User:Nzahn1/Best map editing practice View history

Latest revision as of 16:38, 24 April 2023

Alleys

Alleys provide both unique benefits and challenges to the mapping community. They are exist extensively in urban and suburban road networks, but aren't intended for widespread use. Ideally, an alley should only be available to those who live or work adjacent to the alley, those who service those addresses, and as a last resort in case of closures of the nearby standard roads.

Should I map alleys?

[Currently being discussed at Champ level]

As of April 2023^[update], the recommendation is to map alleys as they exist on the ground. However, be sure to follow the precautions listed below when adding alleys. Adding alleys is not a high priority, but rather should be done as time allows. Adding alleys to the map has several tangible benefits:

When alleys are left off the map, speed data from users driving on alleys may be assigned to other nearby roads, polluting the data and impacting routes and ETAs.
Without alleys, users who use alleys to access their parking pads or garages will be snapped to nearby roads, and may receive inaccurate routes.
Alleys can provide a "detour of last resort" when no other roads are available.
Adding alleys to the map can help localities who are Waze partners, allowing them to collect important crowdsourced data about the maintenance and status of these roads including pot holes, debris blocking the road, emergent flooding, and the status of snow plowing or ice build-up.

What road type should I use for Alleys?

Historically, alleys have had disprite treatments across various map editing regions and states, with some communities choosing to map them as Parking Lot Roads while other communities may have chosen to use the Private Road road type, and still other communities have chosen not to map unless absolutely necessary. At one point, there were even experiments to alternate between PLR and PR block to block, in an effort to prevent through routes.

In recent years, the routing behavior of the Parking Lot Road and Private Road road types has diverged slightly and as of April 2023^[update], the recommendation is to use Private Road for alleys. This has several benefits:

Most through routes are prevented, due to the inherent transition penalty for Private Road segments on the routing server.
Routes crossing standard drivable segments may be discouraged because of slower real-time and average segments speeds due to turn delays at junctions.
In case of a closure applied to nearby standard drivable road segments, PR alleys could be used as a last resort detour, due to the high, but surmountable transition penalty. An alley mapped with PLR segments would never be offered as a detour, and routing could fail altogether if there are no other options.

What else should I know about mapping alleys?

There are some precautions that should be taken when adding PR alleys to the map:

Be sure to follow local guidance. Segment naming, speed limits, and other measures may vary depending on region/region/locality. Some areas may require additional routing measures to ensure compliance with laws and regulations or in response to routing issues. These measures may include adding prohibited turns or difficult turns to continue straight when crossing standard drivable segments.
Check nearby destinations. When adding alleys to the map, ensure all nearby House Numbers are nudged and the entry point for Residential Point Places, and standard Places are accurately placed. If nearby destination stop points are not checked, routing errors can occur, sending users to the back of businesses or residences.
Watch for existing PRs. If there are existing PRs used as gates of a private installation or as a driveway, double check that you aren't creating a routing issue bypassing the gate or creating a preferential pathway.
Unmaintained alleys happen. If an alley has fallen into disrepair and is barely passable, consider marking it as Off-road / Not-maintained , which will prevent routes unless absolutely necessary. Alleys that only exist on paper, and do not exist on the ground, should not be added to the map.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-=== Parking lots ===
+=== Alleys ===
-{{mbox | type=important | text = {{As of | 2018 | 06}}, guidance changed to recommend more detailed mapping of Parking Lot roads, in those lots which should be mapped. There is no priority to adapt existing lots to the new standards, unless working on or near the lot for other reasons or there is  guidance from a senior editor to pursue it.}}
+Alleys provide both unique benefits and challenges to the mapping community. They are exist extensively in urban and suburban road networks, but aren't intended for widespread use. Ideally, an alley should only be available to those who live or work adjacent to the alley, those who service those addresses, and as a last resort in case of closures of the nearby standard roads.
-Mapping the roads inside parking lots serves the following purposes:
+{{Collapsible section top}}
-* It allows Waze to provide door-to-door directions to Places within the lot.
-* It allows Waze to recognize that the client is off the main road, avoiding erroneous traffic reports.
-* The {{Parking Lot Road}} road type prevents routes from transiting the lots to other destinations.
-* It allows Waze to calculate estimated times for walking from the parking lot to destinations, and to calculate walking times for users leaving Places near the lot.
-* Increasing the number of segments inside parking could reduce the likelihood of instructions that use names from nearby named streets.
-For information on how to map parking lot Places, see the [[Places/Parking_lot]] page.  Parking lot roads are not limited to use with the parking lot place type, though they are best used in combination.
+==== Should I map alleys? ====
+[Currently being discussed at Champ level]
+{{Collapsible section content}}
+{{As of|2023|04|df=US}}, the recommendation is to map alleys as they exist on the ground.  However, be sure to follow the precautions listed below when adding alleys. Adding alleys is not a high priority, but rather should be done as time allows. Adding alleys to the map has several tangible benefits:
-The {{Parking Lot Road}} type exists to allow proper navigation into and out of parking lots while discouraging routes through parking lots. Waze applies a penalty to routes which transition from Parking Lot Road to other road types. This transition penalty decreases the chances that Waze will route through a parking lot as a shortcut, but doesn't interfere with navigation to or from points within parking lots parking lots. Avoid mixing road types within a parking lot so as to avoid triggering the transition penalty unnecessarily. See [[Road_types#Parking_Lot_Road]] for more information on this road type.
+* When alleys are left off the map, speed data from users driving on alleys may be assigned to other nearby roads, polluting the data and impacting routes and ETAs.
+* Without alleys, users who use alleys to access their parking pads or garages will be snapped to nearby roads, and may receive inaccurate routes.
+* Alleys can provide a "detour of last resort" when no other roads are available.
+* Adding alleys to the map can help localities who are Waze partners, allowing them to collect important crowdsourced data about the maintenance and status of these roads including pot holes, debris blocking the road, emergent flooding, and the status of snow plowing or ice build-up.
+{{Collapsible section bottom}}
-{{mbox | type = neweditor | text = A reminder that all roads, including parking lot roads, must have a city name applied or the ‘None’ checkbox must be checked for both city name and road name.  If RPPs are used along the parking lot, be sure to include the primary city name according to state guidelines and any appropriate alternative city names for the addresses in the nearby RPPs.}}
+==== What road type should I use for Alleys? ====
+Historically, alleys have had disprite treatments across various map editing regions and states, with some communities choosing to map them as {{Parking Lot Road|Parking Lot Roads}}  while other communities may have chosen to use the {{Private Road}} road type, and still other communities have chosen not to map unless absolutely necessary. At one point, there were even experiments to alternate between {{Parking Lot Road|PLR}} and {{Private Road|PR}} block to block, in an effort to prevent through routes.
-==== Large Parking Lots ====
+In recent years, the routing behavior of the {{Parking Lot Road|Parking Lot Road}} and {{Private Road}} road types has diverged slightly and {{As of|2023|04|df=US|lc=y}}, the recommendation is to use {{Private Road}} for alleys.  This has several benefits:
-When mapping large parking lots, map each aisle of the parking lot. Add any appropriate turn restrictions, one-way segments, etc., as you would with any road.
-On any two-way segment which travels directly along perpendicular parking spaces, set the U-turns at either end of the segment to Allowed. This enables the routing server to implicitly direct the user to exit their parking spot in the optimal direction. Typically aisles for angled parking are one-way, and U-turns are not available.  In rare cases, angled two-way parking may occur, and in this case, u-turns should be Prohibited.
+* Most through routes are prevented, due to the inherent transition penalty for {{Private Road}} segments on the [[routing server]].
+* Routes crossing standard drivable segments may be discouraged because of slower real-time and average segments speeds due to turn delays at junctions.
+* In case of a closure applied to nearby standard drivable road segments, {{Private Road|PR}} alleys could be used as a last resort detour, due to the high, but surmountable transition penalty.  An alley mapped with {{Parking Lot Road|PLR}} segments would never be offered as a detour, and routing could fail altogether if there are no other options.
-''PHOTOS GO HERE''
+==== What else should I know about mapping alleys? ====
+There are some precautions that should be taken when adding {{Private Road|PR}} alleys to the map:
-==== Parking Garages ====
+* '''Be sure to follow local guidance.'''  Segment naming, speed limits, and other measures may vary depending on region/region/locality.  Some areas may require additional routing measures to ensure compliance with laws and regulations or in response to routing issues.  These measures may include adding [[Map Editor Interface and Controls#Junction arrows|prohibited turns]] or [[Partial restrictions#Adding.2Fediting a difficult turn|difficult turns]] to continue straight when crossing standard drivable segments.
-Parking garages should not have each lane visible on the uppermost parking level mapped.  Instead, each entry and exit road should be mapped as one-way or two-way as appropriate.  {{As of | 2018 | 06}}, [[Places/Parking_lot|Parking Lot Areas (“PLA”)]] do not support multiple entries.  For this reason, connect the entry and exit road segments to a single segment, with the PLA’s entry point set along that segment.  This allows Waze to choose the best entry to the garage depending on the route’s starting location.
+* '''Check nearby destinations.'''  When adding alleys to the map, ensure all nearby [[House Numbers in WME|House Numbers]] are nudged and the entry point for [[Residential point Place|Residential Point Places]], and standard [[Places]] are accurately placed. If nearby destination stop points are not checked, routing errors can occur, sending users to the back of businesses or residences.
+* '''Watch for existing PRs.''' If there are existing {{Private Road|PRs}} used as gates of a [[Private Installations|private installation]] or as a driveway, double check that you aren't creating a routing issue bypassing the gate or creating a preferential pathway.
-==== Small Parking Lots ====
+*'''Unmaintained alleys happen.''' If an alley has fallen into disrepair and is barely passable, consider marking it as {{Off-road|Off-road / Not-maintained}}, which will prevent routes unless absolutely necessary.  Alleys that only exist on paper, and do not exist on the ground, '''should not''' be added to the map.
-For small lots, if there is only one entrance and one exit, or if there are multiple entrances/exits near to each other on the same road, then it may not be necessary to add PLRs at all, especially if the entrances and exits are on a divided or one-way road (so there's effectively only one way in and one way out).  Small parking lots should be mapped if:
-there are entrances/exits to the lot on more than one street;
-there are nearby PLRs that might cause a user to be snapped to the wrong lot;
-the Place served is a gas station or has a drive-thru.
-If the small lot is on at the corner of two or more non-PLR roads, the value of the lot should be carefully weighed against the damage to (turn timing) done by adding nodes near an intersection. Consider if the addition of a [[Junction Box]] is needed to resolve data collection concerns..
-If it is determined that PLRs are desirable in a small lot, then follow the same instructions as when mapping a large lot.  However, in cases where a small store-front parking lot has a pair of one-way aisles, such at at a ‘strip mall’, it is acceptable to use a single two-way road segment that approximates the location of both aisles.  In this case, enable the u-turns on either end of the segment, so users traveling in either aisle will get efficient routes.
-''PHOTOS GO HERE''