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This page serves as the primary resource for editors of Rhode Island. 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.
Rhode Island follows the national standard for most topics, with the exception of red light cameras and city names. Please read these sections carefully before working on these issues.
Mapping resources
Before editing the maps in Rhode Island, 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.
Links
These resources provide information about roads in RI, including functional classifications, construction updates, and address information.
Visit the Cities and Towns section to view GIS and PLAT maps for individual towns in Rhode Island.
While Waze editors utilize many scripts during their work (most of which can be found on the Scripts page), there are a few scripts that are specific to RI that can also be usedː
RI Cities Overlay - Displays boundaries for all towns and recognized villages in RI
RI Urban Area Overlay - Displays boundaries for all areas in RI designated as "Urban" by RIDOT. Useful for determining whether to use the road name (urban) or state route number (non-urban) as a primary road segment name.
WME GIS Layers - Displays boundaries for individual addresses in the state. NOTEː Does not currently support all towns, but hopefully will 'soon'.
Community
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 Rhode Island.
New editors should consider checking into the formal mentoring program available at no charge.
There is a Discord Channel for Rhode Island editors. See the New England regional page for information on how to join.
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).
Rhode Island has special methods for determining which city name a road should have.
See Rhode Island/Cities and towns for how to handle cities in Rhode Island.
Major roads
Rhode Island follows the general road naming and road type guidelines of the USA.
Do not change the type of any Highway/Street-level roads without first consulting your State Manager or Regional Coordinator
Locking Standards
In Rhode Island 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.
A great time to implement these locks is while bringing the road types of an area into compliance with the current US road type standards (FC and highway systems). Lock the roads based on type after they've been set to current US road type standards.
Rhode Island Minimum Locking Rank Standard
Segment Type
Statewide
Freeway
5
Ramp
Highest rank of connected segments
Major Highway
4
Minor Highway
3
Primary Street
1 (Auto)
Street
1 (Auto)
Private Road
1 (Auto)
• • • • Ferry • • • •
5
|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| Railroad |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|
2
Note: Do Not Mass Edit just to update locks to these standards, these can be adjusted as you find them while editing other aspects of the segments such as FC, speed limits, naming, etc.
Some segments still warrant higher locks and care should be taken when setting segment lock to these standards to look for and protect these special setups with higher locks. Some examples; segments which are part of BDP, U-turn prevention, or using micro-doglegs, or other complex intersection setups.
Route Naming
In Rhode Island, all numbered state highways should be given the designation "RI-##", where ## represents the highway number (e.g. "RI-24"). These designations, as well as designations for US routes and interstates, should be set as the primary or alternate name for a given segment based on the following rules:
If the route is a limited-access highway (e.g. divided road, exit ramps, etc), the designation should be the primary name. Any common names for the road should be listed as alternate names. Note that these roads may not necessarily qualify as Freeway road types.
This rule also applies to the divided portions of US-1 that runs through Washington County.
If the segment is considered an urban road, the common name should be the primary name, and the route designation should be the alternate name.
If the segment is part of a rural road, the route designation should be the primary name, while the common name should be listed as the alternate name.
Several other items of note:
All route designations designations should have the same city name as the common name. If the route resides in a village, then the city name shall be the village name. See Rhode Island/Cities and towns for more information.
RI routes do not use any banners (e.g. ALT, TRUCK, BUS, etc) on signage, so there should be no such routes named on the map. This is not to be confused with the RI-XXA designations, which do exist and should be mapped.
Legally speaking, u-turns are permitted in RI unless specific signage prohibits it. However, to avoid accidents and confusion, you should only allow u-turns at intersections which have a turn diameter of at least 15m. To determine this distance, draw a segment perpendicular to the road in question, starting in the left-most turn lane, crossing the median, and ending on the left-most opposite lane, as shown in the figure to the right.
NOTE: The only exception to this rule is if there is a dedicated u-turn lane on the opposite side for drivers to enter when performing a u-turn. If these u-turn lanes are separated from the road by more than 15m, then treat it as an AGC and map accordingly. Otherwise, simply enable the u-turn at the intersection.
Special roads
Drivable roads
Rhode Island 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.
New England roads
Good luck!
As with most New England states, Rhode Island was not blessed with a planned road system, so many roads and intersections can appear confusing and down-right strange. If you come across such a conundrum, please contact your Area or State Manager on how to handle these situations before trying to edit them.
Below are just some of the unique road situations you may find in Rhode Island.
Border Roads
It is common for some roads to straddle the border between towns, such that the houses on one side belong to one town, while houses on the other side belong to a different town. In these cases, all road segments that contain HNs with two different town address should have both towns listed on those segments, with the town containing the majority of the segment listed as the primary town name.
New England Y
One particular type of intersection crops up a lot in Rhode Island and other New England States: the New England Y. These intersections involve one road terminating in the middle of another road. Normally, this would be a standard T-intersection, but in New England, they are often given a Y-intersection instead. Not only that, but both arms of the Y-intersection typically allow for two-way traffic, making for some rather confusing traffic patterns.
Turns on a New England Y-intersection (click to see animation)
In the interest of maintaining Wazer sanity, you should disable all inward turns on the Y-intersection, even if there is no specific signage restricting these turns. Inward turns are turns that take the driver back along the edge of the triangle formed by the Y-intersection, as shown in the figure on the right.
The only exception to this is when there is a house or business driveway located on the triangle. In these cases, a single inward turn towards that address should be allowed to ensure Wazers can get there successfully from all possible directions without having to u-turn farther down the road and approach from the "correct" direction.
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.
In Rhode Island, most closures are published by RIDOT every Friday night on their Travel Advisories page. Note that we only map full road closures, not lane or shoulder closures.
If you discover a road that is closed, check with official town and local police sources to determine how long the closure is for (including town websites, Facebook pages, and Twitter accounts). If the closure is expected to last longer than a day, please report it to your State Manager so they can add it to the map. You can also report the closure by filling out the USA Closures Form, which will alert State Managers of new closures.
Listed below are some of the long-term construction projects currently active in Rhode Island. Please be aware of these projects, as they could be the source of many User Reports.
Rhode Island 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.
Minimum Acceptable Information
All Places added to the map must contain the following entries:
Proper Category
Place Name
Address (including address numbers)
Placed in the correct location on the map
This is the minimum acceptable amount of information for inclusion on the map. Below are some guidelines for specific Place properties:
Website
Websites should link to the root site only, and include the "http://" prefix (or "https://"). If the Place is part of a business chain, do NOT link to the store-specific page as many of the details on these pages are also included in the Place properties. Not only that, but the URLs often change whenever the external website is revamped. (e.g. Link to http://www.homedepot.com instead of http://www.homedepot.com/l/Providence/RI/Providence/02908/4285).
If you come across any blank or incorrect Website links in your editing adventures, feel free to correct them.
Phone Numbers
If a phone number is entered in the Place information, please utilize the following format: (###) ###-####
Please correct the layout of any phone numbers you encounter while editing.
Locking Standard
Rhode Island Place Lock Level Standards
PLACE TYPE
LOCK LEVEL
Military Installation / Airport
4
Hospitals / Urgent Care / Police & Fire Dept
4
National & State Parks and Monuments
4
Gas Stations / Charging Stations
3
Schools / Universities / Colleges
3
Government Buildings / Consulates
3
Train Stations
3
City and Local Parks
2
All Places that have complete information (to include, at a minimum, address/city, hours of operation, phone number) are to be locked at Level 2. This is to prevent loss of data due to automatic acceptance of Place Update submissions from Trusted Users, or Place Update Request approvals from other editors without careful examination.
If you do not have a high enough enough rank to lock the place as indicated, please lock it as high as you can, and notify a higher rank AM, SM, CM, or Champ to lock it higher.
Area Editing
Area MappingWhen creating an Area, map it to the "fence line" of the area.
For instance, if you are mapping a shopping center, this means that you map the area to cover the shopping center buildings, and the parking lots out to the outer ring road (if applicable). If there is no ring road, or for smaller shopping centers, map to the curb line.
The only exception to this in Rhode Island are schools that only have one major building on the property (such as public primary/secondary education schools). In these cases, the area should be drawn to match the general shape of the building, as most of these schools have unique enough shapes to meet the requirements for single structure area places.
Hospitals / Urgent Care
Hospital MappingA special Category of Hospital / Medical Center is used for Hospitals, Medical Centers and Urgent Care facilities. ONLY Hospitals, Emergency Rooms, and places offering Urgent Medical Care should use this category. Clinics, and Medical offices which do not offer urgent medical care for Walk-Ins should use the Office, and any other appropriate category, instead.
Set the Stop Point over the Main Entrance to the facility. Additionally, map the Emergency Entrance with the same category name, but place it over the Emergency entrance location. ERs encompassed in a hospital Place Area should be Points, and named in the following fashion: E.R. - Hospital Name
Place Browser
Rhode Island Place Browser - This is an invaluable tool for working on existing places. Be sure to click the About tab to get an overview of the tool.
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 Rhode Island.
Based on information researched at the time this page was created, the limited legality of speed cameras in Rhode Island is described below, and red light cameras are legal statewide in Rhode Island.
No other camera types should be mapped in Waze.
Speed camera
Speed cameras
Speed cameras are only allowed in school zones and are only turned on during school hours (7AM - 6PM). However, they are required to post signage warning drivers that they are entering a monitored speed area. As such, these cameras should be mapped in Waze, as it's better to warn drivers of an upcoming camera zone, even if that camera is sometimes turned off.
Speed camera usage is determined at the city level. Currently, the following cities have speed camerasː
Providence (15)
Pawtucket (9)
East Providence (9)
Central Falls (3)
"Mobile" speed camera
While speed cameras in most cities are permanent, Providence speed cameras are considered "mobile" and can be relocated. However, they are generally stationary throughout the school year, and the city of Providence notifies the public whenever cameras are to be moved. Thus, RI editors will need to be aware of changes to camera locations, as well as any additions or removals of cameras, by monitoring press releases from city officials.
In these instances, look for the camera itself in Google Street View (see examples) and map according to standard camera mapping guidelines. Note that this requires Google Street View to be up-to-date, so it may be difficult to properly identify new cameras without either updates to GSV or boots on the ground.
Red light camera signage
Red light cameras
Currently, the following cities use red light camerasː
Providence (15)
Pawtucket (15)
East Providence (9)
Charlestown (2)
To identify a valid red light camera, be sure to look for a sign near the intersection that says "Traffic Laws Photo Enforced", as shown on the right. As with speed cameras, you may need to either wait until GSV is updated, or have someone manually verify new cameras with photographic evidence before you can map them.
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.
See Rhode Island/To do for a list of active projects in Rhode Island that you can help with.
Other
Here are a few other things to be aware of when editing in RI.
Handling Update Requests (URs)
Rhode Island has adopted a 1/4/10 day schedule when responding to Update Requests.
New URs should be responded to as soon as possible. If the solution is obvious, then fix the issue, leave a comment, and close out the report as "Solved". Otherwise, if there's ANY ambiguity to the problem, then leave a comment asking for further clarification. This starts the UR response clock.
If the reporter hasn't responded within 4 days of your initial comment, then leave a gentle reminder to the reporter that you will close the report soon if you don't get a response.
If the reporter does respond to your initial comment, then the response clock starts over as you continue the conversation.
If the reporter still hasn't responded after 10 days, then leave a comment letting them know that you're closing the issue, and close the report as "Not identified".
If you come across a UR that is older than 10 days that has not been touched by another editor (common in more rural areas), apologize for the late response and see if the reporter still remembers anything about the problem. If they can't, or they don't respond after 4 days, close the report as "Not identified".
Other things to remember about handling URs:
Keep responses short; some folks might be responding in the Waze app and reading long responses can be a pain!
You should always leave a comment on a UR, even if you're just closing out old reports.
Rhode Island follows the USA standard for speed limits. Do not deviate from the guidelines without first obtaining consensus to do so via the state forum linked on this page.
While Rhode Island does not have any specific laws concerning speed limits (other than not exceeding them), we've decided to mark the speed limits at the sign. This means that, wherever there is a regulatory speed limit sign, the segment should be split at that point and the new speed limit marked on the new segment just beyond the sign, as specified in the national standard.
Also, though Rhode Island does define default speed limits for "business or residence districts" (25mph), speed limits should only be set on a segment if there is an enforceable speed limit sign somewhere on that road. Do NOT set default speed limits on roads with no speed limit signs, as this could cause confusion among drivers.
Area Managers
The table below identifies the editors also designated as Area Managers or higher who are editing in Rhode Island. If you have any questions, please consider contacting them directly as needed. If you are an Area Manager that covers Rhode Island, or a USA Country Manager that does a lot of work in Rhode Island, please add yourself to this list (alphabetical by username) in the correct rank section.
The editor who also serves as the Regional Coordinator for Rhode Island 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.
Rhode Island — Area, State, Country Managers, and Regional Coordinators
Providence County AM, Current EA SE MA, Statewide RI, Santa Fe & Los Alamos, NM
Rhode Island Resident for 35 years, relocated to NM in 2021
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.
