Hello Michigan!

By now you've heard of and/or seen the Large Area Manager program that has been implemented throughout the GLR. This program was created to ensure that in addition to the State Managers having complete access to the state, every square inch would also be able to be covered by a dedicated area manager. We've been working hard on the details, and we're happy to announce that Michigan is ready to join the region at large in this effort!

This Large Area Manager initiative divided up the Michigan map into five areas, utilizing the MDOT region map as well as some tweaks to make the areas work for our purposes. As this is a region-wide program, we look to build upon the experiences put forth by the rest of the states in the region and work to improve the experience for everyone involved.

The original high-level vision/hopes for the Large Area Manager role - again subject to minor tweaks:

• Establish Baseline
  • Update segments with unknown direction/clearly-incorrect names (segments from initial basemap import are very common in rural portions of the state even to this day)
  • Implement proper Functional Classification for all segment based on national guidance (the majority of counties have never been brought into full compliance)
  • Ensure all segments are locked to minimum lock level appropriate for their segment type (and requesting uplock for those that they cannot currently lock themselves)
  • Help track progress of conformance to things like county/state-wide naming, Speed Limit verification by road type,etc.
• Regular Upkeep
  • UR/MP Management: perform frequent, regular User Report/Map Problem passes over their entire area in accordance with the recently-standardized UR Management System (may need to be logged into the wiki to see the new content, use your WME username/password)
  • Unlock/Update forum response: monitor Unlock/Update forum for any posts about their area and respond or assist directly or escalate as needed
  • Construction/Closures: responsible for staying current on all major construction projects, ensuring realtime closures are entered into the system as needed. Encouraged to establish ongoing relationships with municipal/county/MDOT representatives in their areas
• Mentoring/outreach: proactively seek out new editors and encourage them to join the community, stay in regular contact with existing editors who work within their LAMs and work to help them improve/expand skillsets and knowledge bases
• Rapid Reponse: lead the response coordination effort for unplanned traffic disruptions in their area (e.g., freeway closure due to major accident)

The map of areas is shown below (an interactive map can be found here): Our current Large Area Managers are named as follows:

UP Area: kirkyelise
North Area: falco_sparverius
Bay Area: JB15TM
Metro Area: vaindil

We're currently seeking capable editors to fill the positions of the UP and West LAM. Please reach out to myself or Doryphore_6 if you have questions about the role and qualifications.

Please take a moment to congratulate the newest LAMs, and let's all work together to make this program a success!