Level 5 Update California Hayward SR 238 to I-580

Map Editors Community United States US Unlock And Update Requests
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My Level: 2

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I believe this was a recent change but can’t find any discussion of it here in the forum.

At the segment highlighted in my link, this section of freeway stops being SR 238, but all three lanes continue straight ahead to join I-580 E.

SR 238 actually continues off the freeway here at the Foothill Blvd exit and wanders off in a southerly direction as a boulevard, no longer a freeway.

The behavior I’d like addressed is elimination of the “Keep Left” instruction for vehicles remaining on the freeway, i.e. continuing to I-580. There is no “Keep Left” option here. All three freeway lanes continue straight ahead. For drivers wishing to remain on SR 238 (in other words exiting at Foothill), they must merge right into a dedicated exit lane – there is no fork in the freeway.

To complicate matters, the overhead signage marks this SR 238 to I-580 transition as “Exit 14,” (Street View Image), but a quarter mile further along the freeway, the cloverleaf ramp to I-580 W is also “Exit 14” (Street View Image). So for a route going towards Oakland, Waze might give the instruction,

“Keep Left to Exit 14: I-580 E, Oakland, Stockton, then Exit Right to Exit 14, I-580 W Oakland, Castro Valley” (which is also incorrect, incidentally: the signage only says “580 West: Oakland”)

2nd Permalink: exit to I-580 W: Oakland

I’ve noticed a few URs complaining of this, but they seem to disappear quickly, so I wonder if this was already discussed and decided upon to be this way.

From a technical standpoint, I understand the rational behind the current layout (because it’s signed as if the three freeways lanes are the exit). But from a day-to-day practical perspective, it’s incorrect – there is no fork, it’s straight as an arrow, and I can’t imagine a Waze user thinking they need to exit right and follow the SR 238 signage absent any such direction from Waze. Additionally, it potentially sets up an Oakland-bound driver in the incorrect lane for a right-hand exit.

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Your timing is close to perfect. In the last few months there has been discussion about this general topic and related topics in both national and local venues.

The problem originates with Waze’s inability to offer a “continue straight on xxx” instruction. This leads to situations where Waze remains silent despite a change in roadway configuration or designation.

At one time the prevailing mood among the US volunteer leadership was that, in many cases, editors should force Waze to alert drivers to signed changes in roadway configuration or designation, since that feedback would comfort drivers even if they didn’t need to do anything with the steering wheel. We would do this by shoehorning a “stay left” or “stay right” instruction in such locations since “continue” is unavailable.

This approach could be called “signs first” – the idea that if there is a sign, especially a big sign, it can be assumed that drivers will want to hear about it in the driving instructions even if that information comes along with an unnecessary “stay left” or “stay right”.

Unfortunately, though based on the best of intentions, “signs first” has had questionable value in practice. It turns out that telling drivers to stay left or right when that doesn’t match their perception on site can be even more confusing than telling them nothing at all.

This particularly affects drivers using the rightmost travel lane, because they can interpret “stay left” to mean they will have to merge left by at least one lane to prepare for an upcoming fork. (To be fair I’ve received pushback on this notion, but I don’t understand it; if one habitually remains in the rightmost travel lane every time one hears “stay left”, I believe one is likely to miss turns now and again.)

So, since those early days our rules and conventions have gradually shifted away from alerts such as the one you linked here. Very recent discussions support your perspective. I’ve gone ahead and removed the “stay left” since, as you say, all three travel lanes continue and there is no need to stay left. Not to mention the “Exit 14” that would happen twice to those bound for I-580W!

(p.s. Regarding the second part of your request, you are right, the name shows in WME as “Exit 14: I-580 W / Oakland, Castro Valley, California”. However, everything after the first comma is not included in the Waze driver instructions. The actual segment name is simply “Exit 14: I-580 W / Oakland”, which is correct. I’ve made no changes there.)