MapRaid! LA will officially commence on SUNDAY DECEMBER 21, 2014 AT 11 AM PST. The raid will last for roughly 2 weeks.
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As of December 16, 2014, this Wiki page is still under construction. If you see this box, be sure to revisit before the MapRaid begins, to ensure you have complete information. Thanks! |
We will start by focusing on the
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. The group will be divided into
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, one for each section. Each team will have their own assigned senior editor (rank 6, or 5) who will be able to edit anywhere in the city of LA, but will focus on their assigned section.
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IMAGE OF THE SECTIONS OF LA |
Communication during the map raid will be focused on Google Hangouts. If you do not have a Gmail account, you could create one using your Waze Editor name.
Mission
Our primary mission will be to handle the URs, and PURs, followed by checking turn angles at intersections, and turn restrictions.
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Functional Classification (FC) has been fully implemented for the LA area. Some road types deviate intentionally from the state DOTs classifications. If you find a road which you feel is not classified correctly or set to the right type, please contact a local champ or State Manager (SM) before making changes. |
Local Hosts
All longtime or native Southern California residents.
jemay - Southwestern Regional Coordinator - generally available during daytime hours
ottonomy - US Local Champ & Mentor- more available nights & weekends, but always accepting questions.
tonestertm - California State Manager - schedule also fluid, but usually mid-day into early-mid AM
Times indicated are US west coast Pacific Standard Time. (PM LINKS? Additional editors?)
Welcome to Southern California!
The MapRaid territory will be divided into (fifteen?) Areas, each handled by a group. Each group will have a set of higher ranked leaders, who can answer most questions. Communication will be handled via Google Hangouts, one per group.
The main focus here will be on solving URs and PURs. Our road map is fairly mature, especially in the heart area of Los Angeles and Orange counties.
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Important!
Please do not alter any of the following road types without first consulting a Local Host: Freeway, Ramp, Major Highway, minor Highway, Primary Street.
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.
Anything locked at 5 or 6? Please check with a local editor before making changes. Rank 5 and 6 editors - consider keeping highlights active for locks 5 and 6, using Toolbox.
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 Greater LA 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 Caltrans (DOT) FC maps, or to better accommodate real-life situations and Waze quirks. It is important that these remain intact.
We observe the following minimum lock levels for Waze road types:
Freeway (Fwy) - 5
Ramp - 5
Major Highway (MH) - 3
minor Highway (mH) - 2 - In heavy metropolitan areas, mH type roads are being set to a minimum lock of 3
Primary Street (PS) - 2
All others - 1, or as needed
Note that these are minimums and, for protection, certain segments may be at higher lock levels. 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.
Complex Intersections
There are many complicated intersections in Los Angeles which should not be edited without consulting a local senior editor, even if the presence of URs seems to indicate problems. Some of these intersections have been carefully refined to achieve the best Waze performance, which can involve years of testing, adjustment, and experimentation. Others are locations which are currently under construction, and daily changes to the physical roads cause Wazers to report problems which will no longer exist by the time our edits could take effect. We have done our best to lock the most important of these intersections to Rank 6. When dealing with URs at these locations, please keep in mind that few, if any additional road changes are required. Again, please consult with a Local Host before making changes.
Toll Roads / HOV / HOT / Truck Lanes
It is our custom to mark the Toll checkbox only on the entrance segments to Toll Roads. 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. (LINK)
Special case: Do not alter the Truck Lanes at the I-5 / SR-14 interchange, in Area 2?
Left turns at intersections without traffic signals
One of the most common complaints we receive in the Los Angeles Metro area is when Waze directs drivers to turn left from a smaller side street on to a major thoroughfare, without the benefit of a traffic control signal. For the most part, these turns are completely legal and, when driven properly, can be significant time-savers on a route, as opposed to waiting at a traffic signal, sometimes through several cycles. It is also known that making such turns can be difficult at certain times of the day, due passing cross traffic. On many larger roads in California, we have Center Left Turn Lanes, which are intended for use in completing left turns to and from driveways and side streets. Please do not disallow left turns due to URs reporting “dangerous” or “too difficult” turns, without consulting a level 5 or 6 Local Host.
We usually inform the reporter of such a UR that if they wait and complete the left turn, it may actually be faster than the alternative. If it’s not faster, then their wait time will contribute to Waze’s database, thus helping to discourage the routing server from suggesting left turns at that site. We also suggest to the reporters that if they feel too uncomfortable making such left turns, they can always turn right instead, and let Waze recalculate. (Boilerplate?) More info about this can be found on the UR Guidance page.
Construction
There are a number of major construction projects (LINK) in process within the overall MapRaid area. These construction projects can entail frequent intermittent road closures. Many closures change daily and cause great numbers of URs to appear. When hangling 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.
U-turns
In California, U-turns are generally allowed unless unsafe, or specifically denied by signage. In general we can “harden” u-turns on major streets, but avoid hardening them in residential areas.
Tiny Area Places at Junctions/Intersections
As you work the map, you may run across very small Area Places at junctions/Intersections. We formerly used these as notes for intersections which had time restricted turns posted, in the days before this functionality was available in Waze. We’ve retained them as reminders, in case a Timed Turn Restriction ever needs to be replaced. They are drawn small enough that they do not show in the app, and we’d like to keep them, at least for now.
Mapping Resources
GIS
Most of the interactive viewers in the links below will open with many layers enabled. The maps will run faster if you disable everything but Streets or Roads, and only enable Parcels when needed.
LA County alternate(requires Silverlight)
LA County alternate #2 works in Linux, mobile
Communication
Reference Links
The Basics
- New editor welcome page
- Waze Map Editor
- Best Map Editing Practice
- Editing manual
- Common editing mistakes
- How to make a Permalink
- All about using the WME Chat
- Community Plugins, Extensions and Tools where you'll links and descriptions to most of the editing scripts being used. Some of these are essential to good editing, and others make the editing process much easier. WME Validator, URO+, and WME Toolbox are highly recommended.
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Click here to view the MapRaid! LA forum thread |
Results
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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.
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Watch here for results of promotions during and after the raid. |