*UPDATED* Ramp naming convention proposal

[banished]

Though not without controversy, caused by me apparently, there is a current poll on this issue. It's linked in my signature block, below.

[sketch]

The conclusion was added to the first post about a month ago. I will be putting this up for a vote as soon as I can make the poll.

Our goal in the naming of ramps has always been to match road signage as directly as possible. This makes both editing and navigation clear, obvious, and non-ambiguous. You hear it on your speaker, you see it on your phone, and you read it on the sign, word for word.

In essence, this proposal is a standardized, compartmentalized naming system for ramps in the United States. I will give examples for every usage, but every example is a direct result of the standard system.

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Every ramp name, as signed, has elements in one or more of three essential component groups:
Exit numbers,
Highway designation shields, and
Road / City names.
The component groups are to be separated by a colon (:). The colon gives a long pause in text-to-speech (TTS) and is the most logical and compact punctuation mark for its task, implying relation but establishing a hierarchy (visual).

For a given ramp, each group may comprise multiple items or may be empty. If a group is empty, the group is omitted. If a group contains more than one item, the items within the group are to be separated by a slash (/). The slash is the most logical punctuation mark for its task, implying a list of alternatives which are more or less equivalent in importance.

Represented graphically, the essential formula is this:
[exit number]: [shields]: [names]

Expanded,
[exit number]: [shield] / [shield]: [name] / [name] / [name]
for an example with two shields and three city/street names.

As before, if no exit number exists, the shield or name will be preceded with "to ".

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Here are a number of examples, presented in bold with the old style in italics (if different) and the breakdown to essentials in normal text. Some street view links to signs are included as well.

to I-10 E -- to shield
to I-10 E: New Orleans -- to I-10 E / New Orleans -- to shield: name
to I-310 N / LA-3127 N: Donaldsonville / New Orleans -- to I-310 N / LA-3127 N / Donaldsonville / New Orleans -- to shield / shield: name / name -- http://g.co/maps/pgcx2
to Loyola Ave -- to name
to Causeway Blvd S -- to name
to Carondelet St / St Charles Ave -- to name / name -- http://g.co/maps/hvxgt
to Causeway Blvd N / Mandeville -- to name / name
to Clearview Pkwy S / Huey Long Bridge -- to name / name
Exit 16: Diamondhead -- exit: name
Exit 228: Causeway Blvd / Mandeville -- exit: name / name
Exit 234A: US-90 Business: Westbank -- Exit 234A: US-90 Business / Westbank -- exit: shield: name
Exit 220: I-310 S: Boutte / Houma -- Exit 220: I-310 S / Boutte / Houma -- exit: shield: name / name -- http://g.co/maps/erw3r
Exit 246A: I-510 S / LA-47 S: Chalmette -- Exit 246A: I-510 S / LA-47 S / Chalmette -- exit: shield / shield: name
Exit 246B: LA-47 N: Little Woods -- Exit 246B: LA-47 N / Little Woods -- exit: shield: name
Exit 246A-B: I-510 S / LA-47: Chalmette / Little Woods -- Exit 246A-B: I-510 S / LA-47 / Chalmette / Little Woods -- exit: shield / shield: name / name -- http://g.co/maps/uy7w5
Exit 2: SR-607: NASA John C Stennis Space Center / Waveland -- Exit 2: SR-607 / NASA John C Stennis Space Center / Waveland -- exit: shield: name / name

Anything underlined and red (typically slashes: /) was not included in the original standards but has since been hastily added. For instance, the original standard called for "to I-10 E New Orleans".

Everything within the parts follows from the sign itself and using our existing naming standards. A split-numbered exit written on its signs as "Exit 246A-B" is to be labeled "Exit 246A-B", not "Exits 246A-B", "Exit 246A/B", "Exits 246A, 246B", "Exits 246A-246B", "Exit 246A - B", or any other way.

Exits without numbers are treated the same way as entrance ramps. There are examples of both in the list.

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Additionally, this proposal includes one entirely new naming convention: pathfinder or reassurance signs.

Typical exits come from the rightmost lanes of an interstate highway. Sometimes, this isn't the case, a reality that can be especially problematic when an exit on the left takes up as many or more lanes as the continuation of the interstate does. Here are a few:

I-10 E: New Orleans Business District -- http://g.co/maps/u2n5g
I-10 E: Slidell -- http://g.co/maps/ztzs7
I-10 E: Bay St Louis -- http://g.co/maps/uu8nm

This is the only case where the "to" is omitted with no exit number. In this case, "to" is misleading, since you are already on the indicated road and wish to remain on that road.

This is not necessarily required for every case in which a pathfinder is used; they're relatively common. When there are many lanes of travel going to an exit, especially when the exit is on the left and/or to another freeway, it's certainly worth considering.

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That's basically it. There are a few intricacies for making the pathfinders work and for exits with separate signs but one ramp (at first) that I may include later. This is effectively what the OP of the poll will say, though, once I am able to create it.

[invented]

This is another case where there's no reason to mess with convention. "to" is a small formality designed to keep ramps from being selected by the Select All Streets tool.

Where is the "Select All Streets" tool? I searched Google and the only thing I can find is another thread where you talked about it.

He means "Select Entire Street". It's the big gray button under all the segment and update data on the lower left hand side of the editor.

Ah. That is a pretty substantial typo.

[doomedtx]

FWIW, WME seems to be auto-capitalizing street names now, so all my recent "to I-40 xxxx" entries are coming out as "To I-40 xxxx." It's not retroactive so ramps named before the WME change still show "to."

[jasonh300]

FWIW, WME seems to be auto-capitalizing street names now, so all my recent "to I-40 xxxx" entries are coming out as "To I-40 xxxx." It's not retroactive so ramps named before the WME change still show "to."

It's been mentioned in another thread that "to" will be exempted from the auto-capitalization.


I'm not drunk...I'm using Tapatalk.

[doomedtx]

FWIW, WME seems to be auto-capitalizing street names now, so all my recent "to I-40 xxxx" entries are coming out as "To I-40 xxxx." It's not retroactive so ramps named before the WME change still show "to."

It's been mentioned in another thread that "to" will be exempted from the auto-capitalization.

It might be exempted in the future, but it's not currently, and that's a recent change for me. I've edited dozens of on-ramps in the last month using "to," and today all the on-ramps auto-correct to "To."

[kentsmith9]

To clarify for others, when you enter the lower case "to xxxx..." it appears to accept it at that point on your screen, but after you Save changes, it reverts to "To xxx..."