Hello all, greetings from above the Mason-Dixon. I want to bring up the subject of the 295 exit of 95 S near Richmond VA https://www.waze.com/en-US/editor?zoom=5&lat=37.676949&lon=-77.44979&mapUpdateRequest=8870118&env=usa. I drive through VA infrequently, but when I do its straight through from PA to NC along the 95/85 corridor. Generally, I’m using the Express Lanes and/or the left lane trying to cut my time as much as I can. Each time I make this drive, I usually leave a UR here that a wayfinder should be established.
For reference, here is the current USA guidance for wayfinders and when they should be established
At this interchange, the left travel lane of 95 S becomes an exit only to 295, the 2nd lane can go to 95 or 295 and the other 2 lanes are for 95 S. Based on the above, I feel that a wayfinder is warranted. I understand this has been discussed previously, and an informal decision has been made to deviate from the national guidance and not do wayfinders for a single lane drop on the left. If that is the case, I suggest that this be codified either in the VA or MAR wiki so visiting editors know that this has been reviewed and decided upon, or that wayfinders be established in accordance with the above.
I’ve discussed this with the VA SMs. They have not had any other URs there but will monitor the location and reconsider if the area receives other URs.
I would like to clarify that the USA wiki says a wayfinder is warranted in the following cases. FWIW, synonyms for “warranted” are “permitted” and “allowed”, not “required” or “necessary”. It is up to local leadership to decide whether or not to add one and they don’t believe one is needed here.
I personally don’t feel that MAR or Virginia needs to specifically prohibit it in the local wiki just to avoid one in this location. There may be places in the region that we do want to put one (or may already have) and there is no conflict with the USA wiki as it is written now.
I missed the last line of the quote because I did not feel it would be required for this discussion, however…
“In these cases, we need to use a wayfinder configuration.” I’d rather not get into semantics regarding the word warranted, and the intent of the writer of the article. However, the last line is pretty clear that if the criteria spelled out is reached, there is an expectation of a wayfinder being established.
I’m not suggesting it be prohibited, just that the decision has been made to not utilize a wayfinder in this (or similar scenarios) in all cases. From what I’ve seen it’s mostly true, but a few have been set up with a single lane drop on the left within MAR. This would still allow flexibility but lets others from outside the region know there isn’t strict adherence to the wayfinder criteria.
Here’s a older forum submission to the USA wiki on the topic, where general consensus was to leave the current direction in place and the proposal to refine the criteria was withdrawn. https://www.waze.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1636&t=288261
The whole purpose of the wayfinder is to give direction when it is unclear how to proceed on the current road. In our discussions we do not feel that this interchange needs the added instruction. As previously stated, it does not appear to be an issue for most drivers,
That’s all well and good. I understand and have no qualms with the decision to not implement the wayfinder there.
The ask then becomes, to codify & formalize in the wiki that VA/MAR has decided to review wayfinders due to single lane drops on a case by case basis. There’s other instances in which different regions have decided to differ, and MAR itself doesn’t use the continue TIO guidance (which might be a good spot to place this). But as a visiting editor, it appears to be an oversight versus a informed decision.
Hi - I also as a visiting editor flagged this location as one that meets the criteria for a wayfinder. I have no issue with local leadership deciding to forego the wayfinder here if it has been found that it is not a junction that has the degree of confusion that would justify the extra interruption.
However, I also noticed that the setup of the junction appears that there may have been a wayfinder there at one time, as there is a small 6 meter segment named for the non-existent wayfinder instruction. The instruction is not firing as there’s no TIO. I recommend deleting the 6 meter segment altogether and consider placing a map comment there.