User:Herrchin/Basemap editing practices

The "basemap" is the original USA road data that Waze imported in 2009. It needs to be updated by map editors to function optimally.

This basemap editing guidance contains rules and recommendations that may only be appropriate for Nebraska. Consult with your State Manager for any adjustments for your editing area.

Recommended scripts/plugins

• Use WME Toolbox, and use the recommended settings shown in the screenshot.
• Use WME Validator to assist with identifying roads to update.
• Then install the WME Validator Localization for Nebraska
• WME Color Highlights to help identify other potential problem roads, such as rural one-way roads that should be two-way.

Common basemap issues

1. Roads with unknown direction.
   1. Rural areas: Set as two-way unless there is reason to suspect a one-way (AGC, other).
   2. Urban areas: Check streetview and/or GIS resources to determine two-way or one-way.
2. Two-way roads incorrectly marked as one-way (one-way roads are rare outside urban areas).
   1. Rural areas: Set as two-way unless there is reason to suspect a one-way (AGC, other).
   2. Urban areas: Check streetview and/or GIS resources to determine two-way or one-way.
3. Soft (Unconfirmed) Turns.
   1. Rural areas: Allow all turns ("Q" then "W" hotkeys with WME Toolbox), unless there is reason to suspect a turn might not be allowed.
   2. Urban areas: Check streetview and/or GIS resources to determine which turns are legal.
4. Unnecessary Junctions, which also frequently have Unconfirmed Turns.
   1. Soft-turns must be confirmed.
   2. All of the parameters of the 2 roads must match) before the junction can be deleted.
   3. Select the junction and use the upper-right "trash can" delete button, or carefully use the WME Toolbox "Suppress unneeded junctions" function if of sufficient editing level.
   4. If you can't delete a junction, something about the roads does not match. Try reloading the roads (ALT+SHIFT+R) to ensure you're seeing valid data.
5. Incorrect u-turns.
   1. Enabled U-turns should be somewhat rare in urban areas, and almost non-existent in rural areas.
   2. When basemap editing in rural areas, it is generally safe to assume the u-turn should be removed. The "Q" hotkey with WME Toolbox will remove them easily.
   3. In urban areas, u-turns are governed by the Nebraska u-turn wiki section
6. Reverse connections.
   1. One way Reverse connections (purple triangle in WME Toolbox) are created is when a two-way segment is converted to one-way. Turns which were previously enabled at a junction, which would now go against the legal flow of traffic, still exist in the Waze database.
   2. To help prevent Waze from ever turning the wrong way on to a one-way segment (as unlikely as that would be), it is best to remove those stored illegal turns. The quickest way is to use the "Q" hotkey of WME Toolbox.
7. One-segment loops (often at the end of rural driveways).
   1. You can try to repair the loop, but often these are best simply deleted and the preceding driveway adjusted/extended some.
8. 2-segment loops that should be 3-segment (example: multi-entry rural driveways arcs).
   1. First ensure the correct Road Type and Direction...
   2. Then select one of the endpoint junctions and press "Q" to have WME Toolbox automatically add an additional junction node for you. Or draw a new road with one end connected to a point in the middle of the loop, then delete the new road.
9. Private farming paths that probably should not be mapped at all in Waze (to irrigation pivots, grain silos, and other private buildings that no Wazer would route to.)
   1. The primary Driveway to rural houses should almost always be preserved per the Nebraska Driveway wiki standards. Secondary farm paths to the house are generally superfluous and should be removed.
10. Driveways to homes or other buildings that no longer exist, or other superfluous roads.
    1. Delete the road, and remove the extra junction left over on the public road per #4.
11. "Spaghetti": A mess of private roads, paths, tracks added from a previous visual analysis of satellite imagery.
    1. Delete all roads except those that should be preserved by other guidelines or tips, such as the primary Driveway to a home, or a private road parallel to a public road.
12. Missing, outdated, or incorrect road names, or they do not match the NE road naming standards or USA abbreviations.
    1. Update the road primary name and all alt-names.
    2. Note that many alt-names on basemap roads may be outdated, referring to highway numbers which have been renamed, rerouted, or decommissioned.
    3. The WME Validator Localization for Nebraska will help flag incorrectly named roads. Be sure to adjust the Validator settings per the Recommendations on the localization GreasyFork page.
13. Private roads with the State set as Iowa.
    1. Set the State to Nebraska :)

Other improvements to make

• If needed, update the Functional Classification to the appropriate road type.
• Update the lock level to match the road type.
• Add Speed Limits.
• Correct elevation and add bridges/tunnels where appropriate per the Seagull guidelines.

Additional editing tips

• Zoom in to level 4 or closer so that Validator highlights problems on segments of type Street and Private Road, and so that you can see the road characteristics (one-way/two-way/unknown, etc.).
• Consider updating and preserving private roads that parallel a public road (instead of deleting them), so that a Wazer on the private road isn't associated by Waze with the public road and potentially polluting the speed data.