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This page serves as the primary resource for editors of Kansas. 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.

No general message at this time.


Introduction

Kansas is a part of the Plains region, which includes the states and/or territories of:

Iowa / Kansas / Minnesota / Missouri / Nebraska / North Dakota / South Dakota.


Mapping resources

Before editing the maps in Kansas, 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.

Functional Classification
GIS by County
Other

See Kansas/Resources for guidance in Kansas that may not be universal to all other states and territories.


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 Kansas.

Area Managers for Kansas can be found in the table below.

New editors should consider checking into the formal mentoring program available at no charge.

Kansas Map Editors Community

We have a free Discord server available for all those editing in Kansas. Editors can discuss issues and ideas from around the state, seek input from fellow editors, get unlocks for road segments locked above your level, etc. If you would like to join, click this link: Plains (PLN) Discord Server


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).

Duplicate cities can be caused by incorrectly named segments and should be corrected following the guidelines in the duplicate cities article.


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.


Major roads

Kansas follows the general road naming and road type guidelines of the USA.

State Highway Naming

Kansas highways are named as K-### (e.g. K-7, K-7 N). This includes their related business, loops, and spurs. (e.g. K-7 BUS) This shortened version takes up less space on the map screen and is announced correctly as "Kansas Highway ###" while navigating with the Waze app.

County Road Naming

County roads with the name designation of "County Road ###" are named as CR-### (e.g. CR-110). This shortened version takes up less space on the map screen and is announced correctly as "County Road ###" while navigating with the Waze app.

Functional Classifications

Kansas uses the Functional Classification rules outlined in the Road types page

The table below shows a cross reference for the minimum road types in Kansas. Keep in mind that these are only minimums, and may need to be upgraded based on the qualities defined on the road type guidelines page.


KDOT Classification Waze Road Type
  Interstate    Freeway 
  Other Expressway    Major Highway 
  Other Principal Arterial    Major Highway 
  Minor Arterial    Minor Highway 
  Major Collector    Primary Street 
  Minor Collector    Primary Street 
  Local Road    Street 


**Kansas numbered state highways should be set to a minimum of Minor Highway.**


Lock Levels

Kansas uses lock levels common among the USA/Plains region.

In Kansas we have a set minimum standard for locking roads based on segment type. Any road of a certain segment type must 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.

Kansas Minimum Locking Rank Standard
Segment Type Statewide
 Freeway  4
 Ramp  Highest rank of connected segments
 Major Highway  3
 Minor Highway  3
 Primary Street  2
 Street  1
 • • • • Ferry • • • •   5
 |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| Railroad |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|  2


True Elevation

NOTE: If you have any questions, please seek guidance from a Kansas State Manager or one of the Plains Region Leadership team.

The Plains Region uses the concept of True Elevation (TE) to better represent segments in relationship with its surroundings/ground level. Most segments should have an elevation of Ground unless they pass over another segment, waterway, or natural feature. True Elevation applies to both drivable and non-drivable segments.

Definitions

Bridge

  • Segment travels over another segment (also known as Overpass).
  • Segment travels over a large river or large body of water.
  • Segment artificially elevated to pass over large ground level objects and large natural features.

Tunnel

A tunnel is any road segment that is underground and thus the GPS reception is inconsistent.

Examples

  • Simple Interchange
  • More Complex Interchange (requiring junctioning of ramp segments to maintain ground elevation)
  • Major Circular Interchange
  • Complex Interchange
  • Raised Freeway (over preserve area)

Visuals

Below are two images showing the difference in Live Map rendering when True Elevation is not applied and then when True Elevation is applied. Take note on the shading along the edge of the segment when True Elevation is used and how it is missing when it is not. At the time of this writing (August 2022) the Waze app does not show this different shading.

Segment over water without True Elevation Segment over water with True Elevation

Implementation

  • Elevations of overlapping segments should be set relative to each other, with the lowest segment as Ground (unless that segment is a tunnel).
  • Only elevate/lower the actual bridge/tunnel section of the road.
  • Bridges should be cut at the start/end of the bridge where the land falls away. You can usually see guardrails at the start/end of the bridge section. Also the pavement type may change (Asphalt to Concrete for example).
    • Do not cut segments for elevation purposes if the bridge starts/stops within 60m/200ft of an existing junction.
    • Maintain some uniformity for display purposes when determining where to make the splits.
    • Elevated bridge segments should be 15 meters (50 feet) or greater. Bridges smaller than 15 meters, such as over a creek or box culvert, most likely should not be elevated. Check with PLN leadership before elevating sub-15-meter bridge segments.
  • Only set elevation as low/high as necessary. For example, no segment should be Elevation +2 unless it passes over another segment with Elevation +1.
  • Tunneled segments shall have lower elevation relative to ground and Tunnel should be checked.
  • Only segments that are actually underground should have negative elevation.
  • Tunnels should be cut at least 15m/50ft before and after the tunnel, to allow time for the GPS to regain signal.
  • The use of common sense is paramount in using True Elevation.


Special roads

Drivable roads

Kansas follows the standard USA guidelines for all of the following special road types.

Non-drivable roads

Review the Wiki guidelines for non-drivable roads to ensure compliance with the general guidelines.

We have special rules which enhance and modify the general map guidelines provided by Waze. We ask that when editing in Kansas you follow these rules for special road types.

Unpaved and Dirt Roads

In many Kansas counties, the Off-road / Not Maintained Road type should apply only to roads that are truly dirt/low-maintenance. Well-maintained gravel roads should NOT be set as the “Off-road / Not Maintained” type. They should be at least Street type and potentially as high as Primary Street status. The reason some of these gravel roads qualify for Primary Street status is based upon their functional classification designation. These roads may be gravel, but they are intended as main routes between towns (especially in rural areas) and are often wider and more frequently maintained. However, any drivable road which is not paved with asphalt, tar-and-chip, or concrete should have the Unpaved checkbox applied so the routing server can respect user navigation preferences.

Alleys

Alleys are to be mapped since they are sometimes required to access parking lots, businesses, and residences. Alleys are to be the  Parking Lot Road  type and the name should be set to "Alley." Be sure to confirm the location of house numbers and any applicable Place points along the main roads to avoid routing to the back of a business or residence.

Driveways in Rural Areas

In rural areas, it may be helpful to a driver to see driveways mapped in the client app or even necessary for Waze to determine how to reach the destination. In those cases it may be prudent to map a segment, even if shorter than the general Driveways recommendation of 200 feet. See the article on Driveways for more information. This offers a number of benefits:

  • When traveling at high speeds on rural/county highways, the turn guidance onto the driveway provides advance warning of their upcoming destination.
  • Where roads may stretch for miles with no landmarks or other features in the landscape, driveways provide a sense of location and orientation, especially at night.
  • When not mapped, a user on the driveway may instead be mistakenly snapped to the main road, causing bad speed data and unwanted or confusing directions.

When mapping Driveways, use the  Parking Lot Road  type.

Mapping House Numbers on Driveways

If the addresses for properties on the driveway are known, delete the relevant House Numbers and add Residential Place Points (RPPs). Make sure the RPP is complete with address number, street name, city name, and entry/exit point as noted in the House Numbers page.

Urban Driveways

Urban driveways do not qualify for mapping in most circumstances unless they meet certain route-aiding criteria as defined in the national standards for Driveways.

Speed Limits

Kansas primarily follows the USA Speed limits page with some clarifications

Ramp Speed Limits

For ramps that are for accelerating to a road with a higher speed limit, use the higher speed limit of the destination road that the ramp goes to.

For ramps that go from a higher speed limit to a lower speed limit such as a freeway off ramp, do not place any speed limit on the ramp.

For ramps where the start and end have the same speed limit, keep the same speed limit on the ramp.

Do not use advisory speed limits that are black text on yellow signs.

Other Kansas Specific Speed Limit details

Kansas Rural Highway Speed Limits [1]

The KS state laws for default unposted speed limits statewide are:

  • Residential Areas 30 mph
  • Two-lane paved highways 55 mph
  • Improved two-lane highways 65 mph
  • Some improved highways in rural areas 70 mph
  • Kansas Turnpike, unless otherwise posted 75 mph and 40 mph minimum
  • Rural segments of freeway 75 mph with 40 mph minimum

Check with your Area or State Managers for clarification if needed.


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.

See Kansas/Closures for guidance in Kansas that may not be universal to all other states and territories.


Places

Kansas 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.

Hospitals / Urgent Care

Only Hospitals, Emergency Rooms, and Urgent Care Facilities should use the Hospital / Medical Center category. This category is to be used for places offering urgent / emergency care. Other medical facilities such as clinics and medical offices which do not offer urgent medical care for walk-ins should be categorized as Office. Hospitals should be mapped as an Area Place encompassing the entire medical facility. Additionally, hospital Emergency Room entrances should be mapped as a Point Place at the ER entrance to aid in navigating to the proper entrance.

Gas Stations

In the Plains region, stations are named as Station Name (Brand). If the station brand is unknown, then Station Name. If the station name and brand are the same, then Brand. For example:

MinitMart (Shell) [Store Name (Brand)]
Joe's Gas & Tackle [Store Name with no Brand]
QuikTrip [Store Name & Brand are the same]

Places Minimum Acceptable Information

All Places added to the map must contain the following entries:

  • Proper Category
  • Place Name
  • Address (including address numbers)
  • Placed in the correct location on the map

This is the minimum acceptable amount of information for inclusion on the map.

Places Locking Standard

Kansas Place Lock Level Standards
Place Type Lock Level
Military Installation / Airport 4
Hospitals / Urgent Care / Police & Fire Dept 4
National & State Parks and Monuments 4
Gas Stations / Charging Stations 3
Schools / Universities / Colleges 3
Government Buildings / Consulates 3
City and Local Parks 3
All other places with complete information 3
Complete information includes at a minimum:
  • Proper Category
  • Place Name
  • Address/City (including address numbers)
  • Placed in the correct location on the map
  • Hours of operation (if available)
  • Phone number
These locks are in place to prevent loss of data due to automatic acceptance of Place Update submissions from Trusted Users, or Place Update Request approvals from other editors without careful examination.
If you do not have a high enough enough rank to lock the place as indicated, please lock it as high as you can, and notify a higher rank AM, SM, CM, or Champ to lock it higher.



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.

Be sure to know your cameras before accepting new camera reports.

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 Kansas.



Based on information researched at the time this page was created, Kansas does not have any laws regarding red light or speed cameras, therefore they may be present in the state.

No other camera types should be mapped in Waze.

DrivingLaws.org reference for KS (not official).

NOTE

  • Missouri has instituted red-light cameras in the KC Metro area in the past, but at this time (May 2015) they have been deactivated pending Missouri Supreme Court cases to determine the legality. At this time, the1who has removed them. KCTV5 News Article


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.

Urban Area Functional Classification

Edit this list

Urban Area First Pass Editor Check Editor
Abilene starkreiten not started
Arkansas City gunnargsd not started
Atchison gunnargsd not started
Augusta gunnargsd Squint588
Baxter Springs gunnargsd not started
Chanute gunnargsd not started
Coffeyville SunnyRaynbows Squint588
Colby starkreiten not started
Concordia gunnargsd not started
Dodge City starkreiten not started
El Dorado MPaxx not started
Elwood gunnargsd not started
Emporia not started not started
Eudora not started not started
Fort Scott gunnargsd not started
Garden City starkreiten not started
Great Bend bundlegut not started
Hays starkreiten not started
Hutchinson bundlegut not started
Independence gunnargsd not started
Iola autenil not started
Junction City autenil not started
Kansas City autenil not started
Lawrence not started not started
Leavenworth autenil not started
Liberal not started not started
Manhattan autenil not started
Mcpherson bundlegut not started
Newton bundlegut not started
Ottawa not started not started
Paola kc-guardrail not started
Parsons not started not started
Pittsburg not started not started
Pratt not started not started
Salina bundlegut not started
Spring Hill kc-guardrail bundlegut
Topeka not started not started
Ulysses Thangorodrim not started
Wellington not started not started
Wichita bundlegut not started
Winfield gunnargsd not started

See Kansas/To do for guidance in Kansas that may not be universal to all other states and territories.


Area Managers

The table below identifies the editors also designated as Area Managers or higher who are editing in Kansas. If you have any questions, please consider contacting them directly as needed. If you are an Area Manager that covers Kansas, or a USA Country Manager that does a lot of work in Kansas, please add yourself to this list (alphabetical by username) in the correct rank section.

The editor who also serves as the Regional Coordinator for Kansas 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.

Kansas — Area, State, Country Managers, and Regional Coordinators
Regional Coordinator(s):
[RC] bretmcvey (PM [Help])  
[ARC1] ehepner1977 (PM [Help])  
[ARC2] SunnyRaynbows (PM [Help])  
Username Area Managed Comments
State Managers (Plains region)
nimper2000(6) [PM [Help]]  Statewide / Countrywide
Based in Topeka
State Managers - Emeritus
bundlegut(3) [PM [Help]]  Statewide
Based in Wichita
KC-Guardrail(3) [PM [Help]]  Statewide
Based in Bonner Springs
Area Managers
(Add to or edit this section)
DaveKS14(5) [PM [Help]]  Plains Region
LAM PLN, Central OH & Belize
Kjg53(5) [PM [Help]]  SW and E Kansas
Resident of Texas
mhh60(5) [PM [Help]]  Sedgwick County
SM in NM, AM in GU, MP, AS, AK & PR
westjacksonfd(5) [PM [Help]]  NW Kansas
Resident of Georgia
MFCoolCool(4) [PM [Help]]  Statewide - focused on KC Metro
DrHenryJonesSr(4) [PM [Help]]  Eastern Kansas
Resident of Georgia
Mythdraug(5) [PM [Help]]  far SE Kansas
Squint588(4) [PM [Help]]  Statewide
Resident of Kansas
vagabond_8_1(4) [PM [Help]]  Eastern Kansas
Based in Manhattan
Mikepedia(4) [PM [Help]]  SE Kansas


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