This page serves as the primary resource for editors of the Puerto Rico region. Review all the sections to better understand how the guidelines for this territory might deviate from the overall USA or worldwide guidelines. If you have any comments or questions about this page or territory refer to the community links below.
Overview
Bienvenidos al Wazeopedia de Puerto Rico donde encontrarán información sobre las reglas e instrucciones que seguimos al editar el mapa de PR. Le invitamos a leer todo el contenido antes de comenzar a editar el mapa. Un buen punto de comienzo es leer este documento (en ingles) que explica la función de Waze y como evitar los errores mas comunes que se cometen al editar el mapa, especialmente cuando alguien se inicia como editor del mapa.
Esta página se revisa periódicamente y de tener cualquier duda respecto al contenido, pueden contactar mediante mensaje privado (PM) a cotero2002
See Puerto Rico/Overview for guidance in Puerto Rico that may not be universal to all other states and territories.
In Puerto Rico most of the gas stations under the Shell brand are changing to the Mobil brand, therefore it is necessary to edit the information of these stations by changing the brand name, removing the URL corresponding to Shell and replacing it with the correct Mobil brand for Puerto Rico and for the moment leave the brand box blank because the Mobil brand does not exist in the list of brands to select. A request was made to Waze staff and we are waiting.
Introduction
Puerto Rico is a part of the Territories region, which includes the states and/or territories of:
Thank you for your interest in editing Waze maps in the Territory of Puerto Rico. Please note Puerto Rico follows the US national guidance with a few exceptions. Be sure to click on and read every link from this page for in-depth tips, guidance and advice.
All editors should have a real username, not a usa_username and are required to have their private messaging turned on.
Refer to the Glossary for common Waze related terms.
Tip: Editors are strongly encouraged to download & install the WME Magic Script. This tool will identify map errors and offers guidance on how to fix them. Use this to identify issues in areas you are working on but make sure not to be distracted by errors that do not pertain to you.
Mapping resources
Before editing the maps in the Puerto Rico region, 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.
Please visit the Waze Glossary of abbreviations, acronyms and terms used in the Waze ecosystem for reference.
See Puerto Rico/Resources for guidance in Puerto Rico that may not be universal to all other states and territories.
Community
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 the Puerto Rico region.
New editors should consider checking into the formal mentoring program available at no charge.
For Segment Unlock / Update requests in Puerto Rico, please use the following link: Puerto Rico unlock / update requests or submit your Unlock / Update request in our Discord Puerto Rico Channel Here with the proper information and permalink (PL).
Puerto Rico editors uses the following tools for communication and information exchange:
Please join our new Waze US Territories Discord Server by clicking in the Connect button
See Puerto Rico/Community for guidance in Puerto Rico that may not be universal to all other states and territories.
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).
See Puerto Rico/Cities and towns for guidance in Puerto Rico that may not be universal to all other states and territories.
Major roads
The Puerto Rico region follows the general road naming and road type guidelines of the USA.
Functional Classification
Puerto Rico does not participate or use the US Functional Classification system. See the Road Shields section below for local information regarding shields & classification.
All freeways are set to ground level. If two freeways cross each other, look at the actual intersection to discover the layers of the intersection.
Elevation -5 is used for non-drivable roads to help ensure that the routing engine does not try to connect or route drivers from roads onto non-roads by mistake. It acts to prevent false system reporting that the roads should be connected.
Road names should follow the PR-### format and a general rule of thumb is:
PR-1 through PR-99 & PR-165 are Major Highways (those with Pink Shields are Freeways)
PR-100 through PR-206, PR-250 & PR-251 are Minor Highways
PR-300 through PR-9914 are Primary Streets
When adding cardinal directions to street maps use the Spanish letter surrounded by parentheses (for proper TTS pronunciation in spanish)
(N) = Norte = North
(S) = Sur = South
(E) = Este = East
(O) = Oeste = West
Example: PR-52 (S)
Calle and Avenida should be spelled out for proper TTS pronunciation.
Road Shields
This is a new feature being implemented on the Waze map that is partially available for Puerto Rico at this time and is limited to Rank 4+ editors only.
We will follow the guidance provided in the Shields and Turn_instruction sections of US Wazeopedia.
Remember, Spanish is our first language and most if not all signage is in Spanish.
Large/small caps for cardinal points are: Nᴏʀᴛᴇ (North), Sᴜʀ (South), Eꜱᴛᴇ (East), Oᴇꜱᴛᴇ (West) c/p from here
In Puerto Rico many of the names of the roads are repeated over and over again in different cities/municipalities so you have to be extremely careful when assigning a road shield to the roads because you could be placing the wrong shield or damaging the work already done. This is because Waze only uses the name of the road to assign the shield and will apply it to any street with the same name.
Road Classification
M1-6APrimary network: facilitates the movement of passengers and cargo between the main regions of the island. It is composed of freeways and segments of other roads with high standards. This network has been assigned road shield M1-6A.
M1-6BUrban primary network: provides mobility between zones and important generators within the defined metropolitan areas. It is composed of those urban roads that complement the primary network within the metropolitan areas of San Juan, Ponce, Mayagüez, Arecibo, Aguadilla, Humacao, Caguas and Guayama. This network has been assigned the road shield M1-6B.
M1-6CSecondary or intermunicipal network: provides access to municipalities from the primary network, plus those roads that connect the municipalities through an interconnected network. The network is made up of roads with different design characteristics that represent the best access route to the municipalities from the primary network. This network has been assigned the road shield M1-6C.
M1-6DTertiary or local network: provides access to the municipal center from peripheral communities and other important land uses. This network has been assigned the road shield M1-6D.
Note: It is quite possible to find inconsistencies between the shields shown in the BGS and the shields found on the roads themselves due to a mix of old signs and human errors, outdated SV images and the fact that some roads may have different classifications depending on the area they run through, which added to the current limitation of the shield functionality that does not allow assigning different shields to the same road (same name) creates some confusion. We are trying to gather information from the concerned government agencies to eventually make an appropriate decision on what to do in these cases.
Exit ramps and entrance ramps (on-ramps) Naming Standard
The rule of thumb is simple:
The name applied to any ramp must match the information displayed by the "Big Green Signs" (also known as "BGS" in the Waze jargon) and following the general rules shown below. Additional information is available in the sub-section titled Exit ramps and entrance ramps (on-ramps) in the Road Names page.
Signed and Numbered Exits:
Name the exit ramp as such: "Salida 5B: PR-17 (E) / Carolina / Trujillo Alto / Río Piedras / Aeropuerto / vía Avenida Piñero". In other words, start with the word "Salida" followed by the exit number, follow the exit number with a colon (": "), and separate all elements (shields and names) after the colon with slashes (" / ").
name the exit ramp as such: "Salida a PR-8 (N) / San Juan / Aeropuerto / Hato Rey". In other words, start with the words "Salida a " followed by all elements on the sign (shields and names), separated with slashes (" / ").
In Puerto Rico 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.
Puerto Rico Minimum Locking Rank Standard
Segment Type
Statewide
Freeway
5
Ramp
4
Major Highway
4
Minor Highway
3
Primary Street
2
Street
1
• • • • Ferry • • • •
5
|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| Railroad |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|
2
Speed Limits Guidelines
Please read and follow the established guidelines in the following section of Wazeopedia: Speed limits
Review the Wiki guidelines for non-drivable roads to ensure compliance with the general guidelines.
Guidelines that vary by state or territory
The following special roads are managed slightly uniquely in some states and territories. This territory uses the following standard guidelines found in the Wiki.
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.
See Puerto Rico/Closures for guidance in Puerto Rico that may not be universal to all other states and territories.
Update Requests
04-04-2016: Puerto Rico has standardized on a UR response system after extended discussion in the Google Hang Outs.
Overview
NOTE: all day values are relative to the date the FIRST editor response is sent to the reporter.
Response Timeline:
Day 0: The first editor who is able to respond to UR should attempt to resolve the UR. If successfully found a resolution, the UR should be marked Solved along with a message. Optionally, the editor can wait a few days to follow up in the report. If more information from the reporter is required to make progress towards a resolution, a response should be sent to the reporter containing the information needed for resolution.
Day 4: Reminder message sent if no response from the reporter is recieved since day 0.
Day 5+: URs that has no response shall be closed as Not Identified due to lack of reporter response at any time.
Shared Ownership:
All editors are considered to have equal ownership of and responsibility.
All editors, regardless if they have worked the UR previously, may send any of the responses described above, provided they adhere the minimum time spacing guidance between responses.
All editors are explicitly encouraged to attempt resolving URs at any point during their lifecycle, even if others happen to be actively working it at the same time.
Notes:
The ideal timeline for UR response is when responses are sent as early as the minimum required time spacing between messages permits.
It is NOT required to send a reminder in the report before closing it due to the lack of response.
When the reporter responds back, and more information is needed for a resolution, 5 days is the minimum time before closing it due to the lack of response.
Places
The Puerto Rico region follows the USA standard for Places. Do not deviate from the guidelines without first obtaining consensus to do so via the territory forum linked on this page.
Keep in mind area places smaller than 500 m² (5382 ft2) will not show in the Waze App. This is particularly true regarding gas stations. Be careful when editing area places and verify the size of area places by selecting the area and looking at the very bottom of the left panel in WME. If the area is smaller than required you will see the actual area size and a warning message:
This example shows a Gas Station Area too small to show up in the Waze App Map
Gas Stations
Please read and follow the established guidelines in the following section of Wazeopedia:
All Places that have complete information (to include, at a minimum, address/city, hours of operation, phone number) are to be locked at Level 2. 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.
Phone Numbers Format
Puerto Rico area codes are 787 and 939. Please use the following format when adding phone numbers to places information:
(787) XXX-XXXX or (939) XXX-XXXX
Place Photos
Please read and follow the established guidelines in the following sections of Waze Wiki:
In an effort to keep common Places the same across the region, the Territories wiki page now has a list to reference. The list includes Names, Alt Names, Categories, and Websites of Chain companies across the region. If you don't find the business you're looking for, please use this form to submit the missing information.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Due to the type of relationship that exists between the United States and Puerto Rico, many American companies differentiate their operations in the US from their operations in Puerto Rico and therefore have different websites than those used in the US. In many cases you may see that the main website of some businesses (xxxxxx.com) does not have any reference or locations in PR, however, they may have another website (xxxxxxpr.com or something similar) with information about their business in Puerto Rico.
To avoid flooding the WMEPH master site table with entries where a business has a different website for PR, we recommend doing the harmonization process (you will use the US website), and once harmonized, search and replace the original URL with the specific URL for PR. It will be necessary to use the WL function (whitelist) to confirm that we are deviating from the default URL and save the change.
We are aware that this is not a perfect solution because if you re-harmonize the site, the local URL will be replaced by the default URL. Just keep this information in mind when editing businesses in Puerto Rico.
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 the Puerto Rico region.
At this time there are not Speed or Red Light Cameras (not to be confused with Traffic cameras) been used in Puerto Rico. Please DO NOT MAP ANY CAMERAS!
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.
Continue to collect speedlimit sign information for Mayor HW, Minor HW & Primary Roads!'
Please verify/adjust the roads geometry as we got some updated aerial views
Since Google has partially improved satellite views and alignment after the 2017 hurricanes, many areas can be found where GPS markers now match satellite views. For this reason we ask our map editors to check and adjust the road geometry to the new reality as much as possible. In all cases please note that GPS markers always take priority over satellite views when there is a discrepancy between one and the other.
See Puerto Rico/To do for guidance in Puerto Rico that may not be universal to all other states and territories.
Other
If you're editing in Puerto Rico, is a requirement that you turn on the LIVE USERS layer in the editor. If you see another editor show up where you are editing, and move around you, please check WME Chat. Also, check and see if you have a Private Message (PM) in the Forum.
There may be an issue with the area you're editing in, or what you are doing.
Never Be Unreachable!
Area Managers
The table below identifies the editors also designated as Area Managers or higher who are editing in the Puerto Rico region. If you have any questions, please consider contacting them directly as needed. If you are an Area Manager that covers the Puerto Rico region, or a USA Country Manager that does a lot of work in the Puerto Rico region, please add yourself to this list (alphabetical by username) in the correct rank section.
The editor who also serves as the Regional Coordinator for the Puerto Rico region is automatically listed at the top of the table. That editor may not be highly active in this territory and therefore may not be listed separately in the table.
Puerto Rico — 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.
