I have been a delivery driver and a cab driver in my area for over 20 years, off and on. I know this area like the back of my hand but can not make changes to most of it because I am only a level 1 editor and assume that someone who has added a ton of bad info is a level 2 or 3 editor.
The major city I live near has accurate information but the suburbs and rural areas are really boogered up. There are a lot of “nicknames” for roads and side streets that people are using as legit names. There are also a lot of SR (State Routes) that have multiple names… the mailing addresses are the ones that count.
For example: SR 305 has 5 different names in my delivery area…
Wilson Sharpsville Rd, Center St E, Center St W, Oak Hill Dr, State Rd, and, of course, a small section is actually SR 305.
It’s not just Waze but even Google that never seems to listen to those of us that know this area. I can’t get anyone to change things that need to be changed so it is easier to find one’s destination.
I don’t need GPS to know were I am going but would like to make it easier on those that do use these tools. I have a 100 square mile delivery area and can, literally, tell you the color of the house 50% of the time when you give me an address!
I can not do 1,000 edits because most are locked. I don’t know other areas so i would not feel comfortable editing them.
Let me give you an example:
nearly 100 years ago there was a road called State Rd in Southington, Ohio. That road’s name was changed to Painesville Warren Rd and all the locals started calling it Old State Rd. If you look at a modern map the road is called Painesville Warren State Rd.
The truth of the matter is the road is just simply Painesville Warren State Rd and the nick name is Old State (Original name State Rd).
This confusion dates back to when the U.S. started creating SR (State Routes) in the 1920’s. Road names were changed but locals kept the old names.
That particular Rd is still coming up on Waze as “Old State” because someone my age, I’m 52, or older edited it that way. If you actually drive out there and look at both ends of the road you will see signs that say “Painesville Warren State Rd”.
This road is, and has been for many many years, Painesville Warren State Rd. This is the mailing address and the actual physical address:
Painesville Warren State Rd, Southington Ohio 44470
The zip was added in the 1960’s.
