Texas/Mapraid Discussion View history

MapRaid! Houston,Texas has begun on 2015-01-11, Sunday. 19:00 UTC. The raid will last for roughly 7 days.
Registration for the MapRaid! is now closed. To hear about future MapRaids please join the [wazemapraid.slack.com MapRaid #Slack].
Please be sure to explore this Wiki page, and check back regularly in case of added materials.
You are only seeing modifications of this page made up until Sat, 16 Nov 2024 05:06:37 UTC, make sure to log in to the wiki to see the latest updates.

Welcome to Texas!

Mission

Our primary mission will be to handle the URs, and MPs. The secondary missions, is general map verification, specifically the following in order of priority:

  • fixing streets (correcting elevation, turns, extra nodes, and alternate names)
  • routing corrections (usually found in URs or by randomly attempting to route between points and looking for irregularities)
  • FC errors (but do not downgrade without getting local guidance! See FC warning immediately below.)

PURs, followed by Place validation, are being handled EXCLUSIVELY by Team 10, please refer all places updates to them.

Functional Classification (FC) has been fully implemented for the Houston area. Some road types may deviate intentionally from the state DOTs classifications. Please consider contacting a local champ or State Manager (SM) before downgrading a road type.

Local Hosts

txemt (PM [Help])   - South Central Regional Coordinator - available


driving79 (PM [Help])   -Southeast Regional Coordinator-

pjlasl (PM [Help])   - US Champ, US CM, Texas SM - Currently Unavailable

ctpoole (PM [Help])   - Texas SM

karlcr9911 (PM [Help])   - Texas SM

jakflash (PM [Help])   - Houston area editor

coontex (PM [Help])   - Houston area editor

Important!

Please do not alter any of the following road types without first consulting a Local Host (unless changes are being made to match Functional Classification (FC)): Freeway, Ramp, Major Highway, minor Highway, Primary Street. You may edit these roads, but do not change the type of the segment (excluding FC work). Confirmation should be obtained before making changes to any of these road types that go against FC.

Please do not mass-edit Do not perform edits which will affect large numbers of segments at once. The edit history of segments is highly valuable in the process of solving URs. Mass editing effectively mass erases this history, permanently. We ask that all necessary processes which might affect large portions of the map, or long stretches of roads, be reserved until near the end of the MapRaid. This includes the “Select entire street” function. To facilitate this process in an orderly fashion, we have the Scheduled Edits list below. Please document any mass edits which are required, and you will be given first chance to make those edits when the time is right.

Anything locked at 5 or 6? Please check with a local editor before making changes.
If you are a rank 5 or 6 editor - consider keeping highlights active for locks 5 and 6.

Close nodes We make extensive use of the " micro-dogleg" technique, where a geometry node is carefully placed, at full zoom, directly next to a junction node, in order to set the angle to create a desired Turn/Stay/Exit prompt. Please watch for these if you move any junction node, and be sure to recreate the same angle at the new location.

Local Guidance

Functional Classification

In the United States, we set our road types using a national standard called Functional Classification (FC). You can read a detailed explanation in our Road Type Wiki

The Functional Classification has been completed in the Houston Area. Occasionally, we find short segments that were missed in the selection process for conversion, and it is important that these be corrected for routing continuity. In general, however, we ask that Road Types not be changed without consulting one of the Local Hosts. In isolated cases, we have chosen to deviate from official classifications, due to errors or outdated information in the TxDot FC maps, or to better accommodate real-life situations and Waze quirks. It is important that these remain intact. Sometimes dirt roads may appear higher on FC maps but shouldn't be used by Waze for routing.

If you find an area that doesn't seem to be complete please bring it to the attention of a Local Host for review.

TxDot functional classification classifies roads as

  • An Urban Interstate, Urban Principal Arterial Freeway & Expressway is a  Freeway 
  • Any road that acts, looks, & feels like a freeway should be set to  Freeway  road type.
  • An Urban Principal Arterial-Other is a  Major Highway 
  • An Urban Minor Arterial is a  Minor Highway 
  • An Urban Collector is a  Primary Street 
  • All other roads are to be classified as  Street 


Locking Standard

In Texas 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. If you find a road locked to a higher level than its minimum, please leave it locked no lower than that level when you have finished editing.

Texas Minimum Locking Rank Standard
Segment Type Lock Level
 Freeway  5
 Ramp  4
 Major Highway  4
 Minor Highway  3
 Primary Street  2
 Street  Automatic (1)
 Private Road  2
 • • • • Ferry • • • •   5
 |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| Railroad |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|  2

Elevation

In general, all freeways should have an elevation of ground. Roads running over or under the freeways will have an elevation of +1 or -1. Where two freeways cross, the overpass should generally have +1 elevation. More complicated junctions may need more complicated treatment; apply the principal of "freeway defines ground level whenever possible" and keep elevations as sensible as possible. Remember that this region is not very hilly.

UR & MP Guidance

Responding to Update Requests (URs), and Map Problems (MPs) will be the primary focus of the MapRaid teams. Please make sure to follow the guidance on dealing with URs and MPs as they are clearly explained in the UR wiki page. Be especially careful to always leave a comment when closing a UR to explain why you are closing it, or how you fixed it. If there is no problem with the map to fix, don't mark it as solved, mark is Not Identified".
Our only variation for the MapRaid from the general guidance on handling URs, is that we are reducing the 7 day wait periods to 3 days. You still must comment and wait 3 days, then comment again before closing a UR as "Not Identified". If you are able to fully diagnose and fix the problem, then comment what the fix was, and close it as "Solved".

We should not be sending reminder comments after the 3 days. We send one comment asking for info, if there is no response after 3 days, close the UR. Please try to solve the UR, if that's not possible mark it as Not Identified. (We should still be sending a closing comment before closing, and it's OK to send follow up comments if you need additional information after the first response.)

As per Texas UR policy please keep UR response comments to a minimum, short and to the point. Aim for not more than 3-4 lines total. The UrComments script (link below) already has a long list of canned UR responses which have been vetted by a group of senior editors.

As we have now reached 3 days since the beginning of the Raid, and URs are being closed, please double check that the UR you are closing still is not/cannot be solved. Sometimes a question has been left for verification, and a map correction delayed, pending a response/no response. Please make sure to attempt to fix or get help if need before closing any UR. Also, DO always leave a closing comment; no UR should be closed without one.

Place Editing

NOTE: All Places edits should be handled EXCLUSIVELY by Team 10 - PURs, Waze Sheets.

Not only were our URs and PURs out of control, Places from both editors and trusted users have become a major issue. Misspelled names, wrong categories, missing addresses (EVERY business place should have an address!!), poor location, and incorrectly assigned photos are all over the map. Use the powerful Place Browser (link below) and the information on the Place editing section of the Texas page to get these places corrected.

Please use good judgement when approving photos. Any photo which has nothing to do with the actual place, reject. This is including, but not limited to body parts, car parts, bathrooms, children, & animals. If you're not sure, please ask one of the senior editors.

Gas Stations
Gas Stations should be locked to level 3 but, only after all data fields in the gas station have been filled. At least ensure that Brand, Name and Address have information. Remember to ask a local host if you need help identifying gas station information.

For editors below rank 3, once you have completely filled out a gas station with the minimum required information, please lock to your level and then ask for a lock request.

Finally, DO NOT USE THE BRAND "UNBRANDED". If it is a no brand gas station, just leave the brand field blank.

Locking Standard

  • Lock at rank 5: hospitals, universities, park and ride lots, arenas, airports.
  • Lock at 3: any other place that has at least a correct category correct name, and correct address with house number..
  • If you cannot lock high enough because of rank, lock as high as you can, and get help from a higher-ranked editor to lock properly. You can keep a personal list of Permalinks to share with the other editor.

Toll Roads / HOV / HOT

It is our custom to mark the toll checkbox on the entire sections of Toll Roads to include those ramps which are tolled. HOV and HOT road types have already been set correctly according to our local practices. If you have a question about one of these lanes, please contact a Local Host.

Construction

Houston has been under construction over the last 40 years. There are a number of major construction projects in process within the overall MapRaid area. These construction projects can cause frequent intermittent road closures. Many closures change daily and cause great numbers of URs to appear. When handling URs in one of these areas, be aware that reports of "Turn not allowed", "Missing road", "Wrong driving direction" are common, but may not indicate a map problem that can be fixed, because the physical road situation will change before our edits can take effect.

LINKS:

Texas driving conditions and road construction

Houston area road construction

I-69 US-59 is being converted to interstate standards to become I-69. They have officially designated US-59 as I-69 through most of the Houston area already, but TxDot has been slow to make the changes on the signs. If there are any URs about US-59 not being I-69, simply explain TxDot has been slow to make changes. There are many maps which have already shown the changes through the area.

U-turns

In Texas, U-turns are generally allowed unless unsafe, or specifically denied by signage. In general we can confirm, lock or "harden" U-turns (click to remove the Purple question mark indicating a soft turn -- see the Wiki) on residential streets, but please avoid confirming them on major streets. U-turns are not named unless there as an official sign. All U-turns along freeways are normally named "Turnaround."

Alleys

Alleys are not mapped in the State of Texas and should be deleted. This has been confirmed per txemt.

Private Roads

Private roads are used only for specific purposes. Before creating new private roads or working with existing private roads, please consult txemt.

Cameras

Speed Cameras are illegal to use in the State of Texas

Red light cameras are illegal to use in the City of Houston, however that does not apply to the various suburbs in the area. Following is a list of Cities known to currently use Red Light Cameras:

  • Baytown
  • Humble
  • Jersey Village
  • Lake Jackson
  • Sugar Land

Mapping Resources

Functional Class: TxDot Functional Class

City and county street and house number maps:

† Unsure if basemap is the official county street map.

Communication

Communication will be handled primarily in #Slack Channels and WME chat can also be used. The WME Chat addon is recommended. Special Slack channels will be set up and named by raid location and group. Please be sure to join the slack WazeMapRaid Team and join the channels for the specific MapRaid and group you are assigned to.

Click here to get your Slack invitation. Be sure to choose WazeMapRaid to the MapRaid question.

If you have an issue getting into the slack team and channels, please reach out to one of the MapRaid organizers.


Unlock and lock requests

Unlock and lock requests should be handled in your teams slack channel. Each team has at least one rank 5 editor, most have more, and all but one team has a rank 6 editor. If you cant get a response in your teams channel, you can try the general MapRaid! Houston channel.

Due to the close group and rapid time frame for editing, we can accomplish things much faster if we handle it all in-house. There is no need to post unlock requests to the forum for MapRaid! related edits.

Unlock requests should include the permalink without layers turned on, the changes you would like to make, and the reasoning behind the changes you'd like to make.

Reference Links

The Basics

Recommended Tools

  • UrComments - a tremendous time and labor saving tool with automation and integration with URO+, to help with working URs. Read the documentation. By: Rickzabel (PM [Help])  
  • Place Browser - In combination with the Place Name Harmonization list, this is an invaluable tool for working on existing places. Be sure to click the About tab to get an overview of the tool. By: Joyriding (PM [Help])  
    NOTE: All Places edits should be handled EXCLUSIVELY by Team 10 - PURs, Waze Sheets.
  • Validator is a script that validates a map area in Waze Map Editor, highlights issues and generates a very detailed report with wiki references and solutions.
    Download links:
    • For Chrome browser please download the script at Chrome Web Store
    • For Firefox browser please download the script at GreasyFork.org
      Note: for Firefox browser you also need Greasemonkey or Tampermonkey installed.
  • WME Chat Addon is a script that improves the WME chat GUI. For a list of all the features check the thread here. By: Dummyd2 (PM [Help])  
    • Tapermonkey/Greasmonkey is required to use this script

Click here to view the MapRaid! Houston forum thread

Mapraid edit lists

Spreadsheets and forms are being used to streamline management of various group efforts and track important edits. Below you can find links to use these these forms, sheets, and see the lists.

Scheduled Edits

These are edits which need to be completed but must be postponed in order to retain history for UR Solving. These edits are designated to specific editors to complete, once they get the green light from the MapRaid! leaders.

These editing tasks have been delegated to specific editors for future completion at the end of MapRaid! Texas. Please DO NOT EDIT or try to fix any of these items unless you are the designated "Editor to Complete" for that item in the list. These edits may only be completed once the "Continue When" instructions on the row for that item are met. If you have any questions please ask one of the listed Local Hosts.


Please enter new information on this form

Click here to view this list in fullscreen

Boots on the ground

We need local boots on the ground to check things. Please add requests for locals to go and scout things in person, as in on the road. Some examples when this would be used include to check and see if:

  • The street view is accurate,
  • A road is really closed,
  • A turn really allowed/prohibited, etc.

To make a new request, or respond to an existing request, please use this form.

Click here to view this list in fullscreen

Mapraid Houston Jan 2015



Raid Area

The MapRaid! area will be divided among 10 teams, one for each of the areas, and one exclusive team to handle PURs, and the Waze provided problem sheet throughout the entire area. Each team will have their own assigned senior editor (rank 6, or 5) who will be able to edit anywhere in the Raid area, but will focus on their assigned section.

Raid Teams

Team 1 - DowntownTeam 8 - MontgomeryTeam 9 - SpringTeam - 2 Lake HoustonTeam 3 - GalvestonTeam 4 - AlvinTeam 5 - BrazoriaTeam 6 - Fort BendTeam 7 - Katy


The nine geographic team areas are shown in the above map. Click any shaded area to go to its team list and a link to open the Waze Map Editor to that general area. The team leader will be the top person listed for each team. The list is sorted by team, rank, and then username.

The tenth team has a unique job. It handles Places, including Place Updates Requests (PURs), and any other Place edits. Other teams should not work on places in any fashion during the MapRaid. Team 10 also handles map problem lists generated by Waze throughout the entire MapRaid area, click here for a link to WME.


The teams (and links to their respective communication channels in the MapRaid #Slack) are:

01 - Downtown #Slack Channel WME
02 - Lake Houston #Slack Channel WME
03 - Galveston #Slack Channel WME
04 - Alvin #Slack Channel WME
05 - Brazoria #Slack Channel WME
06 - Fort Bend #Slack Channel WME
07 - Katy #Slack Channel WME
08 - Montgomery #Slack Channel WME
09 - Spring #Slack Channel WME
10 - PURs, Waze Sheets #Slack Channel WME

You can also see the interactive map with all the team areas drawn out, but even better is the MapRaid! overlay script which will highlight and display the team areas in WME.

You can see which team you are in by looking at the team list table below.

Results

Check back here after the raid is completed to see the results and achievements

MapRaid Promotions

Some editors really let their bright side out, and let their community skills shine. This is even more evident in a concerted group effort with high-density editing like a MapRaid!. Editors of all ranks working closely with each other and the Champs, really lets us everyone get to know each other, and allows certain editors to be recognized for their skills and effort.

When the Champs see someone consistently editing well, interacting well with the community, and knowledgeable of the various details from the Wiki, they can issue promotions. This can be anything from the size of a managed area, to a rank increase, or even a new role.

Watch here for promotion announcements during and after the raid.

Team members

MapRaid! Houston
Regional Coordinator: txemt (PM [Help])  
Username (rank) Team Assigned Comments Team Area
txemt(6) [PM [Help]]  01 - Downtown
Local
Adminstrator

Team map area. Click image to open Waze Map Editor (WME) to this location

#Slack Channel

Bruce1224(5) [PM [Help]]  01 - Downtown
ctpoole(5) [PM [Help]]  01 - Downtown
Local Host
manoeuvre(5) [PM [Help]]  01 - Downtown
MojaveCactusMonkey(5) [PM [Help]]  01 - Downtown
SuperDave1426(5) [PM [Help]]  01 - Downtown
Fredo-p(5) [PM [Help]]  01 - Downtown
ct13(4) [PM [Help]]  01 - Downtown
FzNk(4) [PM [Help]]  01 - Downtown
rickzabel(3) [PM [Help]]  01 - Downtown
SAR85(3) [PM [Help]]  01 - Downtown
Edward50095(2) [PM [Help]]  01 - Downtown
Mulligan87(2) [PM [Help]]  01 - Downtown
poweruser10(2) [PM [Help]]  01 - Downtown
spedracr(2) [PM [Help]]  01 - Downtown
kyhtak(1) [PM [Help]]  01 - Downtown
ottonomy(6) [PM [Help]]  02 - Lake Houston

Team map area. Click image to open Waze Map Editor (WME) to this location

#Slack Channel

ArlenBystander(5) [PM [Help]]  02 - Lake Houston
ggrane(5) [PM [Help]]  02 - Lake Houston
SkiDooGuy(5) [PM [Help]]  02 - Lake Houston
AgentW4C(3) [PM [Help]]  02 - Lake Houston
john-cole(3) [PM [Help]]  02 - Lake Houston
losefirst(3) [PM [Help]]  02 - Lake Houston
triage685(3) [PM [Help]]  02 - Lake Houston
aspherical1(2) [PM [Help]]  02 - Lake Houston
Frankthetankk(2) [PM [Help]]  02 - Lake Houston
JustinS83(2) [PM [Help]]  02 - Lake Houston
whoaitspete(2) [PM [Help]]  02 - Lake Houston
awhardin(1) [PM [Help]]  02 - Lake Houston
PesachZ(6) [PM [Help]]  03 - Galveston

Team map area. Click image to open Waze Map Editor (WME) to this location

#Slack Channel

citeman(4) [PM [Help]]  03 - Galveston
MeridianHills(4) [PM [Help]]  03 - Galveston
yb6kos(4) [PM [Help]]  03 - Galveston
bummerdude69(3) [PM [Help]]  03 - Galveston
freedivers(3) [PM [Help]]  03 - Galveston
tel601(3) [PM [Help]]  03 - Galveston
Bluediemond(2) [PM [Help]]  03 - Galveston
ComstockMine(2) [PM [Help]]  03 - Galveston
dolphinwave(2) [PM [Help]]  03 - Galveston
JFeather60(2) [PM [Help]]  03 - Galveston
davidakachaos(1) [PM [Help]]  03 - Galveston
Zirland(6) [PM [Help]]  04 - Alvin

Team map area. Click image to open Waze Map Editor (WME) to this location

#Slack Channel

mauricioleonardi(5) [PM [Help]]  04 - Alvin
qwaletee(5) [PM [Help]]  04 - Alvin
tonestertm(5) [PM [Help]]  04 - Alvin
aeroseek(4) [PM [Help]]  04 - Alvin
dmcrandall(4) [PM [Help]]  04 - Alvin
dbwiddis(4) [PM [Help]]  04 - Alvin
nivekeel(3) [PM [Help]]  04 - Alvin
banchormin(2) [PM [Help]]  04 - Alvin
kkarkid(2) [PM [Help]]  04 - Alvin
Rooksie(2) [PM [Help]]  04 - Alvin
Ubergenius(2) [PM [Help]]  04 - Alvin
WarhawkTrombone(2) [PM [Help]]  04 - Alvin
jemay(6) [PM [Help]]  05 - Brazoria

Team map area. Click image to open Waze Map Editor (WME) to this location

#Slack Channel

Machete808(5) [PM [Help]]  05 - Brazoria
rivermedic(5) [PM [Help]]  05 - Brazoria
AndroidBC(4) [PM [Help]]  05 - Brazoria
roadtechie(4) [PM [Help]]  05 - Brazoria
ulle2(4) [PM [Help]]  05 - Brazoria
ocstagetech(3) [PM [Help]]  05 - Brazoria
ChristopherDM83(2) [PM [Help]]  05 - Brazoria
edboost(2) [PM [Help]]  05 - Brazoria
fragglelock(2) [PM [Help]]  05 - Brazoria
andrewg98(1) [PM [Help]]  05 - Brazoria
rydh1(1) [PM [Help]]  05 - Brazoria
carloslaso(6) [PM [Help]]  06 - Fort Bend

Team map area. Click image to open Waze Map Editor (WME) to this location

#Slack Channel

ohiostmusicman(5) [PM [Help]]  06 - Fort Bend
coontex(4) [PM [Help]]  06 - Fort Bend Local Host
kwrigh01(4) [PM [Help]]  06 - Fort Bend
t0cableguy(4) [PM [Help]]  06 - Fort Bend
Budiyanto(3) [PM [Help]]  06 - Fort Bend
ialangford(3) [PM [Help]]  06 - Fort Bend
theups(3) [PM [Help]]  06 - Fort Bend
traffic-adl(3) [PM [Help]]  06 - Fort Bend
jbrianj(2) [PM [Help]]  06 - Fort Bend
JButz2(2) [PM [Help]]  06 - Fort Bend
uscwaller(2) [PM [Help]]  06 - Fort Bend
karlcr9911(5) [PM [Help]]  07 - Katy
Local Host

Team map area. Click image to open Waze Map Editor (WME) to this location

#Slack Channel

bz2012(5) [PM [Help]]  07 - Katy
rulikoto(5) [PM [Help]]  07 - Katy
kudu12323(4) [PM [Help]]  07 - Katy
DLLHell(3) [PM [Help]]  07 - Katy
GS-1905(3) [PM [Help]]  07 - Katy
Poncewattle(3) [PM [Help]]  07 - Katy
tckma(3) [PM [Help]]  07 - Katy
gizmomdk(2) [PM [Help]]  07 - Katy
JJohnston84(2) [PM [Help]]  07 - Katy
Trotskyist(2) [PM [Help]]  07 - Katy
nocola2002(1) [PM [Help]]  07 - Katy
sketch(6) [PM [Help]]  08 - Montgomery

Team map area. Click image to open Waze Map Editor (WME) to this location

#Slack Channel

anti-S-crap(5) [PM [Help]]  08 - Montgomery
bretmcvey(5) [PM [Help]]  08 - Montgomery
gaetanaga(5) [PM [Help]]  08 - Montgomery
hitfactor(4) [PM [Help]]  08 - Montgomery
HuckD(4) [PM [Help]]  08 - Montgomery
Jakflash(4) [PM [Help]]  08 - Montgomery
Local Host
Jreno2(4) [PM [Help]]  08 - Montgomery
tcalvert317(4) [PM [Help]]  08 - Montgomery
bigcreek(2) [PM [Help]]  08 - Montgomery
kjg53(2) [PM [Help]]  08 - Montgomery
mkovnick(2) [PM [Help]]  08 - Montgomery
ymerejo42(2) [PM [Help]]  08 - Montgomery
orbitc(6) [PM [Help]]  09 - Spring
Administrator

Team map area. Click image to open Waze Map Editor (WME) to this location

#Slack Channel

PhantomSoul(5) [PM [Help]]  09 - Spring
shadoh(4) [PM [Help]]  09 - Spring
dougp01(3) [PM [Help]]  09 - Spring
faromasa(3) [PM [Help]]  09 - Spring
hawkeygoal(3) [PM [Help]]  09 - Spring
Sleepe(3) [PM [Help]]  09 - Spring
Bp8ient(2) [PM [Help]]  09 - Spring
GadgetMTS(2) [PM [Help]]  09 - Spring
paulrowe(2) [PM [Help]]  09 - Spring
SeekingSerenity(2) [PM [Help]]  09 - Spring
subs5(2) [PM [Help]]  09 - Spring
driving79(6) [PM [Help]]  10 - PURs, Waze Sheets
Local
Adminstrator
Kobes1878(5) [PM [Help]]  10 - PURs, Waze Sheets
ply8808(5) [PM [Help]]  10 - PURs, Waze Sheets
iamrioo(4) [PM [Help]]  10 - PURs, Waze Sheets
KuniaKid(4) [PM [Help]]  10 - PURs, Waze Sheets
BruceQC(3) [PM [Help]]  10 - PURs, Waze Sheets
DaveKS14(3) [PM [Help]]  10 - PURs, Waze Sheets
Joyriding(3) [PM [Help]]  10 - PURs, Waze Sheets
PleaseDriveFast(3) [PM [Help]]  10 - PURs, Waze Sheets
Puddles2475(3) [PM [Help]]  10 - PURs, Waze Sheets
TimC42(3) [PM [Help]]  10 - PURs, Waze Sheets
trukkurt(3) [PM [Help]]  10 - PURs, Waze Sheets
voludu2(3) [PM [Help]]  10 - PURs, Waze Sheets
xanderb(3) [PM [Help]]  10 - PURs, Waze Sheets