Introduction
Basics
Thank you for your interest in improving the roads in South Africa.
Before you blindly start editing, make sure you look at the Tips for successful editing.
To get started, make sure you are up to speed with the basics of how to use the WME. Editing is a time consuming activity, so it could be handy to use the shortcut keys (by pressing "?" while using WME shows a panel thereof).
Copyrighted Material
Consulting a map book or looking up the name of the road should be ok, but do not trace roads from Google maps or Google aerial images. In areas which have been gated off, Google is not always accurate anyway. Please ensure you read the section on external sources of data as using these may infringe copyrights. It is preferable to use Geographic Information System (GIS) information supplied by local authorities, should this be available.
The Surveyor General is an official source of data. Their GIS data is available but is not all that user friendly. Topographical GIS datasets can also be obtained from the National Mapping Agency (Chief Directorate: National Geospatial Information).
Check out the Forums
You should visit the Waze Forums, you do not have to post a single thing, but you will be up to date with the latest happenings. Here are a few more reasons why it's great to be familiar with the forum:
- For any general discussions,
- Discussion of problems you encounter,
- General chit-chat with other Wazers, or
- Unlock Requests (during editing).
South Africa is the dedicated sub-forum for South African Wazers. Forum participation is one of the areas where South African editors (and users) should become more active in. Following some of the more interesting topics or just the general chit-chats could vastly expand your knowledge.
Post a topic under the relevant section. Look for the NEWTOPIC* button located under the list of moderators. Please remember to do a keyword search first (located next to "NEWTOPIC*") to see if your problem may have been discussed or may possibly have been resolved before. Do NOT start a new thread without checking first. Announcements are listed on every forum page. If the problem relates to yours, read the announcement first before attempting to post.
The Forum community consists of editors and users, such as yourself - they voluntarily assist other editors and users in their free time. The "Waze Champions" (highest raking editors, level 6) consists of users all over the world that have a wealth of experience with Waze and editing techniques.
As with any other form of Social Media, civilized behaviour, basic courtesy and netiquette should be observed.
Your Profile
All the Waze sites use the same Username and Password that you registered with. If you have not yet logged in or registered on the Waze Forums, you can follow this link. Please ensure that you at least set your location (City, Country) in the User Control Panel >> Profile Tab >> Location. If people can see from which part of the world you are, it usually prompts a faster response to your query. If you post, or are active on the forum, add an email address you regularly monitor, to your profile. This way you will get notified if someone sends you a private message, or if someone responds to a query you had. You can also set your notification preferences in the Control Panel.
Road Network
Before we just make roads in Waze and give them a certain priority, we need to understand how the South African road network is set up. It's necessary that we follow the same understanding in Waze.
Street: The term "street" originates from the Latin "via strata", meaning "paved road". It is a paved public thoroughfare in a built environment (village, town, city). The purpose is for inhabitants of a town to freely interact and move about. Streets are lined with houses, shops, or other buildings. As the town expands, the public grow larger and transportation improves; all which leads to overcrowding of streets. Hence the reason for adapting certain streets to:
- pedestrian only streets (boardwalks),
- wide streets (high traffic roads), and
- vehicle only streets (freeways).
- Which lead to the "fused grid" (planned layout of urban areas).
Roads: As villages/towns/cities started to interact, the streets connecting them are coined "road", because they connect over long distances and used mainly by transportation.
Residents and urban planners draw a crucial modern distinction:
- a road's main function is transportation,
- while streets facilitate public interaction.
As the road network expanded, things started to become complicated. Thus in the 1970's the South Africa's National Route network is adapted to the USA Interstate Highway system which in the 1950's adapted to the German Autobahn system implemented in the 1930's, namely limited-access freeways/highways and numbered routes.
Numbered Routes
The National Department of Transport technically decribe the SA Numbered Routes (PDF).
- NATIONAL ROUTES
* Road sign shape: pentagon (5 sided). * Starts with "N" and range from N1 to N18. * These routes connect major cities and towns. * Tends to run through multiple provinces. * Some sections can be freeways, eg: N1, N2, N3, N17