I was wondering if there is a way that closures can be open to all map editors regardless of their level. Often, major roads and on/off ramps are locked to a high level as they don’t change very often. The problem is that lower level editors may live in the area and are the most knowledgeable about construction in their area. A closure should be able to be put in by anyone. A closure is hard to do on the app as you are usually driving past the closure and ramps are hard to select on the app. Closures and construction should be able to be input by any map editor and then can be cleared by either the user who input the construction or a higher level editor. Thoughts?
My thought is no. Too much chance for abuse by another thinking they are helping. There are several ways to get a hold of a senior editor to make a closure for you. There is the closure request form, find someone on chat, PM to your state manager, and Google hangouts is a popular way to get a hold of someone. We have a Great Lakes region Google hangout that an RC has used to get ahold of one of us at a computer to enter a closure.
Sorry, I’m on my phone and don’t have any of the links handy right now.
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I agree with BigBear, too much at stake when you open that up to lower level editors. Use the closure form/forum, or SM/RC for emergency closures.
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I’d like to see the same permissions for closures as we have for time restrictions now. At a basic level they have the same effect: they block routing through that segment or through multiple segments. When I can set a time restriction to a certain segment, I should be able to set a closure on that segment too.
I don’t need the real-time closure functionality at my level though, I don’t have that with time-restrictions either so that can be restricted to L4 and up as far as I 'm concerned. Only being able to set closures that will become active in the future and after a next tile update is good enough.
Now…, that’s what I’d like to see, I do realize that closures have a real-time behavior and that they actually run on top of the other features (which is why they lock segments from being edited when a closure is active on it, …). Still, would be nice 
On the ‘Potential for abuse’-part. There are a lot more options than closures to get less traffic through your own neighborhood and these other options are far less visible than closures:
- changing streets to private roads (or only one or two segments, enough to get a reroute to another area)
- setting turn restrictions to red: very hard to see on the map and they are typically only detected when map reports are popping up
There is potential for abuse with road closures, but you have the same with time based segment restrictions, turn restrictions, road types, …
Thank you for the feedback and sorry that it took so long to reply. I understand the ability for abuse. I was really thinking that a map editor with their home in the area would be able to set the closure. What if we allowed the lower level editors to set the closure for 24 hours and automatically PM the SM or RC for final approval? Here in the mountains, if an exit is closed, you may have to travel several miles before you can turn around. As I stated in the OP, trying to mark a closure on the fly is very difficult. You can’t zoom in enough to easily select an off ramp when you are driving by on the interstate. I guess for now I will keep an eye on the construction reports and get a message to an appropriate map editor to set and clear the closures.
On the Waze app you can set the report for later, continue your journey, and when you are at a safe condition to use your phone, resume you report.
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In theory, yes. In my experience, it doesn’t always work in practice, especially for closure reports.
I’m strongly in favour of making it possible to mark road closures using the map editor.
Currently, for instance, a fairly major junction in the city where I live is closed from several directions, but Waze still didn’t know about it after more than a week. Even if I had been able to send a report while driving (which I can’t because it’s illegal to use a mobile phone while driving in the UK, as in several other places), it would only have related to the direction from which I approached the closure. Instead, I would have liked to have waited until I was at home, and marked all the details of the closure, from all affected approaches.
David
This is already possible to editors after they’ve reached a certain level. Check with your country managers for more details as each country can choose the level at which its editors are able to edit closures on WME. In some countries I know, when you don’t have the level yet, you can still input a closure info through a Google Form so that higher level editors can add it for you.
Thank you - yes, I did know that, but I don’t understand why I shouldn’t be allowed to do it myself!
David
Well the needed level is a safety feature, there are many reasons why every new editor shouldn’t be able to affect traffic with closures that apply in real-time from WME.
That is why as I said above there are forms that you can use to report it. To add an example this time: US Closure request form
If you are still far from reaching the editor level required, you should know that you may request from your country’s Local/Global Champs to allow you to use this feature in WME earlier in a certain area. But that is something you need to speak with them about.