PROPOSAL:
Map any driveway longer than 800m (2625ft or about 1/2-mile). (See Ref. 1)

BACKGROUND:
Montana (see Ref. 2), as with many western states, has large areas of private property in rural areas. Access to residences on these properties is often via long private driveways. Montana currently follows national guidance (see Ref. 3) on driveways, which prohibits mapping of driveways under 50m (164ft), and over 50m ONLY if the driveway meets certain conditions. None of those conditions apply.

RATIONALE/IMPACT:

• 1. Eliminates the present 50m restriction on mapping driveways that serve a single residence, but ONLY when the driveway is 800m long, or more;
  
  2. Improves time-of-arrival (TOA) calculations;
  
  3. Improves time-to-arrival (TTA) calculations;
  
  4. Improves time-to-leave (TTL) calculations and notices when the user’s account is connected to their Google calendar;
  
  5. Notwithstanding 2 thru 4, improves user experience; if my driveway were that long, I’d want it mapped; i.e., user wants deserve consideration;
  
  6. Reduce the impact (real or perceived) of current policy more applicable to an urban and suburban driveway density environment;
  
  7. It takes the same amount of time (2 minutes) to traverse a 1/2-mile driveway at 15mph as it does to traverse a named 15mph paved street with a single residence at the end; under present policy, we would map the paved named street, but not the driveway; hence, we owe it to the user to account for this time in their TOA, TTA, and TTL experience. (See Ref. 4.)

REFERENCES (accessed 19-Nov-2017):

• 1. Image showing practical application of proposal
  
  2. Montana policy https://wazeopedia.waze.com/wiki/USA/Mo ... vate_Roads
  
  3. National policy https://wazeopedia.waze.com/wiki/USA/Driveways
  
  4. Time to drive calculation
  https://www.evi.com/q/how_long_does_it_ ... _at_15_mph
  
  5. Previous discussion, this subject, from 2014: viewtopic.php?f=649&t=90588

Lastly, if consensus after discussion is it should be less, perhaps 1/4-mile, that’s fine. For now, I respectfully request the scope of the proposal be limited to Montana. If this proposal can't get adopted there, it's unlikely to be adopted anywhere!

With the guidance and consent of the NWR RC, this discussion will remain open for a couple weeks, then put up for a vote.