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This page covers the mapping techniques to use for private installations and for neighborhoods that have restricted access of some kind.


This page tells how to map private installations and gated residential communities. These are places with one or more "controlled access points" or "gates". These methods give good routes in and out of private installations. They do not tell wazers to take short cuts through private installations. {{As of|December 2014}}, these are the best known approaches. Always consult the state manager or regional coordinator to make sure you use the method preferred for the region. Work with an editor who has experience using these method.
== Introduction ==
== Introduction ==


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[[File:pi_gated-community3.jpg|right|300px|Gated Community]]
[[File:pi_gated-community3.jpg|right|300px|Gated Community]]
;Private Installation
;Private Installation
:A restricted-access set of drivable roads connected at one or more points to a public road network. This could be a gated residential community, an industrial site, a pharmaceutical research campus, a secure government installation, a military base, or any other type of  installation with at least one access control point (see gate) or more than one private road. The simplest example is a single private community street protected by a gate. Larger installations might include several types of roads. The largest USA installation is White Sands Missile Range at 3,200 square miles, larger than the USA’s smallest state, and includes dirt roads, primary streets and highways. Large installations might even have smaller private installations inside of them which are closed to most of those who are inside the larger installation.
:A set of drivable roads connected to the public road network, with one or more "gates" or "controlled access points". Some examples are: a gated community, a factory site, a military base. The simplest example is one private street protected by one gate. The largest USA private installation is White Sands Missile Range with 3,200 square miles. It includes dirt roads, primary streets and highways. A large private installation may even have smaller private installations inside of them.
 
;Gate
;Gate
:Any of the points at which the installation connects to the public road network. These might have guarded or card-operated gates, "door buzzers", security cameras, or severe tire damage strips, or simply a sign stating that the road ahead is private or for members, authorized vehicles, etc.   Regardless of the physical form, we will refer to these access control points as gates
:Any point where a private installation road connects to the public road network. At these points might be a gate, traffic spikes, a guard, or simply a road sign. Gate opening might be controlled by cards, or remote "door buzzers". From now on, we will call all of these access control points "gates".
 


;Visitor
:Visitors must use '''visitor gates'''. They must not use '''member gates'''.Some examples are: the pizza delivery driver, the cousin from Peoria, the tourist visiting the air force base to see the military museum.
;Member
;Member
:Anyone who can use any of the entrance or exit gates at the installation, including the the more restricted "members only", "residents only", "employees only, "base personnel only", "military ID only" , "authorized personnel only", etc gates (if any) used at the installation.
:Members may use both '''visitor gates''' and '''member gates'''. These member gates might have signs which say "members only", "residents only", "employees only", "authorized personnel only" or "military ID only".
;Visitor
:Anyone limited to certain entrance and/or exit gates. This could be the pizza delivery driver, the cousin from Peoria, the tourist visiting the air force base to see the military museum, etc.


==Routing==
=== Purpose ===


=== Requirements ===
====Routing must be reasonable====


[[File:pi_graphic1.png|frame|Figure 1. General Concept]]
[[File:pi_graphic1.png|frame|Figure 1. General Concept]]If a wazer starts and ends a drive outside the installation, Waze must not choose a route through the installation, even if it is fasterIt must go around to get from point A to point B in figure 1. If the wazer is driving into or out of the installation, waze must choose a gate that gives the best route (from A to C or from C to A in figure 1).<br clear="all>
If both the start and end points are outside the installation, Waze must not choose a route through the installations.  If the start or end point is inside the installation, Waze be able to must find an appropriate route through and into or out of the installation, as well as through the outside roads. Figure 1 shows the general concept of a private installation which is embedded in a public road network. In this case there are two access points. Waze should route around the private installation from A to B even though a shorter or faster route might exist through the installation. Waze should also be able to route from A to C or C to A, where C is located within the private installation.
[[File:pi_graphic3.png|left | frame|Figure 2. Nested access on Private Installations.]]If one private installation is "nested" inside another private installation, routes must also be reasonable. The route from A to B in figure 2 must not go through a nested installation. a route from the deepest nested level to or from public roads (C to D or D to C in figure 2) uses the best gates.  A route between different nested levels (between E and F) does not involve any nested installations it does not need to visit.


[[File:pi_graphic3.png|left | frame|Figure 2. Nested access on Private Installations.]]
Waze should be able to take advantage of the characteristics of different road types and avoid dirt roads if the wazer requests it.


Figure 2 shows a more complex private installation with nested levels of access. Waze must oute on or off of a private installation at any level of nested access without entering a separate access area of a deeper level. Route A to B illustrates this concept. Additionally, Waze should be able to navigate from a deeper level of nested access to any other point including off the private installation. Routes between points C and D illustrates routing onto or off of the private installation. Routes between points E to F shows navigation between nested levels. Waze must also be able to take into account the different road types in a larger installation when choosing the best route.
====Must not cause map errors====
Waze must not throw map errors when members drive through any entrances and exits. This means roads must not be disconnected or prohibited by red arrows at member gates.


Finally, While visitors must not be routed through member-only entrances and exits, Waze must not throw map errors when members drive through member-only entrances and exits.  This means these entrances must not be disconnected or prohibited by red arrows or time based restrictions.
====As simple and straightforward as possible====
While it is important to lock gates at a high enough level to prevent novice editors from breaking them, the gates should be easy for editors to spot and understand. In visitor-centric constructions, time based restrictions should not be used to prevent waze from routing wazers through member-only gates all day every day for all time.


=== Approach ===
=== Approach ===
Because Waze cannot recognize who has access to these installations and who does not, we focus on appropriate directions for visitors; preventimg inappropriate or illegal through-routing driving directions, while giving good driving directions within the installation and exiting once they get inside. Members are expected to have more knowledge of the installation. If they wish to use a specific member entrance gate, they can add it as a stop along the way. This may not result in the ideal routing for the members, but is the best Waze map editors can achieve with the tools currently available.
Waze does not know who is a visitor and who is member, so we can't get Waze to give different directions for each. We have to choose whether to focus on members or visitors. This is the best Waze map editors can do with the tools currently available.


To make this work, editors must focus on the access points or gates, and control access by using the correct "recipe" for each type of gate.
To make this work, editors must focus on the access points or gates, and control access by using the correct "recipe" for each type of gate.
Inside the installation, every type of road can be used where appropriate. It is not necessary and generally not desirable to use the private road type on every road inside the installation.  
Inside the installation, every type of road can be used where appropriate. Do not make all the roads private inside the installation.
 
The six types of gates can be divided into two classes -- simple and everything else. For the simplest type of installation, where there is only one exit, a simple gate will work. For any installation that has more than one exit, the simple gate will cause strange routing out of the installation -- we don't know why -- and the other types of gates must be used. Never mix the simple gate with the other types of gates in the same installation.


The five types of gates are: simple gate; visitor entrance; visitor exit; member entrance; member exit.
=== Why this works===
For the simplest type of installation, where there is only one exit, a simple gate is sufficient. For any installation that has more than one exit, the simple gate will not allow proper routing out of the installation -- the other four types of gates must be used.


=== Underlying logic ===
The current approach to constructing gates takes advantage of the Waze [[Routing_penalties#Segment_properties|routing penalty]] system to control driving directions. For every route that includes private segments, Waze imposes a penalty each time the route goes from ''from''' a Private segment '''to''' any other road type. This causes Waze to avoid driving through a private segment to get to the street on the other side, even if it has to find a longer and more time-consuming route to get there.  Because of this, Waze editors can use private segments at gates to prevent Waze from giving routes that short-cut through private installations.


The current approach to constructing gates takes advantage of the Waze [[Routing_penalties#Segment_properties|routing penalty]] system to control traffic flow. When a Private Road segment is used on the map, the Waze routing server imposes a routing penalty when transitioning '''from''' a Private segment '''to''' any other road type. When a destination is on a private segment, there is no penalty to enter the private roadway. However if the destination is on the far side of the private road on a standard street, Waze will try to avoid driving through the private segment to get to the street on the other side, even if it has to find a longer and more time-consuming route to get there.  To inhibit routes that travel through private installations, Waze editors can employ private segments at the entrances to the installations.
==How to ==
All the segments used in gate recipes must be at least {{:Segment length/Minimum}} long. Check the house numbers. If they are supposed to be inside the installation, make sure they are not on any of the gate segments.


===Gate recipes===
Remember to follow all [[Junction_Style_Guide#Loops|best editing practices]], including the rule against [[Junction_Style_Guide#Loops|two segments sharing the same two junction nodes]].
All house numbers inside the installation should be applied inside the  gates, not on any of the gate segments.  All the segments used in gate recipes must be at least {{:Segment length/Minimum}} long.
* Simple Gate -- one  2-way private road segment. If a point is used to mark the gate, place it in the middle of the segment. Do. OT mix simple gates with any other type of gate in the same installation.
* Visitor Entrance -- one one-way private road segment heading into the installation. If a point place is used, place it in the middle of the private segment.
* Visitor Exit -- (nothing) no private segment is needed. Use the same road type as the rest of the road the gate is on.
* Member Entrance -- Three one-way segments, headed into the installation, in this order: private, street, private.  If a point place is used to mark the gate, place it in the middle of the innermost private segment.
* Member Exit -- one one-way private segment.  If a point place is used to mark the gate, place it in the middle of the private segment.


===Simple Installations===
===Simple Installations===
If there is only a single entrance/exit, a simple gate can be used. If there is more than one exit or entrance,  using simple gates can cause Waze to create non-optimum routes out of the installation.
=====Gate recipes=====
* Simple Gate -- one  2-way private road segment. If a place is used to mark the gate, put the stop point in the middle of the segment. Do not mix simple gates with any other type of gate in the same installation.
=====Application=====
If there is only a single entrance/exit, use a simple gate. If there is more than one exit or entrance,  do not use any simple gates.  If you use a Simple gate in a private installation with more than one exit, Waze will not find the best possible route out of the installation.
 
===All other installations===
{{mbox|type=forum|text=for the ongoing discussion of member-centric vs resident-centric routing, please see [http://www.waze.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=276&t=51419&start=10#p1006240 the current forum discussion]}}
====Current Standard: Member-centric method====
This method is used throughout the US, except in California, Arizona, and Nevada. Check with your State Manager or Regional Coordinator. Waze will use traffic information to route Wazers through the best gate for members.  Visitors might be routed through a member gate and be refused admittance when they get there. Visitors can select the gate of their choice as their destination or "add a stop".
 
=====Gate Recipes=====
*Standard gate -- a one one-way private road segment heading into the installation, paired with a one-way segment heading out of the installation. The outgoing segment is of the same road type as the segments on either side of it. If a place is used to mark the gate, put the stop point as close as possible to the physical location of the gate.
 
=====Application=====
[[File:pi_graphic4.png|right|250px|Access Point detail - Preferred Treatment]]
Each entrance to the installation should be connected by a one-way divided road entering and exiting the installation. The entering one-way road will include one private road segment. The exiting one-way road will be the same type of road (usually street, primary street, or minor highway) as the segments on either side of it. This structure often mimics the actual lanes for such installations. The private road segments, one way exiting segments, and surrounding roads should be locked with a high enough level lock to prevent novice editors from deleting or changing this control.
 
[[File:pi_large_gate1.jpg|frame|center|Larger installation preferred treatment example. Note that this road is of a "primary" type but the private segment used for the inbound lane is used to prevent through-routing.]]
 
[[File:pi_large_gate2.jpg|frame|center|Larger installation preferred treatment example. Note that this road is of a regular "street" type. The private road segment is used for the inbound lane.]]


===All other Installations===
Nested private installations (wholly within another private installation) can be treated by this method or by one of the other methods.
If there is more than one entrance or exit, do not use any simple gates.  Instead,  select from the other types of gates.
[[File:pi_large_gate2.jpg|thumb|400px|Visitor entrance and exit gates.]][[File:pi_graphic4.png|leftt|250px|Visitor entrance and exit gates.]]
<br clear="all"/>


===Nested Private Installations===
;Pros
When one private installation is located inside another,  simply follow the same rules to construct all the gates for the smaller installation within the larger.
:The exiting road can be of any type and introduces no penalty to routing out of the installation.
;Cons
:A little more complicated than the simple approach.


=== Route Testing ===
{{mbox|type=warning|text=See warning above in the "Common Attributes" section about mixing the preferred and alternate treatments within the same nested level of a private installation.}}


These guidelines have been tested on actual private installations of various types and discussed in the Waze Forum. You may wish to test your own edits. Here are some suggestions of how you may accomplish this after your edits have been uploaded to the routing servers.
====Visitor-centric method====
* Monitor that area for User Reports.
In the US, this approach is used in California, Arizona, and Nevada. Do not use it anywhere else in the U.S. Check with your state manager or regional coordinator for more information.
* Test drive.
Waze will route everyone through the visitor's gates, which everyone can travel through. Waze does not route anyone through the member gates.  Anyone wishing to use a specific member gate can "add a stop" at that gate. This method allows Waze to use traffic information to find the best route from among all available visitor gates. Members who live or work in the installation and travel in and out daily might not get the best route from Waze.
** Navigate between two distant points outside the private installation to ensure no through-routing.
** Navigate from outside to inside the private installation, drive around the outside of the private installation and ensure rerouting occurs to the logical nearest gate.
** If you have access to the private installation, repeat the above, by by driving around inside the installation.
* Test routes in Live Map to ensure no through-routing and good on/off installation routing.
* Test routes in client by setting various "from" and "to" destinations without having to drive.


=====Gate recipes=====
* Visitor Entrance -- one one-way private road segment heading into the installation. If a place is used, put the stop point next to the middle of the private segment.
* Visitor Exit -- (nothing) no private segment is needed. Use the same road type as the rest of the road the gate is on.  If a place is used to mark the gate, put the stop point as close as possible to the physical location of the gate.
* Member Entrance -- Three one-way segments, headed into the installation, in this order: private, street, private.  If a place is used to mark the gate, put the stop point next to the middle of the middle street segment.
* Member Exit -- one one-way private segment.  If a point place is used to mark the gate, put the stop point next to the middle of the private segment.
* Member 2-way gate -- Three 2-way segments, in this order: private, street, private.  If a place is used to mark the gate, put the stop point next to the middle of the middle (street) segment.
* Closed Gates or fences -- these are closed nearly all the time, and only opened for special purposes -- disconnect the road at this point.


=====Application=====
A visitor entrance and visitor exit are combined as a
[[File:Gate Types Example.png|thumb|400px|All types of Entrance and exit gates. ''courtesy ottonomy'']]If there is more than one entrance or exit, do not use any simple gates.  Instead,  select from the other types of gates.<!--
[[File:pi_large_gate2.jpg|thumb|400px|Visitor entrance and exit gates.]][[File:pi_graphic4.png|left|250px|Visitor entrance and exit gates.]]-->Usually, gates come in matched entrance/exit pairs, but sometimes a single member-only exit is located at some distance from any entrances in a gated community.  Remember that if visitors and guests can use a gate at the same location, even if they have separate lanes, it is not normally necessary to create separate gates on the map. Simply use a visitor entrance or exit: Wazers can generally follow the signs to enter or exit via the correct lane.
<br clear="all"/>


===Nested Private Installations===
When one private installation is located inside another,  simply follow the same rules to construct all the gates for the smaller installation within the larger.


== Other features==
=== Checking your work ===


=== Places / City Names for Private Installations ===
Check your work.  If you run into any routing problems, check the discussions on the forums and ask questions in chat.
*Use the Waze Live Map to test routing between several pairs of test points inside and outside the installation.
* choose both  "from" and "to" destinations from the mobile app to see the routes.
* Expect to see routes involving visitor gates.
* Watch for User Reports in the area.  If users complain Waze will not route them through member-only gates, point them to how to add a stop along the way to go through their preferred gate. Waze can only route through the visitors gates
* if you have acces to the installation, try driving around  outside, inside, from, and to the installation.  Go off-route.  Check that Waze re-routing makes sense -- routes in or out are always to the most sensible gate to reach your destination, not necessarily the nearest gate.


Should a private installation be marked over it's entire area as a Place Area (old landmark)? Not always. Very small private installations are usually marked by a Area Place over their entire area. This does not make sense for larger private installations that might have other Places within them or that are actually cities. For these larger installations, use the city field of all street names to name the private installation.  
==Optional ingredients==
<!-- this is a comment and will not be visible in the document -->
<!--
===Point places for gates===
These should generally only be used for very large installations, such as large military bases. It is rare for a gate itself to be a destination for wazers.
-->
===Gate Closures and Restrictions ===
If some gates are closed at certain times of day or days of the week, or on certain dates, use  [[Scheduled Restrictions]] on the affected gate. Apply the restriction to just one gate segment. For a member entrance, apply it to the last-traversed (innermost) segment. Check to make sure entrance/exit pairs have the same closing hours.You can find the hours of gates or entry points through the private installation website or by calling the appropriate private installation authority.


In general here is specific guidance about Private Installations use of Places or City Names:
=== Places or City Names ===


* Does the state DOT consider it a city? If so, then use City Names in each street to identify the installation.
Small private installations are usually marked by a Area Place over their entire area. This does not make sense for larger private installations that might have other Places within them or that are actually cities. For these larger installations, use the city field of all street names to name the private installation.  
* Does the US Post Office consider it a city with it's own zip code? If so, then use City Names.
* Does the local community consider it a city like entity? Then maybe it should have a City Name if it is large, or an Area Place if it is small.
* Is it large enough that an overall Area Place on the Private Installation would obscure finer detail Area Places below? If so, use City Names. If not, use an Area Place to denote the Private Installation.


What smaller Place should be included within a larger private installation? We should generally follow the [http://wiki.waze.com/wiki/Places rules that are set for Places in cities and areas]. In addition to these, you might also consider marking the following as Places because they are critical navigation and destination points:
If it meets any of these criteria, treat it as a city:
* Does the state DOT consider it a city?
* Does the US Post Office consider it a city with it's own zip code?
* Is it large enough that an overall Area Place on the Private Installation would obscure finer detail Area Places below?
Finally, if the local community considers it a city like entity, then maybe it should have a City Name if it is large, or an Area Place if it is small.


For places within the installation, follow the [[Places |guidelines for point and area places]]. Also consider marking the following as Places because they are critical navigation and destination points:
* Entry/Exit gates (Place Area)
* Entry/Exit gates (Place Area)
* Visitor Centers (Place Area)
* Visitor Centers (Place Area)
* Museums and other similar destinations the installation may maintain
* Museums and other similar visitor destinations
* Memorials
* Memorials
* Parade Fields
* Parade Fields
* Items locally useful for navigation
* Items locally useful for navigation
===Alerting other Editors===
Lock the gate segments so beginner editors will not break them. If a road is permanently blocked, disconnect the road at that point and leave a note. To create a note, use the Live Map to report a map problem.  Begin the description with [NOTE], give your username, and explain the edit.


You should avoid mapping Places that are specific to private or military uses on a private installation. See the [http://wiki.waze.com/wiki/Places Places Wiki Page] for specifics about using an Area or Point for these items.
==Places with special rules==
===Military Bases and Government Installations ===


Do not mark specific locations with a Place unless the it his is already public information found on road maps or the installation's public website, in maps or directories. Secure installations often do not provide information about hangar numbers, building numbers, organizational names. 


=== Military Bases and Government Installations ===
====Landmarks (Places) approved for military bases ====
 
While road treatment is covered in the body of this Wiki page, questions often arise about what items to landmark by adding Area and Point Places on these facilities. &nbsp;This is particularly important if you have access to these locations as a resident, worker, or visitor and use that access to learn something about the Private Installation. &nbsp;A general rule is to not mark specific locations with a Place unless the it his is already public information found on road maps or the installation's public website, in maps or directories. Secure installations often do not provide information about hangar numbers, building numbers, organizational names. 
 
==== Landmarks (Places) approved for military bases ====
<ul style="/* insecure input */">
<ul style="/* insecure input */">
<li>Commissary</li>
<li>Commissary</li>
Line 132: Line 168:
=== Airports ===
=== Airports ===


Do not map the private, restricted-access roads on airport grounds at all. Map airport roads which are accessible to the public (terminal pick-up/drop-off roads, parking lot access roads, etc.) as public roads, not as private installations.
Only map airport roads which are accessible to the public (terminal pick-up/drop-off roads, parking lot access roads, etc.).  Do not map "air-side" restricted road networks that allow traffic for baggage carts, service vehicles, airplane fuel tankers, etc. Here's why:
 
Airports have "air-side" restricted road networks that allow traffic for baggage carts, service vehicles, airplane fuel tankers, etc. While it may be tempting to map this road network either as an isolated set of roads or with provisions cited elsewhere in this document for Private Installations, this should not be done. Here's why:


*A large number of people use Waze to navigate to airports. The particular search service or function that returns a GPS coordinate to Waze may be in error, placing the destination marker nearer to the air-side private road network of the airport than to the public airport roads. This could lead to an incorrect route or even an impossible-to-reach destination, which would frustrate the traveler.
* Wazers use a variety of terms to search for airports. This means that, often, they wind up with a search result that came from a non-Waze service, and these are often closer to the air-side roads than to the public airport roads. Editors have carefully adjusted the map around most large airports to take this into account.  Adding these private roads can cause Waze to route wazers to the "wrong side" of the airport through roads they will not be able to enter, and may cause them to miss their flights.
*The private air-side road network of an airport tends to be both close to and accessible from the public road networks around the airport and therefore is more prone to this navigation error.
* The private air-side roads often run close to public roads.  GPS error can cause Waze to think wazers on a public road are actually on the private road.  
*Very few people use the private road network of an airport, relative to the great number that use an airport's public access roads. To those that have requested this function, we apologize. The benefit of doing this for few would likely inconvenience many. We suggest routing to the nearest spot to your destination (i.e., the gate) on the public road network.
* Very few people use the private road network of an airport. A lot of people use an airport's public access roads.  
* For those who want to navigate to employee or service entrances, create point places.  
We apologize to airport employees and service providers.  


In some cases, military bases hold public airports. In such situations, some discretion and creativity may be needed to decide which roads on the airport should not be mapped and which on the military base should be mapped. Usually there is a second perimeter around the airport separating it from the base.
When public airports are within military bases, use care  and creativity in deciding which airport roads and which base roads should and should not be mapped. Check routing after making any changes.


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[[Category:Style Guides]]
[[Category:Style guides]]

Latest revision as of 06:25, 14 August 2022

This page tells how to map private installations and gated residential communities. These are places with one or more "controlled access points" or "gates". These methods give good routes in and out of private installations. They do not tell wazers to take short cuts through private installations. As of December 2014, these are the best known approaches. Always consult the state manager or regional coordinator to make sure you use the method preferred for the region. Work with an editor who has experience using these method.

Introduction

Definitions

Military Bases
Military Bases
Gated Community
Gated Community
Gated Community
Gated Community
Private Installation
A set of drivable roads connected to the public road network, with one or more "gates" or "controlled access points". Some examples are: a gated community, a factory site, a military base. The simplest example is one private street protected by one gate. The largest USA private installation is White Sands Missile Range with 3,200 square miles. It includes dirt roads, primary streets and highways. A large private installation may even have smaller private installations inside of them.
Gate
Any point where a private installation road connects to the public road network. At these points might be a gate, traffic spikes, a guard, or simply a road sign. Gate opening might be controlled by cards, or remote "door buzzers". From now on, we will call all of these access control points "gates".
Visitor
Visitors must use visitor gates. They must not use member gates.Some examples are: the pizza delivery driver, the cousin from Peoria, the tourist visiting the air force base to see the military museum.
Member
Members may use both visitor gates and member gates. These member gates might have signs which say "members only", "residents only", "employees only", "authorized personnel only" or "military ID only".

Purpose

Routing must be reasonable

Figure 1. General Concept

If a wazer starts and ends a drive outside the installation, Waze must not choose a route through the installation, even if it is faster. It must go around to get from point A to point B in figure 1. If the wazer is driving into or out of the installation, waze must choose a gate that gives the best route (from A to C or from C to A in figure 1).

Figure 2. Nested access on Private Installations.

If one private installation is "nested" inside another private installation, routes must also be reasonable. The route from A to B in figure 2 must not go through a nested installation. a route from the deepest nested level to or from public roads (C to D or D to C in figure 2) uses the best gates. A route between different nested levels (between E and F) does not involve any nested installations it does not need to visit.

Waze should be able to take advantage of the characteristics of different road types and avoid dirt roads if the wazer requests it.

Must not cause map errors

Waze must not throw map errors when members drive through any entrances and exits. This means roads must not be disconnected or prohibited by red arrows at member gates.

As simple and straightforward as possible

While it is important to lock gates at a high enough level to prevent novice editors from breaking them, the gates should be easy for editors to spot and understand. In visitor-centric constructions, time based restrictions should not be used to prevent waze from routing wazers through member-only gates all day every day for all time.

Approach

Waze does not know who is a visitor and who is member, so we can't get Waze to give different directions for each. We have to choose whether to focus on members or visitors. This is the best Waze map editors can do with the tools currently available.

To make this work, editors must focus on the access points or gates, and control access by using the correct "recipe" for each type of gate. Inside the installation, every type of road can be used where appropriate. Do not make all the roads private inside the installation.

The six types of gates can be divided into two classes -- simple and everything else. For the simplest type of installation, where there is only one exit, a simple gate will work. For any installation that has more than one exit, the simple gate will cause strange routing out of the installation -- we don't know why -- and the other types of gates must be used. Never mix the simple gate with the other types of gates in the same installation.

Why this works

The current approach to constructing gates takes advantage of the Waze routing penalty system to control driving directions. For every route that includes private segments, Waze imposes a penalty each time the route goes from from' a Private segment to any other road type. This causes Waze to avoid driving through a private segment to get to the street on the other side, even if it has to find a longer and more time-consuming route to get there. Because of this, Waze editors can use private segments at gates to prevent Waze from giving routes that short-cut through private installations.

How to

All the segments used in gate recipes must be at least 19.69 ft (6 m) long. Check the house numbers. If they are supposed to be inside the installation, make sure they are not on any of the gate segments.

Remember to follow all best editing practices, including the rule against two segments sharing the same two junction nodes.

Simple Installations

Gate recipes
  • Simple Gate -- one 2-way private road segment. If a place is used to mark the gate, put the stop point in the middle of the segment. Do not mix simple gates with any other type of gate in the same installation.
Application

If there is only a single entrance/exit, use a simple gate. If there is more than one exit or entrance, do not use any simple gates. If you use a Simple gate in a private installation with more than one exit, Waze will not find the best possible route out of the installation.

All other installations

for the ongoing discussion of member-centric vs resident-centric routing, please see the current forum discussion

Current Standard: Member-centric method

This method is used throughout the US, except in California, Arizona, and Nevada. Check with your State Manager or Regional Coordinator. Waze will use traffic information to route Wazers through the best gate for members. Visitors might be routed through a member gate and be refused admittance when they get there. Visitors can select the gate of their choice as their destination or "add a stop".

Gate Recipes
  • Standard gate -- a one one-way private road segment heading into the installation, paired with a one-way segment heading out of the installation. The outgoing segment is of the same road type as the segments on either side of it. If a place is used to mark the gate, put the stop point as close as possible to the physical location of the gate.
Application
Access Point detail - Preferred Treatment
Access Point detail - Preferred Treatment

Each entrance to the installation should be connected by a one-way divided road entering and exiting the installation. The entering one-way road will include one private road segment. The exiting one-way road will be the same type of road (usually street, primary street, or minor highway) as the segments on either side of it. This structure often mimics the actual lanes for such installations. The private road segments, one way exiting segments, and surrounding roads should be locked with a high enough level lock to prevent novice editors from deleting or changing this control.

Larger installation preferred treatment example. Note that this road is of a "primary" type but the private segment used for the inbound lane is used to prevent through-routing.
Larger installation preferred treatment example. Note that this road is of a regular "street" type. The private road segment is used for the inbound lane.

Nested private installations (wholly within another private installation) can be treated by this method or by one of the other methods.

Pros
The exiting road can be of any type and introduces no penalty to routing out of the installation.
Cons
A little more complicated than the simple approach.
See warning above in the "Common Attributes" section about mixing the preferred and alternate treatments within the same nested level of a private installation.

Visitor-centric method

In the US, this approach is used in California, Arizona, and Nevada. Do not use it anywhere else in the U.S. Check with your state manager or regional coordinator for more information. Waze will route everyone through the visitor's gates, which everyone can travel through. Waze does not route anyone through the member gates. Anyone wishing to use a specific member gate can "add a stop" at that gate. This method allows Waze to use traffic information to find the best route from among all available visitor gates. Members who live or work in the installation and travel in and out daily might not get the best route from Waze.

Gate recipes
  • Visitor Entrance -- one one-way private road segment heading into the installation. If a place is used, put the stop point next to the middle of the private segment.
  • Visitor Exit -- (nothing) no private segment is needed. Use the same road type as the rest of the road the gate is on. If a place is used to mark the gate, put the stop point as close as possible to the physical location of the gate.
  • Member Entrance -- Three one-way segments, headed into the installation, in this order: private, street, private. If a place is used to mark the gate, put the stop point next to the middle of the middle street segment.
  • Member Exit -- one one-way private segment. If a point place is used to mark the gate, put the stop point next to the middle of the private segment.
  • Member 2-way gate -- Three 2-way segments, in this order: private, street, private. If a place is used to mark the gate, put the stop point next to the middle of the middle (street) segment.
  • Closed Gates or fences -- these are closed nearly all the time, and only opened for special purposes -- disconnect the road at this point.
Application

A visitor entrance and visitor exit are combined as a

All types of Entrance and exit gates. courtesy ottonomy

If there is more than one entrance or exit, do not use any simple gates. Instead, select from the other types of gates.Usually, gates come in matched entrance/exit pairs, but sometimes a single member-only exit is located at some distance from any entrances in a gated community. Remember that if visitors and guests can use a gate at the same location, even if they have separate lanes, it is not normally necessary to create separate gates on the map. Simply use a visitor entrance or exit: Wazers can generally follow the signs to enter or exit via the correct lane.


Nested Private Installations

When one private installation is located inside another, simply follow the same rules to construct all the gates for the smaller installation within the larger.

Checking your work

Check your work. If you run into any routing problems, check the discussions on the forums and ask questions in chat.

  • Use the Waze Live Map to test routing between several pairs of test points inside and outside the installation.
  • choose both "from" and "to" destinations from the mobile app to see the routes.
  • Expect to see routes involving visitor gates.
  • Watch for User Reports in the area. If users complain Waze will not route them through member-only gates, point them to how to add a stop along the way to go through their preferred gate. Waze can only route through the visitors gates
  • if you have acces to the installation, try driving around outside, inside, from, and to the installation. Go off-route. Check that Waze re-routing makes sense -- routes in or out are always to the most sensible gate to reach your destination, not necessarily the nearest gate.

Optional ingredients

Gate Closures and Restrictions

If some gates are closed at certain times of day or days of the week, or on certain dates, use Scheduled Restrictions on the affected gate. Apply the restriction to just one gate segment. For a member entrance, apply it to the last-traversed (innermost) segment. Check to make sure entrance/exit pairs have the same closing hours.You can find the hours of gates or entry points through the private installation website or by calling the appropriate private installation authority.

Places or City Names

Small private installations are usually marked by a Area Place over their entire area. This does not make sense for larger private installations that might have other Places within them or that are actually cities. For these larger installations, use the city field of all street names to name the private installation.

If it meets any of these criteria, treat it as a city:

  • Does the state DOT consider it a city?
  • Does the US Post Office consider it a city with it's own zip code?
  • Is it large enough that an overall Area Place on the Private Installation would obscure finer detail Area Places below?

Finally, if the local community considers it a city like entity, then maybe it should have a City Name if it is large, or an Area Place if it is small.

For places within the installation, follow the guidelines for point and area places. Also consider marking the following as Places because they are critical navigation and destination points:

  • Entry/Exit gates (Place Area)
  • Visitor Centers (Place Area)
  • Museums and other similar visitor destinations
  • Memorials
  • Parade Fields
  • Items locally useful for navigation

Alerting other Editors

Lock the gate segments so beginner editors will not break them. If a road is permanently blocked, disconnect the road at that point and leave a note. To create a note, use the Live Map to report a map problem. Begin the description with [NOTE], give your username, and explain the edit.

Places with special rules

Military Bases and Government Installations

Do not mark specific locations with a Place unless the it his is already public information found on road maps or the installation's public website, in maps or directories. Secure installations often do not provide information about hangar numbers, building numbers, organizational names.

Landmarks (Places) approved for military bases

  • Commissary
  • PX/BX
  • Gas stations
  • Parks
  • Museums
  • Visitor Gates

Parking Lots

Paid parking lots and other parking facilities are to be mapped with parking lot roads, and not according to the Private Installation rules defined in this article. See Best map editing practice#Parking Lots.

Theme Parks

Publicly accessible roads in a theme park, even after a pay-station/gate, are to be mapped with parking lot roads, similarly to other paid parking lots. Furthermore, be careful with mapping the "backstage" private roads which are only to be used by employees. It may be wise to not map these roads, similarly to "air-side" airport roads as described below (but to a lesser extent), so that routes are given to the public entrance of the theme park facility.

Airports

Only map airport roads which are accessible to the public (terminal pick-up/drop-off roads, parking lot access roads, etc.). Do not map "air-side" restricted road networks that allow traffic for baggage carts, service vehicles, airplane fuel tankers, etc. Here's why:

  • Wazers use a variety of terms to search for airports. This means that, often, they wind up with a search result that came from a non-Waze service, and these are often closer to the air-side roads than to the public airport roads. Editors have carefully adjusted the map around most large airports to take this into account. Adding these private roads can cause Waze to route wazers to the "wrong side" of the airport through roads they will not be able to enter, and may cause them to miss their flights.
  • The private air-side roads often run close to public roads. GPS error can cause Waze to think wazers on a public road are actually on the private road.
  • Very few people use the private road network of an airport. A lot of people use an airport's public access roads.
  • For those who want to navigate to employee or service entrances, create point places.

We apologize to airport employees and service providers.

When public airports are within military bases, use care and creativity in deciding which airport roads and which base roads should and should not be mapped. Check routing after making any changes.