Ok, so this is a semi-revival of an older post about locking highways in the state of South Carolina. We shall abbreviate with A/B/C, where A is the locking standard of a Major Highway, B is the locking standard of a Minor Highway, and C is the locking standard of a Primary Street. These are the current conditions:

Freeways are locked at 5
Ramps are locked at the level of the highest connecting segment
In Urban Areas: 3/2/1
In Coastal Areas: 4/3/2
In Rural Areas: 2/1/1

I would like crazycaveman to explain this in more detail, but my understanding is that he is suggesting that as rural areas are "completed" their locking standards should be moved up to the same 3/2/1 system used in urban areas. I do not currently know what he entails in "completed" nor do I know what this means for other areas of the state. I have myself been considering looking into upping urban areas to a 3/3/2, a 3/3/1, or a 3/2/2 system.

Remember, locks are very important. Under-locking can open up the map to unnecessary damage. However, over-locking can depress our ability to attract new editors as they will find they cannot edit many things in their areas. This can be especially powerful in areas where there is a high density of higher-type roads, such as the downtown areas of our largest cities. Anybody is welcome to comment their opinions here about how we should approach our locking standards.

In addition, we have begun working on a map showing which areas are considered "urban" versus "rural" versus "coastal". This map will in the future show the Coastal Area and the Urban Areas following their respective standards, non-base areas where a unique situation has earned higher-than-normal locking (see downtown Aiken), and individual routes locked at a high level due to their abnormally high importance (think US 521 going to Myrtle Beach). Everything not falling into these areas or routes will follow the rural standard.

This map is an early work-in-progress and currently only has the Coastal Area mapped. In the future it is planned that Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Columbia, Rock Hill, Aiken/North Augusta, Florence, and Sumter will be at least a part of an Urban Area. It can be viewed by clicking on this link. If you desire editing permissions, please contact me via PM. As before, anyone is welcome to give their opinion on this.