Like Waze, this page is a community effort and a work in progress. Many helpful pages already exist on the responsibilities of an Area Manager, how to use Cartouche, identify and solve map problems, set standards for labeling roads, and a general FAQ. The purpose of this page is to help Area Managers & others design maps that work best for the end-user--the driving public--while minimizing the amount of (re)work you have to do because of common mistakes or subtle limitations of the tools.
At the moment, I am taking suggestions via PM for content for this page: topic suggestions are good, but links to insightful forum conversations, or even links to other Wiki pages, would be better. I won't be able to incorporate every suggestion, but I will appreciate all of them.
Overall Goals
Usability
When it comes to the map, the first & foremost goal of editing is to provide the driver with a map that is easy to follow on a small display, and to produce sensible verbal instructions when (and only when) they are needed.
Simplicity
It is not a goal to model the physical roadway lane-by-lane. Doing so often leads to unnecessary complexity--which means a cluttered map, confusing verbal directions, and lots and lots (and lots!) of extra map maintenance.
Cartouche Caveats
Every tool, however good, has its limitations, and Cartouche is no exception. For general editing, what you see is generally what you get, and if you read the copious documentation ahead of time, you will be able to make sense of (and extricate yourself from) most situations that you run into when editing the map. But there are a few things to watch out for, that can result in a lot of extra work for you if you miss them.
Editing Multiple Segments
Directionality & Locking
New Roads
Recorded via Client
Once you start editing a road, it changes from red (a new road) to the colour of a road type (by default a white street) and will then appear on the next update of the Live Map which will go out to all Waze users.
So it is less than helpful if you do an incomplete job. At least if the road is red, then someone else knows that it needs work. If it is white, perhaps even with a street name, then it may look correct. But Waze may not realise it is driveable.
Follow these simple steps, as best you can, and get it right the first time. Map Editing explains how to carry out these steps.
- Align the geometry of the road to the aerial image unless that is not appropriate in your area
- Enter the correct name and road type for your road, following the standards for your country
- Make sure the road has the correct directionality. Most roads should be Two Way.
- Add junctions where the road intersects with other roads. By default tick "Enable all turns". Restrict any turns that are not allowed. If a junction appears, just add a junction over the top. Chances are it does not have all turns enabled. Waze automatically handles turn restrictions for one way roads.
Roundabouts
Even though a proper roundabout (i.e., produces proper "at the roundabout..." verbal cues) can only be created in Cartouche, when it is first created, the segments are configured as new roads. They will need to be edited as above before they will become part of the live map.