Roads

This article will explain how the EAC road network can be matched Waze road types.

Details about the different national networks and agencies can be find here.

Highways  

A highway is an arterial road, much like the pulmonary arteries (main veins at the heart). They serve a dual purpose:

• carry traffic over long distances between towns, and
• carry traffic from collector roads to freeways, where applicable.

Within EAC, highway numbering is different by countries. KE, RW and BI have a well defined numbering system. UG and TZ do not at the moment, and still used a "start city-end city" naming system. (see Road Network)

Waze's definition of "highways" includes all these, but it also includes other roads that are not necessarily a part of any numbered route. In other words, think of the dictionary definition of "highway" ("a main road, especially one between towns or cities") rather than the legal definition of the term.

Waze distinguishes three classes of highway: Freeway, Major Highway and Minor Highways.

	Freeway (Fw) Motorways International Trunk Roads Only tarred/asphalted roads KE 🇰🇪 : A roads (tarred) RW 🇷🇼 : NR 1 to 4 UG 🇺🇬 : M roads, Major tarred A roads
	Major Highway (MH)  Other trunk roads Mainly tarred roads. 2x2 roads in main cities (if not classified as Freeway) KE 🇰🇪 : A roads (untarred), B roads (tarred) RW 🇷🇼 : other NR (tarred) UG 🇺🇬 : other A roads (tarred)
	Minor Highway (mH) Inter-district roads Major 1x1 roads in main cities KE 🇰🇪 : B roads (untarred), C roads RW 🇷🇼 : DR (tarred) NR (untarred) UG 🇺🇬 :
	Ramps (Rmp) Ramps connect other road types to Motorway/Expressway between the terminal ends of the freeway, at an obtuse angle, and is a 1-way direction. They should only connect any road type to Major/Minor Highways where the slip way is long and at an obtuse angle from/onto the Major/Minor Highway types. ⚠️The "Ramp" road type should never be used as At-grade connectors for creating slip ways; instead the same road type the slip way connects to should be used. Ramp names should be for numbered Exit like "Exit 5: Eastern Bypass / Mombasa Rd" or for not numbered exit like "Nairobi Expressway > Mlolongo" ( ">" will be said "towards" by the TTS)

Streets

"Collector roads" are all road types lower than highways, namely streets and primary streets which collects the traffic onto the highway to the freeway. Again, think about your body's vein network. 

	Primary Streets (PS) Paved avenue in main cities which are not highways. Roads that are not highways and are heavily used. Generally be the fastest route you would take to travel through a sector. Primary Streets that are unpaved but that are well defined (as is often the case in rural areas) are to be marked as street type but with the "unpaved" checkbox checked. KE 🇰🇪 : D roads , major E, F. RW 🇷🇼 : DR (untarred) , main inter-sector roads
	Streets (St)  Any road that does not fit into the categories above, is a street. Streets that are unpaved but that are well defined (as is often the case in rural areas) are to be marked as street type but with the "unpaved" checkbox checked.
	Narrow Streets (NS) for narrow street where only motos/bodabodas can go. Street too narrow for a normal sized car.
	Off-Roads / Not maintained (OR) There is a bigger penalty for the road type "Off-road / Not maintained". Road is in a very bad state Roads to be used only be used if no other routing option exists. High-clearance vehicle is needed. Private farm roads and trails that are used exclusively as 4x4 trails should preferably not be mapped. They provide no functionality for the general commuter and will not be routed over.
	Private Roads (PR) Roads that are restricted, for local traffic only or not accessible to the general public. Closed residential coumpounds Some complexes have multiple entrances that connects to the national grid at opposite ends, and if they are not marked as Private Roads, Waze will incorrectly attempt to route people through there.
	Parking Lot Road (PLR) used to map parking lots for shopping centers and Parkades. Please refer to the dedicated page for explaination about mapping parking lots. It is strongly advised not to clutter the map by drawing every single lane of the parking lot, but just the general exits and entrances and main sections that lead directly to shop fronts. If you map all lanes, do not be surprised if some of your edits are deleted by Area Managers. Parking lot roads are especially useful to 'offload' false traffic jam information when parking lots are close to main roads and Waze might think you are stationary on the main road. Parking lot roads are also used to map gas stations.

Non drivable road

• Walking Trail
• Pedestrian Boardwalk
• Stairways
• Railroads
• Runways

Railroads may serve as landmarks. Ensure that you never connect any of these to the normal road network, as Waze will attempt to route traffic across these roads if they are connected to normal drivable road types. The general standard is to set 'Railroad' road types to ground level unless elevated over or under a road (change to applicable level). Negative levels are only to be used when the segment is actually below ground level.

Road Editing

Go to the article about creating and editing roads on Waze

---

Last edited by Kstor 80 on 20/05/2024