Guidelines that vary by state or territory
In Michigan the following are managed differently than USA Guidelines:
Dirt Road / 4x4 Trail
All dirt roads should have the unpaved checkbox marked.
This supports expectations of users who have disallowed dirt roads in their Waze routing preferences.
Michigan speed limits on dirt roads
Oakland County published the following sections regarding Absolute and Prima Facie speed limits. Even though Oakland County posted it, it applies to the entire state.
"Absolute" & "Prima Facie" Speed Limits
The Michigan Motor Vehicle Code allows for "absolute" and "prima facie" speed limits. Absolute speed limits are supported by traffic control orders issued by the Michigan State Police and are posted on signs along the road. On roads where there is no posted speed limit, or on gravel/unpaved roads, the speed limit is known as the "prima facie" speed limit. Prima facie speed limits are subject to driver judgment of driving conditions. If there is a posted speed limit on a gravel road, this is the maximum for optimum conditions, and drivers are expected to drive at lower, suitable speeds when conditions are less than optimum.
Prima Facie Speed Limits
In 2006, the Michigan legislature changed the restrictions for prima facie speed limits, limiting the locations that qualify for posting at 25 miles per hour. The revised law now requires the following speed limits:
- 25 miles per hour in a business district. The law defines a business district as "an area contiguous to a highway where the total widths of the adjacent buildings in use for commercial business open to the general public on both sides occupy 50 percent or more of the total frontage on both sides for a distance of 600 feet or more."
- 25 miles per hour for all roads in platted subdivisions.
- 25 miles per hour on a road with 60 or more vehicle access points (side streets, driveways, private roads, etc.) within a half mile.
- 35 miles per hour on a road with 45 to 59 vehicular access points within a half mile.
- 45 miles per hour on a road with 30 to 44 vehicular access points within a half mile.
- 55 miles per hour for all other roads with no posted speed limit. This is known as the "general speed limit."
Median U-Turn Intersection (MUTI) / Michigan Left
- NOTE: Although these guidelines have not officially been adopted as a Waze standard, the discussion is occurring at this forum thread.
Please visit the [usa:User:Mvan231/MUTI|MUTI] page for further information about these intersections/turns.
Alleys
As a general rule in Michigan, only residential alleys should be mapped, and only if they are the locally accepted destination for parking at or near a residence. Alleys should only function as a starting point or final destination, not as a thoroughfare. If alleys are mapped, the road type should be set to "Parking Lot Road" and given the name "Alley". Other attributes (city, direction, turn restrictions) should be set as if the alley were any other drivable road.
When adding or editing an alley, an important consideration is to verify that house numbers are properly situated for the surrounding street segments. Waze will route to the closest segment for a set of destination coordinates. This may result in the destination being in the alley, which may or may not be the desired result. Refer to the FAQ for additional information. If you need guidance or are uncertain whether a certain alley would meet the criteria to be mapped, please post a permalink in this existing Michigan forum thread.
Parking Lot Roads
The following proposal for a new national standard setting a minimum length for dead-end parking lot roads is currently under review by the GLR State Managers.
Dead end parking lot roads should be at least 100ft (30m) in length. This standard could be integrated nationally into either Best_map_editing_practice#Parking_Lots or Road types#Parking_Lot_Road.