This page serves as the primary resource for editors of Arkansas. Review all the sections to better understand how the guidelines for this state might deviate from the overall USA or worldwide guidelines. If you have any comments or questions about this page or state refer to the community links below.
NOTICE (4/15/2017): This page is being replaced by the South Central Region harmonized Wazeopedia page. Where information on this page conflicts with the SCR page, the SCR page takes precedence.
Introduction
Arkansas is a part of the South Central region, which includes the states and/or territories of:
Welcome to Waze map editing in Arkansas! Waze map editing can be a fun and interesting hobby for those that like to "fix" things that are broken. Or improve things that aren't as good as they could be! Waze is a social navigation and traffic application and, likewise, editors tend to be social too. As evidenced by this wiki (Wazeopedia), Waze uses wiki pages to share important information. It also uses community forums and various social applications to facilitate map editor communication. Information on Slack Channels and Google Hangouts (GHO) can be found on the Arkansas Forum page. They are great places to communicate with other state and region editors.
Mapping resources
Before editing the maps in Arkansas, 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.
See Arkansas/Resources for guidance in Arkansas that may not be universal to all other states.
Tools and Scripts
Waze editors have created useful editing tools and utilities to aid in the map editing process. For a complete listing and discussion of these tools go to the Community Plugins, Extensions and Tools Wiki.
Tools that are especially useful are:
WME Toolbox
WME Validator
WME Junction Angle Info
Update Requests (URs)
This is a collection of boilerplate responses for a typical UPDATE REQUEST (UR) you will encounter on the map. UR posted in Waze Map Editor. Editors are encouraged to read any Update Requests carefully, and examine any Waze-provided data. Then, tailor your responses appropriately. If you insert boilerplate comments, modify if necessary to match the situation. DO NOT CLOSE USER REQUESTS without an informative and courteous reply.
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 Arkansas.
New editors should consider checking into the formal mentoring program available at no charge.
Unlock/Update requests: Editors can always request a Unlock/Update in the USA forum: / USA Unlock/Update forum. Be sure to use the proper posting format.
If you do not get a response within a few days, send a Private Message (PM) to an Area Manager (AM) or a State Manager (SM), listed below. Alternatively, a direct request message (PM) to the SM will usually get faster results.
Another method is to join the South Central Region (SCR) Slack team. There are sub-channels for various subject areas, and a channel for each state. That state channel is a great place to post unlock, update, or any other general request for help and information. Contact any SCR state manager, or the SC Regional Coordinator (RC), for an invitation e-mail.
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).
Some states and territories manage a separate page on cities and towns to identify the specific city names that should be entered, and no others. For states that do not have a separate page to track the names, see this Wikipedia link and find the state or territory in question.
Arkansas has only numbered state highways. The minimum classification for a state highway is Minor Highway. That is only a minimum and may need to be upgraded based on the Functional Classification or the qualities defined on the [[Road types|road type Wiki page].
State Highway Naming
Arkansas highways are named as AR-### (e.g. AR-23). This includes their related business, loops, and spurs. (e.g. AR-23 BUS) (Changed as of Nov 2015)
County Road Naming
Arkansas county road names are named as CR-### (e.g. CR-110)
County road name designations, such as "County Road ###", "Co Rd ###", "SFC ###", "Lawrence Rd ###", etc. should be transitioned to CR-###, as they are found. This shortened version uses less space on the map screen, and is announced correctly as "County Road ###" while navigating with the Waze app.
Arkansas Road Segment Locking Guidance
Arkansas provides the following guidance for locking roads based on segment type. Any road of a certain segment type should 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.
Segment Type
Default
Freeway
5
Ramp
4
Major Highway
4
Minor Highway
3
Primary Street
2
Street
1
|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| Railroad |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|
2
Special roads
Drivable roads
Arkansas follows the standard USA guidelines for all of the following special road types.
Review the Wiki guidelines for non-drivable roads to ensure compliance with the general guidelines.
See Arkansas/Special roads for guidance in Arkansas that may not be universal to all other states. Specific guidance is provided for Alleys, Non-drivable roads and Dirt Roads.
Closures
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.
Arkansas follows the USA standard for Places. Do not deviate from the guidelines without first obtaining consensus to do so via the state forum linked on this page.
Cameras
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 Arkansas.
TO SUMMARIZE: Arkansas DOES NOT ALLOW Speed or Red Light cameras.
DO NOT add a camera using WME or a Client (mobile device). If camera radar is used by active police officers, that will be reported as POLICE in the Client.
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.
This state does not currently have an active "to do" list at this time. Check in the Arkansas section of the Waze forums to discuss creating one.
Area Managers
The table below identifies the editors also designated as Area Managers or higher who are editing in Arkansas. If you have any questions, please consider contacting them directly as needed. If you are an Area Manager that covers Arkansas, or a USA Country Manager that does a lot of work in Arkansas, please add yourself to this list (alphabetical by username) in the correct rank section.
The editor who also serves as the Regional Coordinator for Arkansas is automatically listed at the top of the table. That editor may not be highly active in this state and therefore may not be listed separately in the table.
Arkansas — 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.
