Local naming variations
- New York State uses NY-##, and NY-##X for all state routes and their spurs, loops, etc. (e.g. NY-27, NY-17M)
- Concurrent routes which are signed/shielded with both names, AND commonly referred to using both names together, should use both names separated by a slash (/) as the primary name, and each individual named as an alternate name. (e.g. US-1 / US-9)
- Interstate highways in New York City only which also have a historical or local freeway name should have that historical or local name appended after the Interstate designation, separated by a slash. (e.g., I-495 E / Long Island Expwy or I-95 N / Cross Bronx Expwy)
- Highway name descriptors, such as TRUCK, EXPRESS, etc. should be added in ALL CAPS after the name. (e.g. US-1 TRUCK, or on a concurrent road US-1 TRUCK / US-9 TRUCK)
- Roads which have a parallel service road (i.e. are split in a single direction such as Ocean Parkway) should have the service roads named uniquely so Wazers understand which roadway they are being routed onto. They should be named with "(Service Rd)" following the actual road name. (e.g. Ocean Pkwy, and Ocean Pkwy (Service Rd).)
This will also identify which roadway incident and error reports were sent from. These are commonly referred to as service roads in New York, but may also be known as frontage roads, or outer roads.
FC Upgrade
New York State is currently in the process of upgrading the entire road network to meet the national guidance for road type classification. This will ensure a consistent, and better navigational experience to wazers around the country. The general guidelines for implementation are in the Road Types (USA) page. Any local deviations, and special information for New York State will be listed below.
If you would like to assist in this project in any county of the state, please ensure you are listed in the appropriate table in the Area Managers section below, and list which county you will be upgrading. Please also update the entry for that county to "in progress", with your username, and the date in the the FC Upgrade project table on the To-Do subpage.
If another editor has already started on working on that county, please add your name after them, update the date, and coordinate directly with that editor. Once you have completed the FC upgrade for an entire county, please mark it as "complete" in the table, with the completion date.
If you have trouble, or are not comfortable with updating the table, please ask someone (try any AM, or SM) to do it for you.
The Mapping Resources section has links to several FC data sources including a State DOT maintained GIS, CSV lists of all FC roads by county, and general FC information.
Tip: for editors using the FC Color Highlights script: These colors will more-or-less match the NYS DOT FC map:
| NYS FC Type | Highlight Color |
|---|---|
| Interstate = Fwy | black |
| Principal Arterial = MH | green |
| Minor Arterial = mH | red |
| Collector = PS | blue |
| Ramp | #8c6946 (unclassified) |
Locking standard
In New York 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.
| Segment Type | NYC Only | Everywhere Else | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freeway | 5 | ||||||||||
| Ramp | Highest rank of connected segment | ||||||||||
| Major Highway | 5 | 3 | |||||||||
| Minor Highway | 4 | 3 | |||||||||
| Primary Street | 3 | 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.
You can use WME Validator to highlight segments which are locked below these standards using the custom check fields.
- For NYC use the following:
- Custom template:
_${type}_:${lock} - Custom RegExp:
/(_3_:[1-4]|_4_:[1-4]|_6_:[1-4]|_7_:[1-3]|_2_:[12])/
- Custom template:
- For Everywhere else in NYS use the following:
- Custom template:
_${type}_:${lock} - Custom RegExp:
(_3_:[1-4]|_4_:[1-3]|_6_:[1-3]|_7_:[12])/
- Custom template:
Local Exceptions
- Roads which are Private (not accessible to the general public i.e. a gated entrance, buses only, etc.), Parking Lot Roads, or Non-Drivable (i.e. pedestrian plazas, boardwalks, etc.) should be classed as such (Private, PLR, Non-Drivable), regardless of what their official FC class is.
- The NYS FC GIS is incomplete, and does not show all roads highlighted correctly for the full length on the road. When in doubt consult the Inventory Lists.
- The NYS FC GIS will only highlight one direction (side) of a split roadway, in these cases both directions should be classed the same (at the highlighted class).
From this point, roads may be adjusted up or down the scale as indicated by the road's setup and usage ONLY with the consensus of a local RC, or SM. Examples:
- Most of NY-17 from Binghamton to Harriman is fully limited access; it is therefore typed as Freeway (except for one 5½-mile stretch of at-grade intersections between Sanford and Hancock, where it is typed Major Highway).
- CR-56 in Steuben County is barely wide enough for two cars, has no appreciable shoulders, and is only rarely used; based on that, its type was downgraded to Street.
If you are having difficulty in determining what road type a particular section should have, feel free to contact any of New York's, Waze Champs Country Managers, State Manager(s), or senior editors list in the table below. You can also contact the Regional Coordinator(s) Error in Parameter to RC/Data or RC/Forum (in Parameter to RC/Data or RC/Forum PM [Help]) 
and Error in Parameter to RC/Data or RC/Forum (in Parameter to RC/Data or RC/Forum PM [Help]) , or post to any of the New York editing community locations listed above.
See New York/Major roads for a list of Major Highways in New York which are or were being worked on.
Speed limits
New York/Major roads/Main/Speed limits