the secured area should not be added in Waze.

If inside a military installation or area of restricted access, these establishments can be added with the tag of (Restricted Access) ; for example: McDonald's (Restricted Access). This will still route Wazers to these businesses but it lets them know they must have the proper credentials to access the location.

Apartment complexes will use the category "Lodging" and should be placed at the main office. Use Office Hours if available Assisted Living, Nursing Homes, and Hospice facilities will use the category "Lodging" and "Personal Care"

View this list full-screen in Google Sheets

Special Place Types

The following types of places have additional considerations you should be aware of before editing. Please be sure to read the linked Wazeopedia articles below before editing these place types.

Gas Stations

You should familiarize yourself with the gas stations wiki - specifically naming, branding, and stop points.

Hospitals and Urgent Care Facilities

Be sure to familiarize yourself with the hospital and urgent care Wazeopedia site before creating or editing medical facilities.

Parking Lots

Parking Lot Guidance

Cameras

Currently, the only way to add cameras to the editor is 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.

Many people mistake traffic cameras for red light and speed cameras. Please consult the Cameras page for an explanation, including pictures, as to what each type of camera looks like.

The legality of red light and speed cameras varies by state. If you get a request for a camera type that is illegal in the state you are editing (or you find an already approved one), please remove it

Legend

Not Legal Statewide	NOT LEGAL
Legal in Certain Jurisdictions	SEE NOTES BELOW
Legal Statewide	LEGAL STATEWIDE
No State Law	[field is left blank]

State	Red Light Cameras	Speed Cameras
Arkansas	NOT LEGAL	NOT LEGAL
Louisiana	SEE NOTES BELOW	SEE NOTES BELOW
Mississippi	NOT LEGAL	NOT LEGAL
Oklahoma
Texas	LEGAL STATEWIDE	NOT LEGAL