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).
Always consult with Michigan leadership prior to changing, merging, deleting, or creating any city names. Michigan is one of the unique states in which most segments should have a city name. The exceptions to this are discussed elsewhere in the Michigan Wiki. Most of the time, this name can be found by checking the local GIS. The name can be a city or village if it is in the corresponding boundaries, otherwise it will take the name of the surrounding township or a census-designated place (CDP).
Duplicate Cities
According to Wikipedia, Michigan is divided into 1,240 townships, 276 cities, and 257 villages, and also contains numerous CDPs, causing city names to be repeated in multiple counties throughout Michigan. The repetition causes issues such as city smudging and naming issues, such as Greater Bloomingdale Area, Fremont (2), and Marquette (3), all of which would need to be fixed (see Duplicate Cities).
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Incorrect Naming
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Preferred Naming
These naming issues came from import, but it is important to always discuss any city name changes or additions with a local AM, LAM, or SM who might have more information regarding the situation. This way, any further issues will hopefully be avoided.
Adding or Changing City Names
You should always check with a Michigan State Manager prior to changing the city name on multiple segments. If the desired city name is not available in WME, any R4 or higher with local EA can add a city name, or a CM can change the name of an existing city area if the name does not need to be reused elsewhere in the state. A Michigan State Manager must always approve of any changes to a city name. If the city name you are replacing needs to be utilized elsewhere, this form needs to be filled out, and the ARC needs to be contacted.
Anyone who thinks a city name should be changed or removed should consider checking this list of Michigan Cities, Villages, and Townships. On occasion, a township might be utilizing the name that a city should have, and this list would provide the possible locations of a perpetrator, or a Township name could be unique enough to not require the word “township” in its name.
Mailing Addresses
People tend to search addresses using the mailing, or zip code, city. There are also issues with using RPPs on segments where the city names do not match. For these reasons, we should utilize the mailing address city name on the alt name. It is important to only use the preferred postal city name. The city in the alt name, RPP, or any other place will not affect the city layer. This is not a current project, but should be fixed on any segment you are editing.