This page is part of the new WME editor that supports scheduled restrictions
Scheduled restrictions (or time-based restrictions) enables Waze to control the routing of vehicles through roads or turns, and those can be further restricted based on time, day, or vehicle type. The classic use cases are for public transit lanes, turn restrictions during rush or commute hours, directionality changes, seasonal road closures, gates, moveable bridges and ferry lanes.
Overview
There are four methods to control traffic flow:
- Events
- Temp Road Closures
- Scheduled Restrictions
- Disconnect road segments
((Create article on why to use each one and point to that article. If small enough make a template and insert here. use info from Scheduled Restrictions.))
Scheduled restrictions can be based on:
- An entire segment controlling traffic flow for one or both directions
- Specific turns from one segment to another
Each of these restrictions can be further restricted based on:
- Vehicle type
- Time of day, day of week, date range, etc.
Examples:
- Interstate truck-only ramp
- No trucks allowed between 9a-3p weekends
- No left turn 7a-9a and 4p-6p weekdays
- HOV lanes
- Freeway express lanes which are a single roadway, but run a different direction for morning and evening commutes
- Vehicle towing a trailer
While this is a very flexible system, it requires what might initially look like a very complex interface to manage the many combinations possible. It is certainly very important that any changes made to any current scheduled restrictions on the map be done with extreme caution so as not to destroy hours of work by prior map editors. Therefore be sure to only make changes to scheduled restrictions with careful consideration, care and patience.
Segments
When no traffic or certain vehicles are not permitted on a segment (or road) you can restrict the segment directly.
Segment restrictions are added or edited through the ‘Add/Edit restrictions’ button in the left pane (or the ‘T’ keyboard shortcut). That brings up the "Time based restrictions" window with two tabs: "A to B" and "B to A" referring to the letters A and B on the two ends of the segment indicating the direction of orientation related to the direction of traffic. The text below the tab will describe which direction of travel is associated with that tab as some road segments may only have restrictions in one direction or the other. Press the "+ Add restriction" button to create a new restriction, or select the "edit" action button for a particular restriction already created.
Once you create the restrictions for one direction you can simply copy all the restrictions to the other direction with the link labeled "Copy all to the other side."
Alternately you can remove a restriction with the "X" action button.
Turns
When turns are restricted from one segment to another (not the segment itself), this option should be selected.
All traffic at all times
Turns that are restricted to all traffic, i.e., turns that it is illegal for any type of vehicle to do, are set with turn arrows—the arrows that appear at the end of a selected segment. A restricted turn is indicated by a red arrow with a "do not" sign next to it. A turn that is not restricted to all traffic is indicated by a green arrow.
((image of arrows))
((probably include something on U turns too))
Scheduled turn restrictions
An already restricted turn is shown in yellow. Accessing the editing dialog is done in the same way.
Each element (segment / turn) can have several restrictions for different times or for different vehicle types. Also note that two-way segments have different restriction lists for each direction. Selecting between the two direction is done with the direction tabs:
Turns that are restricted to all traffic during certain times of the day are "time based turn restrictions". [photo of "no left turn 7a-9a 4p-6p" sign or similar]
Time based turn restrictions are set through the Time based restrictions panel. To access this panel, hover over a turn arrow, and then click the clock that appears. [image of arrow with clock highlighted]
You should then see the Time based restrictions panel. [image of empty time based restrictions panel]
To add a time based turn restriction, click "Add restriction" at the bottom of the panel. This button will take you to the Time based restrictions input panel. [image of empty time based restrictions input panel]
Simple time based turn restrictions
For a turn that is restricted (not allowed) between 10 am and 2 pm daily, click the radio button next to "From", then enter "10:00" and "14:00" as the start and end times of the restriction. (Time based turn restrictions are input in 24-hour time [include a link to the wikipedia article on 24 hour time].) You may enter the times manually or by using the input panels accessed by the clock buttons next to the input fields. [image of panel with 10:00 and 14:00 entered]
Click "Add" to add the restriction. You will be returned to the Time based restrictions panel. The panel should now reflect the added restrictions. [image of panel with restriction added]
For a turn that is restricted between 7 and 9 am, and again between 4 and 6 pm, add the restrictions one-by-one as instructed above. When added, the panel should look like this. [image of panel with 7-9 and 16-18 restrictions added - n peters to bienville example]
Overnight time based turn restrictions
Time-of-day restriction periods may not cross midnight. For a turn that is restricted between 8 pm and 6 am, enter one restriction from 20:00 to 23:59 and a second from 0:00 to 6:00. [image of panel with 20-23:59 and 0-6 restrictions added - bourbon street example]
Date-based turn restrictions
Restrictions may also only be in place on certain days of the week. For a turn that is restricted "weekends", check only the boxes for "Sat" and "Sun". [image of input panel with M-F unchecked]
Time-and-date-based turn restrictions
For a turn that is restricted "2 pm to 4 pm, weekdays", when adding the restriction, uncheck the boxes next to "Sat" and "Sun", and enter "14:00" and "16:00" in the time boxes. [image of input panel with M-F checked and 14-16 entered]
Time-of-year and holiday turn restrictions
Also, some restrictions may only be in place during certain times of year. [explanation of that control with images and all]
This tool may even be used to restrict traffic on some moving holidays. For instance, for a turn that is not allowed on Labor Day (US: the first Monday in September), check only the box next to "Mon" and enter "01/09/2013" (September 1st; dates are in DD/MM/YYYY format) and "07/09/20xx". Clever, right? [image of input panel with all that stuff entered]
Time based road restrictions
Roads may also be restricted at certain times of day, on certain days, or at certain times of day on certain days. These restrictions, called Time-based road restrictions are added using the same panel as time-based turn restrictions, but accessed by a different control.
To access the Time based restrictions panel for a road segment, first select the segment, then click the "Add restrictions" button in the sidebar. [screenshot]
Simple time based road restrictions
Overnight time based road restrictions
Date based road restrictions
Time-and-date based road restrictions
[examples: royal st, pharr st]
Time-of-year and holiday road restrictions
Reversible road
[explain that a reversible road is set as two-way on the main map and then restricted in the panel. this merits its own section imo as it is a somewhat complex topic]
Vehicle type restrictions
All-day-every-day vehicle type restrictions
Some turns may only be taken, and some roads traveled, only by certain vehicles. Examples of this include HOV lanes, bus stops, and truck-only exit ramps. [some photos of real-world signs]
Also, some turns may be taken by all traffic except certain vehicles. Examples of this include no truck zones. [some more photos]
To set vehicle type restrictions, click "(Edit)" next to "Restriction for all vehicle types" on the Time based restrictions panel. (this is misleading, huh) This will extend the panel to show boxes for various vehicle types. [image of extended panel]
Note: A checked box means that the type of vehicle is restricted (disallowed) from making the selected turn or driving on the selected road. For a turn where only trucks are restricted from turning (not allowed to turn), uncheck every box except "trucks" in the panel extension.
Certain vehicles allowed
[include examples: hov lane, bus stop, truck ramp]
Certain vehicles excluded
[include examples: no truck zone, no bus, etc]
Scheduled vehicle type restrictions
Vehicle type restrictions may be combined with time-based restrictions, as well. For a turn that is not allowed from 7-9am except for buses, enter 7:00 and 9:00, then extend the panel and uncheck "buses". [image of that]
Reversible roads with vehicle type restrictions
Some reversible roads may also be restricted to certain vehicle types. A common example of this is the reversible HOV lane.
[explain that too]
Date logic
- The schedules are designed for recurring events. The restrictions will happen on each day of the week within the date range, in the hours defined in the hour range.
- The times being used are at the local location of the restriction. Meaning, if i’m Italy editing the map in New York, the restrictions are in EST and not offset to my local Italian time.
- The date and time ranges are inclusive - meaning that a restriction from July 3rd to July 5th will include the entire day of July 5th.
If the end time is earlier than the start time, the restriction will wrap around to the next day.
Some examples:
| Days of the week | Time Range | Date Range | Restriction Result |
| Sunday | All day | 12.1.2014 - 12.31.2014 | Every Sunday on December 2014, from 00:00 until 23:59:59. |
| Monday - Friday | 09:00-11:00 | Every Week | Every weekday from 9am to 11am. |
| Thursday | 23:00-03:00 | Every Week | Every Thursday from 23:00 until every Friday at 03:00 |
| All | All day | 7.3.2015 - 7.15.2015 | From July 3rd 2015 at 00:00 until July 15th at 23:59:59 |
Multiple segment selection
Multiple segments can be selected at once for batch editing of restrictions. Selecting multiple segments is done by clicking the segments while holding the Ctrl button (or Cmd on Mac computers).
A few things to note when editing multiple segments: Note the directionality of the segments - two neighbouring segments can be with different a->b directionality. In one of them the a->b direction can be eastbound and in the other it can be westbound at the same time. When multiple segments are selected with different restrictions set on them, they will appear in a different section of the dialog under the title: 'These restrictions only apply to some of the segments selected:' Click the ‘Apply to all’ link to the right of the restriction line to propagate the restriction to all the selected segments.
Vehicle Types
By default, a restriction is applicable to all vehicles. You can change this by expanding the vehicles list using the ‘edit’ link.
The expanded vehicle type list shows some common vehicle types. The checked types are the one that will not be routed through the segment / turn at the specified times.
Currently, all Waze mobile clients are considered to be private vehicles. The other vehicle types are available for future forward compatibility.