I’m a new Waze user based in Watford, Herts, and I’ve been correcting some easy problems I’ve seen reported on the map in my home town. One junction is a bit awkward to draw on the map (even more awkward to drive in real life!) and I just wanted some feedback from more experienced users to check that I’ve not messed it up:
To be honest, it would be tricky to describe this junction (and how appalling the layout is - it usually results in gridlock when the traffic is anything other then very light) in words, but this image from street view hopefully pulls it all together:
It is rather complex. My temptation would be to simply have the end of Longspring as a single two-way segment joining the A412 at an H-junction. However, it’s by no means the most complicated junction I’ve seen.
I’m going to make a couple of simplifications to it - I’m posting first in case someone else has the same idea! I’ll post again when I’m done explaining what I did.
Gaaah! Road layer’s being a right pain at the moment. :evil:
The first change I made was to this segment of Longspring. I changed the angles where it splits from the northbound lane of Longspring to make sure you get a keep left/keep right at that junction.
I then extended it directly across the north-bound A412 to join the south-bound A412 south of the other junction. This means that you don’t have to restrict any turns at the junction and makes it a lot simpler to maintain - there is only one turn restriction needed, to prevent the u-turn when coming south on the A412.
I also tweaked the crossing segment for turning right from A412 s/b onto Longpring to hopefully give a “turn right” followed by no instruction, and also to make it reasonable clear in the editor what is going where. In the client, those two segments that cross will probably not even be distinguishable.
I should also say “well done” :mrgreen: Nothing you had done was actually wrong - I think it would all have worked fine. The changes I have made were just aimed at simplifying it a bit.
It’s an easy trap to fall into as a new editor - I certainly did myself. You find a complicated junction that isn’t working right and you immediately want to add every lane and intersection and restriction to get the perfect match to reality. The problem is that you end up with something you just barely understand. In 3 months time when something goes wrong, nobody (including yourself) can quite work it out. At the end of the day, we are not guide dogs for the thinking-impaired driver. A simpler junction in combination with the advance warnings from the nav instructions is probably just as good for navigation purposes and much easier to maintain as editors. KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid - is a phrase well-worth remembering when you’re editing.
Just for comparison, have a look at the Catford one-way system (not my work but I live within a mile of it). Despite reality containing many turning lanes & apparent complexity, this dead simple set of Waze junctions has not generated a single UR that I’ve seen in the 9 months I’ve been editing
Thanks Ian, I agree your changes do seem to make it a bit simpler. The UR I originally saw didn’t have the right turn from Longspring onto the A412 which is the problem I was trying to correct. This is the first junction I’ve done - glad I didn;t make a total hash of it!
Wise words indeed! I guess the trick is to abstract what instructions the nav should be giving from the actual road layout as with the Catford example you give.
The junction can be simplified by just getting rid of that piece of dualing on A412 - St. Albans Rd - it overly comlicates things, and looks like it’s just there for visual appeal on that junction.
The Longspring junction at 90 degrees to the A412 can then just be restricting the left into St. Albans with all other turns allowed.
Longspring’s AT-grade that joins up to A412 can be a one way section, ensuring that the start of the one way does not allow turning into Longspring from the A412 and then right again onto the Longspring ‘slipway’ which this segment currently (incorrectly) does. If simplified, you should also ensure no right turn is allowed from the one-way section of Longspring into the A412.
Thank Carel. I’ll revisit this junction when I get time. I see what you mean about changing it to a single lane - it does seem a bit over complex as it currently is.
