Hi,

As a warning, this is lengthy and covers an email conversation thread with a Google map editor, but the content is important and has a significant impact on waze map editing.

Per this FAQ wiki, waze predominately gets POI and street address information directly from Google.

https://wiki.waze.com/wiki/FAQ#What_do_ ... ocation.3F

Where this wiki is wrong is that the waze routing server *WILL* use the waze addresses if they exist in the waze map and will not query Google for the GPS location (even if Google does return a result, verified through personal experience). In many parts of the lower mainland, there are discontinuous streets of the same name. Apparently the Google search engine estimates address locations and all results for the estimation are returned to the waze search engine. It's up to the user to decide which one to pick as the correct location. This results in some users being routed to *VERY* wrong locations.

It was my understanding that this is corrected through the Google Map Maker interface by deleting the incorrect location pins, hence the following conversation with a senior map editor:

Flash:
Hello,

Address markers in Map Maker are a bit tricky. If the address marker does not exist when you search for it; the system will show you were it estimates it to be. To tell if it's an estimate or an actual maker, click on the History tab to see if it has a history. If it doesn't exist already and you ask to edit it in any way, the system then creates the marker for you to edit.

What has happened here is that the marker didn't exist; it was just an estimate, and you asking to edit it caused it to be created. But making your edit a deletion is not going to change where the estimated position is set.

Instead what we do with misplaced Address markers, which this is now one, is to move them to the correct position. You do this simply by grabbing it and dragging it. It should be placed at the front door/main entrance of the place to which it belongs.

Could you please undo this edit and move the marker instead?
This edit was marked for Auto denial

Kayos:
OK, thanks, I did not realize this was how these location pins worked. Just so I'm clear, searching for this address actually returned four location pins, only one of which was correct (Pin B). Should they all be moved to the correct location rather than deleted?
Now that I've looked at the incorrect location pins, clicking on history just says that history cannot be generated. Is this because they are estimates?

Flash:
You only need to move them if they have a history; if not they are just predicted spots.

The problem will be on common in Langley; namely that the road that are not continuous have not been named so that the system recognizes them as one road and/or that they address ranges for the roads have not been set or are set incorrectly.

I've been trying to fix them as I find them; I'll see if I can do 210 St next, though it might take me a bit.
This edit was marked for Auto denial

Kayos:
OK, I think I understand, but that doesn't really help me. I am a Waze map editor and the routing system returns all google hits for the address. If the user does not select the correct location, they will obviously be sent to the wrong location. The wiki for this issue is to delete the incorrect pins, hence my actions. Now you are saying don't delete them (because this will create them) and don't move them. How are these issues to be resolved as there a lots of discontinuous same name roads throughout the Metro Vancouver area?

Flash:
We do not map based on any instructions from the Waze wiki. That particular information is incorrect/incomplete.

The issue requires people that understand Map Maker at a deep level and have the edit and review trust to make the edits. You can do them, but you would need to learn the reasons why it is happening and until trust is built up you would need to wait for reviews.

The experienced editors and reviewers are free to work on whatever they wish, so I cannot promise you that anyone will fix this soon.

That begs the question of how these duplicate location pins should be dealt with going forward as I don't get the sense from this editor that there is much interest in correcting these errors. Should the drive be to enter house numbers into the waze map per this wiki:

https://wiki.waze.com/wiki/House_Numbers_in_WME

This would theoretically resolve the issue and break the reliance on Google information where there are errors in the returned search information.

What are everyone's thoughts on this?

Kayos