In general, I think some editors are far too quick to split, but in this case, there are stores, apartments, and even three small parking areas between the EB and WB lanes. Locating and navigating to these establishments is more difficult, requiring places and addresses located directly in the middle of the road. (Edit the house numbers, and you will see them lined up right on top of the street segment.) Most are only accessible from the WB direction (see examples in the street views below), which will not be understood by the navigation software; the current positioning of the addresses has them slightly on the EB side.
I wish there were less splitting going on! I see split roads all the time with medians only a few feet wide.
I don’t agree on your analysis of the trace gap. Bear in mind that we’re only talking about a length of 3-4 blocks here; the rest of the road has no gap at all. But the section in question has a much more distinct gap than US 101, a short distance to the east.
In terms of point 3, the establishments in the center median can be accessed only from the westbound side of the street. Someone traveling eastbound would be told “you have arrived at your destination” when they are just south of where they’re headed, with no way to park or get to it. They could park on the south side of the street and run across traffic (no crosswalks), or just stop in the left lane next to their destination. To really get where they’re going, they would need to figure out that they have to drive to the end of the block, take a U-turn, and approach from the other direction.
When looking at the address situation, I discovered a curious thing. The addresses along this section are all attached to the road at very long, acute angles. I left them that way so that you (and others weighing in) could see them; I’ll fix them as soon as this question is resolved, one way or another. This is likely the result of someone unsplitting the road, and not following the procedure properly. (Sadly, I know because I’ve done it.) Meaning that this was previously split and someone thought it shouldn’t be and undid it.
I’m waiting for an Area Manager or State Manager to weigh in. They cruise this forum pretty regularly; if one doesn’t post soon, I’ll ping them. Thanks again for your opinions!
I would concur that this stretch of Red Hill and 4th St would be better divided.
The main deciding factor is the presence of many addresses accessible only from one direction over long enough distances that the driver can’t immediately see how to navigate there. In the case with the massive median populated by buildings, the driver going the “wrong” way might not be able to see the destination at all, but would nevertheless be told he had arrived and left to fend for himself. That’s not cricket.
If the destination addresses were larger, and all accessed via PLRs, one could argue that the road remain undivided and routing handled via carefully-set PLR turn restrictions. But that’s not the case here, we have many, many little destinations and putting in tiny PLRs for every one of them would be a nasty wiki-violating mess. Oh! I don’t even want to think about it.
Splitting is a fair bit of work and requires care to ensure minimal loss of segment speed data and extreme care to set all turn restrictions correctly before leaving. If you don’t have practice at it, you might want to do it a bit at a time and ask for a review here or via PM. When you’re through, please keep a close eye for URs. If it’s as heavily traveled as you say, it shouldn’t take long for any negative feedback from drivers.
I’ve done some unsplitting under tutelage from tonestertm, so I’m aware of the factors involved. I’ll reread the wiki first. It’s only a few blocks, so it shouldn’t be that bad. We should consider a level 4 lock when we’re done, as it seems a level 3 editor unsplit this previously. I’ll keep you posted, thanks!
It does seem like some of the stuff in the median warrants PLRs, since vehicles can stop, park, and in some cases drive some distance on the median. It would appear to Waze that they’ve stopped in the middle of the road, messing with speed statistics, yes? Not for every destination, just those that have actual parking within the median. Your thoughts?
Alright, have a look, please, and let me know how I did. I had to search a bit to figure out which segment the addresses were attached to, but I found and realigned them. (They were already out of whack; whoever unsplit the road didn’t realign them.) I mapped only one of the three parking areas in the median, because of its length. Someone driving along it will mess up the speed statistics for the nearby road segments. Two things I’m still not sure of:
o Addresses 101 and 111 don’t appear to be associated with buildings, either in the satellite view or Google street view. I’m fine to leave them; it’s just puzzling.
o It’s possible that the at-grade connector from Red Hill Ave eastbound to Sequoia Rd northbound should be mapped. It’s just long enough that it might cause problems.
Quality control, please! And if you like it, please lock the one-way segments of Red Hill Ave at 4.
Feel free to delete house numbers that can’t be associated with destinations despite a hearty attempt to do so. The house number import wasn’t perfect.
Regarding that AGC-style left-turn lane, I would say there is no need at all to map it separately. The distances are under 30 m. I don’t start thinking AGC until we get around 50 m away. If you’re curious, I wrote up a wiki article on when AGCs are necessary. Gives you an idea of my own perspective. Please note I have not submitted it for review so it is all just one person’s opinion.
My editable area doesn’t include the North Bay so I’m afraid I can’t lock it any higher. Could you PM me the name of the Rank 3 editor who appears to have undivided it so inexpertly? Not here in the thread, please, but a PM would be great.
I am curious! Loved the article. Addresses deleted; couldn’t find anything there with an internet search, except a real estate listing for vacant commercial property (i.e. no building).
Thanks so much for your help with this! I feel my skills are really developing. I’ll communicate everything else via PM.