This page serves as the primary resource for editors of New Mexico. 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.
New Mexico State Flag
New Mexico is the "Land of Enchantment," one of the largest states in the United States. It is fairly rural and sparsely populated state that includes a number of Native American Indian reservations, and the largest military base in the USA, White Sands Missile Range. It has vast areas of deserts mesas, and volcanic flows. It has many mountainous regions from the southern-most parts of the Rocky Mountain chain. Major freeways running through the state are I-40 and I-25 that intersect at its largest city, Albuquerque, and I-10 that runs along the southern area of the state.
Vast areas of the state are part of independent Native American Nations, the Bureau of Land Management, the US Forest Service, the Park the Service, and Military Private Installations. These areas have their own separate road networks. See specific wiki guidance about these areas.
There are no special projects currently underway.
Introduction
New Mexico is a part of the Southwest region, which includes the states and/or territories of:
Due to overlap of Native American tribal lands, we cooperate with Arizona in the treatment of these areas.
Because of slight Functional Classifications differences between NMDOT and ADOT, we will not always have the same road functional classification as that state. You may see functional classification changes on the same road as it crosses the border.
Colorado (to the north)
No current issues.
Texas (to the east)
No current issues.
Utah (part of "Four Corners")
New Mexico is not adjacent to Utah, but touches it only at one point at Four Corners.
Due to overlap of Native American tribal lands, we cooperate with Utah in the treatment of these areas.
Mapping resources
Before editing the maps in New Mexico, 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.
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 New Mexico.
New editors should consider checking into the formal mentoring program available at no charge.
New Mexico editors communicate on the Southwest Region Discord server. To join, click here.
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).
SR-26 Hatch NM to Deming NM, critical for functional classification routing
State Highway Naming
The approved format for State Highway naming in New Mexico is: SR-##. The SR prefix is pronounced by TTS as "State Route".
The New Mexico-specific state route shield with the red Zia sun symbol encircling the route number is used when appropriate. The generic state route shield, similar in shape but without the symbol, is not used in New Mexico.
Former US-66
The former US-66, now known in many parts of the state as "Historic Rte 66", "Old US-66" or similar derivatives, is no longer a commissioned US highway in New Mexico. The US route shield is not used.
Locking Standard
Actual locks used may be more or less than values in the table, depending on area circumstance. Please consult the RC, SM, or appropriate AM for guidance.
New Mexico Minimum Locking Rank Standard
Segment Type
Default locks
Freeway
5
Ramp
4
Major Highway
4
Minor Highway
3
Primary Street
2
Street
1
• • • • Ferry • • • •
5
|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| Railroad |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|
2
Functional Classification
Reference: Road names and Road types. New Mexico participates in the functional classification of roads.
NMDOT to Waze Functional Classification conversion
GIS Legend
The New Mexico Classification and Color scheme comes from the official New Mexico D.O.T (NMDOT) Functional Classification (FC) map that is published by NMDOT. The legend shows what classifications NMDOT uses and what color is assigned to each class. The actual interactive State Map can be found here:
Longer rural roads classified as "Major Collector" on the FC map should be set to Minor rather than PS to avoid pruning of valid routes.
State highways that are classified on the State FC map as "Minor Arterial," but are dirt/gravel, should be set to PS and have the unpaved box checked, instead of Minor .
SR-26, Hatch NM to Deming NM, is set to Major to allow routing from I-25 south to I-10 west and bypass Las Cruces.
Several non-Interstate highways in New Mexico are mapped as Freeway because they are constructed to Interstate standards:
11 miles of US-70 in the Las Cruces area.
12 miles of US-84 in the Santa Fe area.
5 miles of Paseo del Norte (SR-423) in Albuquerque.
Review the Wiki guidelines for non-drivable roads to ensure compliance with the general guidelines.
Special Road Treatment in New Mexico
Alleys:New Mexico has a significant number of navigable alleys. Per the Waze Functional Classification Page, mapped alleys will be marked as Parking Lot roads because they are publicly accessible. There is no need to map alleys that are not yet mapped and no need to delete alleys that are already mapped. Mapping of new alleys is at the discretion of the local editors.
Dirt Roads: Because New Mexico is relatively rual, even in larger cities, dirt roads can be important in navigation and may even support freeway speeds. Dirt roads may be marked as streets, primary streets, and in some cases minor highways depending on their use and condition. Until specific guidance can be produced, seek involvement from local editors before changing these roads.
Indian Reservation Roads: Native American Indian reservations have jurisdiction over their own roads, although certain federal, state, and county roads can cross their lands. Before you edit on these lands you should be familiar with this Wiki page.
Forest Service Roads: New Mexico and many states in the USA have US Forest Service Road systems that have their own functional classification and rules. Before editing on these roads and associated landmarks, consider this Wiki page.
Bureau of Land Management Roads: New Mexico and many western states in the USA have Bureau of Land Management (BLM) roads that have their own standards. Before editing on these roads and associated landmarks, consider this wiki page. BLM also manages certain National Monuments.
National Park Service Roads: While not significantly different from normal roads, you should consult this Wiki page before editing these roads and their associated landmarks.
Military Bases & Government Installations: New Mexico has a large number of military bases and National Laboratories that have restricted access. Please follow the Private Installations article when mapping these facilities.
U-Turns
This is interim guidance for New Mexico, until such time as National standards are agreed upon.
U-turns should be permitted when both of these conditions exist:
1) There is no signage prohibiting a U-turn.
2) There is at least 10.1 m (33 feet) from the left edge of the departure lane to the "destination" curb. This can include any median that may exist to the left of the departure lane. (The measurement is intended to accommodate the turning radius of most passenger vehicles.)
Suggested Practices
Use street-view to see if there are signs stating U-turns are not allowed or only authorized vehicles are allowed to make U-turns.
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.
Major Construction Projects
See New Mexico DOT for a list of road closures & changes to traffic flow that impact the Waze map. Only long-term construction projects should be addressed.
Current Construction Projects
Road Closure Alerts
The website nmroads.com will list closures on a map. You may also sign up for text message that describe road closures as they occur.
Places
New Mexico 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.
Adding and Adjusting Area and Point Places
Places are landmarks that can be added to the map via the editor (WME) or via the application on user devices. Global guidance and detail on Places is located here. Additional information and guidance for New Mexico is as follows:
Quick Definitions
Point Places are not shown on the client display. Recent conversations with Waze staff have indicated these will not likely be displayed on the client any time soon. Point Places have a single location, a point.
Area Places are shown on the client display when they are of sufficient size. Very small Area Places are not displayed. Area Places have a polygon shape and an adjustable destination point. The name is displayed on the client map in the middle of a shaded area. There are many categories to pick from such as gas station, park, school, etc.
Places can be added via the client application, and are actually encouraged by the Waze app. These may wait approval or automatically be approved via relatively complex rules.
Locking Standard
New Mexico 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
All Places that have complete information (to include, at a minimum, address/city, hours of operation, phone number) are to be locked at Level 3. 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.
When to use Area Places
Area Places should are encouraged to add content to the Waze client map because (a) they add interesting and valuable content that provides context for navigation for Wazers, and (b) because Wazers can scroll to a point on the map, touch where they want to go, and tell Waze to take them there. Without Area Places neither of these things are possible. Area Places also come up in Point of Interest (POI) searches.
Those items that are "landmarks" for travelers should be put on the map. This may include historic locations, larger and more frequently traveled to shopping areas, stores, etc., and locally important navigational points that would be relevant when guidance is given such as "if you reach the drugs store, you've gone too far" or "turn left at the Eat At Joes restaurant."
We should avoid having irrelevant and small Area Places. Small Area Places will not display on the map. See National Guidance on Area Places for details.
Notice that Area Places may have locally important context that should override national guidance.
When to use Point Places
Use point places when the item you're noting should not display on the client display but show up in POI searches. Point Places are useful for marking specific locations in a larger Area Places, such as where to park and other special locations. For instance, Point Places are useful for noting the location of individual stores in a shopping plaza when an Area Place marks the whole or a large part of the shopping plaza.
Standard Naming Deviations for NM
When naming Schools, do not use "School" in the name and do not abbreviate the name.
Example:
Thomas Jefferson Elementary School should be named Thomas Jefferson Elementary. It should not be Jefferson Elementary or Thomas Jefferson ES.
Use High, Elementary, Academy, Charter, etc... the only exception is Middle School. A consensus of editors has decided that Middle Schools will keep School in the name. Leaving it out (Thomas Jefferson Middle??) would just look wrong
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 New Mexico.
Red Light Cameras
Red Light Cameras are legal in the State, but Illegal in the City of Albuquerque.
Speed Cameras
Speed cameras are legal in the State and are in use in the City of Albuquerque.
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.
Looking for something to edit in New Mexico?
You can find some information on New Mexico's To-Do List; however, that list is not always maintained. Check it and see. We try to list current projects as well as to-do items. If you have interest, you can add your own to-do items there. You are more likely to find additional information in the New Mexico Forum page.
In general, you will find most highways are well maintained. A lot of work needs to be done in small rural areas and towns. In larger cities we often need help on User Reports and Place approvals.
It's always a good practice to introduce yourself and post your intended actions in the New Mexico Forum page in case others are working there or want to interact with you about your efforts.
Other
Locking Roads & Places in New Mexico
We need balance in protecting the integrity of roadways and other content that has been put into the map and providing access to as many lower-level editors as possible. This guidance really needs to be locally driven because one answer does not fit all situations. General guidance for locking roads to editing ranks for New Mexico is as follows. Lower-level editors can always ask for unlocks from other state or national editors.
What affects how we might lock roads?
When higher lock levels are usually needed:
When areal images do not match actual ground conditions. This includes construction areas.
Higher value routes that would inconvenience many users if damaged.
Particular locations that are frequently damaged by new editors.
Areas of the map that are well developed but not frequently visited by editors to check condition, and error reports.
Items that have had significant research in creating data in the item such as the naming of a Ramp and the creation and information of a Place.
When lower lock levels are possible:
Areas where few mistakes or acts of vandalism occur.
Areas that will be frequently visited by AMs or other higher-ranked editors, such that they can keep an eye out for problems.
Areas that are purposefully unlocked or reduced in lock level so a lower-level editor can manage and watch over them for an extended period.
Items that are briefly unlocked under the real-time oversight of a higher-level editor, then locked after adjustment by a lower-level editor.
Responding to User Problem Reports (URs)
User Reports (URs) are problem reports that Wazers typically enter from the client when they notice a problem on the map or in Waze routing. These reports come with a category, potential reporter GPS track, potential Waze navigation route, and sometimes with a text message from the reporter. The UR system allows for text dialogue between map editors and the reporter. Editors may leave URs open or close them as resolved or unresolved.
We suggest editors in New Mexico consider an etiquette process for communicating and closing out URs.
Suggested Approach - Responding to URs
No fixed approach will be appropriate because of the large number of situations associated with URs. Here is a general approach:
If a UR already has a response from another editor, think carefully before inserting your comments to make sure they are helpful, not confusing. You might want to contact the other editor by Private Message (PM) first if the situation seems complicated.
If the UR is open and there are no comments from other editors, see if you can fix resolve the UR. If you can resolve it as clearly "Solved" or "Not Identified" then , move to a final closing response (see below).
If the UR is open, and you need more information, write the reporter with a question. See templates below.
if there is no response in about a week, prompt the reporter again with a request for information stating you will close the report out in about a week.
If there is no response a second time, close out the report as "Not Identified."
Provide a final closing response when you resolve the UR as "Solved" or "Not Identified." Examples:
Report solved and problem fixed! Thanks for submitting a report! [Explain resolution if you wish.]
Report solved. There was not a map issue we could find. [Explain the likely issue if you wish.]
This report was not resolved because we could not find a specific issue or cause. Issue not identified. Please report again if you see another issue or have more information.
Suggested Response Templates
Following are suggested templates for your response. Use these, modify, or create your own. You may want to personalize your response.
Type of UR
Suggested Template
Optional Suggestions
Little information Provided
Hello, I am a volunteer map editor! Thank you for the report. Sorry that you encountered an issue. To investigate further, we could use more detail about the problem you encountered and what you expected. Please help by providing details about the map problem.
Add comment about type of UR. Add speculation and questions about the issue.
(short) Little information Provided
Hi. This is a volunteer editor. I am uncertain about the problem. Can you elaborate?
Add comment about type of UR. Add speculation and questions about the issue.
Problem not likely a map issue
Hello, I am a volunteer editor. This may be an issue with your phone or device running Waze. Contact Waze Support or check the Waze App subforum on the Waze forums for more information.
Example: If you notice the GPS path of the user is erratic, it might be poor GPS signal or phone issue.
Follow up when no reponse received in 7 days
Hello, again, Wazer! Map editors are still willing to help resolve this report if you're interested, otherwise we'll close it out in about a week. Please provide as much information as you can.
Closing out the UR
I am closing out this report because [insert reason]. Actions taken were [explain what you did].
If appropriate, thank reporter again for helping to resolve an issue.
Area Managers
The table below identifies the editors also designated as Area Managers or higher who are editing in New Mexico. If you have any questions, please consider contacting them directly as needed. If you are an Area Manager that covers New Mexico, or a USA Country Manager that does a lot of work in New Mexico, please add yourself to this list (alphabetical by username) in the correct rank section.
The editor who also serves as the Regional Coordinator for New Mexico 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.
New Mexico — Area, State, Country Managers, and Regional Coordinators
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.
