*UPDATED* Ramp naming convention proposal

[AlanOfTheBerg]

I'm ok with the double colon idea for exit ramps, but I do think it looks odd like others have noted. Even though it is two more characters, I personally prefer "Exit 220: I-310 S to Boutte / Houma". Due to screen space available, it's not optimal, of course, but it's more accurate. For really long signs with multiple routes and control cities, a colon or "to" isn't going to make a difference on what fits on the screen because most of it doesn't anyway.

On-ramp naming has long been a peeve of mine. I think we can have it such that if there is a control city or destination, we can eliminate the word "to" and use the convention similar to off-ramps. But if there is only a ramp going to a route, then having the word "to" remains important to keep the ramp name different from the route.

[AlanOfTheBerg]

Exit 298: 1-176 / PA-10: Morgantown / Reading

That's how I do it now, but to make the TTS sound best, I think it would be Exit 298: I-176 to Morgantown / PA-10 to Reading.

[AlanOfTheBerg]

I still maintain adding a pause for a slash will benefit us the most

I can't imagine why it's taking so stinking long to get it implemented. It was supposed to be a fairly easy adjustment on the routing server.

[AlanOfTheBerg]

The only exception I employ for not putting ALL the info on the sign into a single segment is when a ramp exits to two distinct exits and the BGS for the first ramp shows both the exit numbers.

For example, ramp exits with BGS showing "Exit 12A: I-95 N / Cityname1 ; Exit 12B: I-95 S / Cityname2" and then down the ramp is a split in some manner into both ramps. This BGS is too long for a single segment name to be useful and to have TTS fit into an announcement before the next split into the actual ramp happens. TTS would be too late.

The standard agreed to in previous ramp name threads (I think it was agreed to) is to not name the first segment, and let the next ramp segments be named and propagate "backward" so that if the driver is heading to 12A, they will get "Exit 12A: I-95 N / Cityname1" for the first exit and the next, which will match part of the first BGS they see, and will match the second BGS they see.

[AlanOfTheBerg]

...Take the above exit sign example and suppose I-XX and US-YY overlap and US-ZZ leads to both City 2 and City 3. Then you going to have the segment labeled:

"Exit ##: I-XX / US-YY: City 1 / US-ZZ: City 2 / City 3"

To me, that gets really confusing because we are mixing the slashes for the overlap and using a slash to parse the second road out (US-ZZ) and then using another slash for City 2 / City 3. So the slashes lose their meaning rather quickly becuase they are used in multiple scenarios....

I've got some signs that are nearly as messy. The way I'd like to hear this read to me is:

"Exit to the right at exit xx <pause> I-XX <pause> US-YY to City 1 and US-ZZ to City 2 <pause> City 3"

Just like the second colons actually sitting there meaning the word "to", the second slash really is meaning "and." If we just had that TTS field which could read different text than the segment was actually named...

[AlanOfTheBerg]

Hang on, Alan, when did we decide to add this to the wiki?

http://www.waze.com/wiki/index.php?titl ... ldid=14856

This is a place where I thought "to I-10 E: New Orleans" was a no-brainer.

It was to match the 2nd item in the list which shows a street name and control city.

[AlanOfTheBerg]

Hang on, Alan, when did we decide to add this to the wiki?

http://www.waze.com/wiki/index.php?titl ... ldid=14856

This is a place where I thought "to I-10 E: New Orleans" was a no-brainer.

It was to match the 2nd item in the list which shows a street name and control city.

Well, so that section was ambiguous as the 2nd item in the list had the slash but the first didn't, so I standardized it by adding the slash to the prior sentence and the first example.

The fourth example, added on Dec 5, included the slash between the street name and control city, so it made sense to clarify when the slash is used and not. The 3 examples in the bulleted list had two with a slash and one without, so majority ruled.

[AlanOfTheBerg]

The problem with having unnamed segments where traffic actually flows is you get really strange automatically generated reports.

True, but also no less "strange" than having multiple morning reports on all 12 on-ramps to the same highway. When Waze changes the alerts to be useful, such as the using the parent street in the information for on-ramps, that will be nice. "Heavy traffic on US-9 on-ramp from 15th St." is sooo much more friendly and helpful than "Heavy traffic reported on to US-9."

[AlanOfTheBerg]

The standard has always only included the word "Exit" for exits from a freeway (limited access)—either "Exit xxx: Road" or "Exit to Road". Ramps onto freeways from roads that are not limited-access have always just been "to Road".

Why? Why is a ramp from a non-freeway to a freeway not worthy of an "Exit Right" announcement? I'm not talking about turning lanes here, true ramps.

For unnumbered "Exits" from US or state routes, I also often use "Exit to <city>" or "Exit to <road>" as it is the best way to be clear to the driver in TTS.

I also still disagree with the use of the second colon. I don't like how it looks and I don't like the TTS for it. It is still most clear to use "to" instead of ":" but I do understand the need for some brevity, screen real estate/width available for characters, etc. Conversely, with good TTS, we shouldn't have to look at the screen for the info but just be able to drive and listen to the announcement, which is where having the "to" is better. If we could get Waze to announce every ":" after the first one which is combined with the word "Exit," as a "to" instead of a pause, that would be ideal(er). That all being said, I would fall in the with majority vote as this isn't a HUGE deal.

[andrewfatcat]

How about "Exit 220: I-310 S (to Boutte / Houma)" or "Exit 220: I-310 S (Boutte/Houma)"
So people will know the information inside the parentheses is additional or detailed. This makes it more clear.

I agree with what sketch prposed. Spelling out direction for the entrance ramp is a good idea because that still makes the select-entire-street function work if the "to" is removed and directions still stay abbreviated in highway names. Plus unlike exit ramps, an entrance ramp contains much less info. so spelling out won't make the description too long.

Another thing I can think of is using "Entrance: I-10 W" just like we use "Exit" for the exit ramps.