User:Whoaitspete/Bridges Draft

For the WME bridge segments junction tool, see Creating and editing road segments and Overpasses, Underpasses and Bridges.

A bridge place is used to represent a named bridge with local or navigational significance. With more than 600,000 bridges in the US, these guidelines are in place to prevent the clutter of polygons, labels, and search results of bridges with little to no navigation significance. The addition of or edits to a bridge place may also require edits to the segments utilizing the bridge, given the association of their geometry, names, and navigation purposes.

Bridge Place

Bridge places serve as a routing destination and/or a landmark in the app. This allows users to navigate to a bridge for purposes such as visiting a pedestrian accessible bridge, driving to the designated viewing area of a non-accessible bridge, or adding the bridge as a stop during navigation to get a preferred route. As a landmark, a bridge place is represented by a label and polygon on the map to help users orient themselves.

Geometry

Bridges should be added as area places. The geometry of the polygon should be limited to the area of the bridge span(s) and, for multi-span bridges, care should be taken not to cover any significant open area between spans. This prevents the area place layer from covering portions of other map layers in the app between the spans.

Given their height above ground level, bridges are subject to parallax on aerial imagery. This may cause the bridge to appear shifted, curved, and/or wavy in WME imagery compared to its actual position. To resolve this issue, a bridge place should be drawn offset from its position on the imagery to match segments and GPS points (see more about segments below).

Address

If an active road bridge, use the name and city of the segments crossing the bridge with no HN. Non-road bridges that are destinations should have their address set like any other destination. If a non-road bridge is added purely as a landmark and / or would not be navigated to (e.g., active railroad bridge), do not add a street or HN in the address category.

When a bridge crosses two or more city names within a state:

• If the segments share a common street (primary or alt), select that street name and check the None box for City
• If the segments do not share a common street (primary or alt), do not add a street or HN.

If a bridges crosses state or country borders, select the state that encompasses a majority of the bridge or consider mapping two area places in their respective state and/or country.

Name

This should be an official or locally-used name, preferably signed at each approach. Do not map unnamed bridges signed only for the feature they cross or the name of the road that crosses the bridge. Bridge areas may also be used to add a signed or known commemorative name that is different than a bridge name which is used in the street name.

Categories

In addition to bridge, add any categories relevant to the bridge as a destination. These may include categories such as Tourist Attraction/Historic Site, Scenic Lookout/Viewpoint, Park, etc. Do not add additional categories to bridges that serve only as a landmark.

Entry Points

As of April 2021, Multiple Entry Points are only used in the iOS (Apple) version of the Waze app, and not used by the Android app. When adding entry points, keep in mind that production Android users are routed only to the originally created entry point.

Entry points should according to the navigation needs of the bridge place:

• As a destination
  • If a bridge has (a) parking area(s) for pedestrian access near the approach for the bridge, they should be set as an entry points and named accordingly.
  • If a bridge does not have pedestrian access but has a nearby lot designated for viewing, the entry point should be set to that lot.
• As a routing aid
  • For single span with an undivded road, a single entry point that allows a route to come from either direction should be added. If the bridge already has a destination point near the approach to one or both sides of the bridge, this point does not need to be added.
  • For a single span with divided roads or multi-span bridges, an entry point should be added at the entrance of the bridge from each direction to allow routing from the selected direction.

Lock

Completed bridge places should be locked to at least 2, though regional guidance may suggest a higher level based on road type, landmark importance, etc.

Segments on Bridges

Geometry

Like the geometry of the bridge place, bridge segments are subject to parallax and the resulting offset can be significant enough to disrupt the app's snapping software. Segments should be adjusted to compensate for this shift by using the GPS points layer or allowed GIS sources to align the segment to its real-world position.

Name

Dual-naming

Elevation

Segment elevation should be set to regional elevation guidance

Examples

Meridian Br next to modern US-81 bridge (name vs no name example)

Walkway Over the Hudson (pedestrian entry points at each end)

Starrucca Viaduct (Historic railroad bridge with viewing from nearby park only)

Crescent City Connection - Screenshot for geometry section