I have noticed that many walking trails in Austin are being mapped. Since Waze isn’t supposed to be for Walking, I find that interesting.
To make matters even more interesting, it appears that if a walking trail is nearby (like near a parking lot) and no real roads are nearby, Waze will try to route you onto the Walking Trail.
For now, I have put a Parking Lot road near the most recent occurrence of this here on Lady Bird Lake Trail:
Aren’t Walking Trails supposed to be ignored for routing???
My understanding was that as long as they are not connected to the remaining road network (much like Rail lines) no one would be routed via them.
That said I have not mapped any myself but as you stated I do see a fair number of them being mapped as well here in the DFW metroplex.
Should be, but there is no road type which is truly ignored. If it’s the only or best option to get to the destination, it will be used if it’s connected. This is why the wiki guidelines state what they do. (Wiki is acting funny today.)
I’ve seen instances (based on URs) where routing has occurred on walking trails, but it’s been two very rare occurrences, both in the DFW area.
The hiking trails I am having issue with have no intersections with drivable segments but are often very near parking lots with no drivable segments. Someone with Waze parks in the lot and when they ask for directions to leave they get routed on the walking trail.
My current solution of adding the parking lot segments seems to be the correct solution.
Personally I think the walking trails clutter the map in in some instances and often consider deleting them. I haven’t but it is tempting.
A bad GPS fix can sometimes snap you onto a non drivable road, even if it’s not connected.
Wow! I didn’t think of that eventuality. There are SEVERAL walking trails mapped in Austin that are parallel with a street and very very close. In one case there is a walking trail on both sides of the street as it crosses Town Lake. If I start seeing URs about this, I may have to delete the walking trail since I don’t see any other solution when the “snap to” happens.
So what is the moral of the story?
For instance this one: https://www.waze.com/editor/?lon=-96.75741&lat=32.97844&zoom=7&layers=TBFTFFTTTTTTTFTTTTTTTTTFTT&segments=73660891
University Trail is maybe 10-15 feet from Campbell road (fairly busy divided primary street). If a bad GPS lock would send people down that walking path it might make for some interesting news headlines…
I am deleting the majority of walking trails as I come across them or at least making the trail one entire segment, thereby eliminating any intersections with roads (for good measure I often change to -5 level too). So far I’ve never seen a routing issue but I just don’t like them on the map. Much in the same way I don’t like parking lot roads. I will starting calling out some frequent offenders in the area if you like…otherwise I am fine just spending most of my Waze time with mass deletions. Such a waste.
In some cases, close proximity to real roads makes it necessary to map these walking trails. The reason being that if a lot of the walkers/joggers/bicyclers are using Waze, they can pollute the speed data on the adjacent roads.
The Mississippi River levees around New Orleans are mapped for this reason so as not to constantly have traffic jams on the River Road.
It’s something that has to be done on a case-by-case basis. If a road adjacent to a walking trail is constantly showing red or yellow with a low speed, when there’s no actual traffic, then it’s time to add the walking trail.
You may get the occasional GPS lock onto the wrong road, but as long as the non-drivable road is not connected to anything else, it won’t be able to be used in routing.
Ok Jason, I see your point and will concur, based on speed data alone. You make a valid, well-argued point. Thank you for helping me understand the logic for some exception to my standard deletion technique. :o)
Thoughts on this? there is a UR here:
https://www.waze.com/editor/#?%23%3F=&zoom=6&lat=33.01975&lon=-96.73352&layers=TBFTFFTTTTTTTFTFTTTTTTTTTT&env=usa
Problem:
Chisholm trail in Plano, TX is a bike and walking trail. every morning it directs me to take the trail to work.
…looking up that particular trail its goes all the from:
https://www.waze.com/editor/#?%23%3F=&zoom=6&lat=33.01957&lon=-96.71144&layers=TBFTFFTTTTTTTFTFTTTTTTTTTT&env=usa
Northwesterly for a few miles and ends here:
What to do?
It doesn’t appear that the trail ever “connects” to the street system. I wonder where his home is and where his office is? His house probably backs onto the park where the trail runs and its closer to where his car is in the driveway than the street is. Same might be true of where he works.
To “fix” this you would have to know one or both endpoints and hope an addition of a parking lot or private road segment changes the “close to” issue.
This is just my guess however.
In looking at it, it doesn’t look like he lives near it, like it runs next to the back of his house, but he has to cross it at some point. I’ve got an inquiry in to him right now.
There seems to be a problem with a trail connected to a road here: https://www.waze.com/editor/#?%23%3F=&zoom=7&lat=33.06043&lon=-96.72671&layers=TBFTFFTTTTFTTFTTTTTTTTTTT&env=usa , https://www.waze.com/editor/#?%23%3F=&zoom=6&lat=33.06097&lon=-96.71617&layers=TBFTFFTTTTFTTFTTTTTTTTTTT&env=usa and https://www.waze.com/editor/#?%23%3F=&zoom=7&lat=33.06034&lon=-96.70995&layers=TBFTFFTTTTFTTFTTTTTTTTTTT&env=usa
I fixed all those. Thanks for the pointers.
I’m for the deletion of the walking trail. =\
Looks like the UR here: https://www.waze.com/editor/#?zoom=5&lat=33.02147&lon=-96.73157&layers=TBFTFFTTTTTTTFTFTTTTTTTTTT&env=usa is gone but your “fancy arrow” is still there? 
I didn’t get an email saying it was solved.
shrug …can only say that I no longer see it on the map…