Road Types (USA) – comprehensive overhaul of drivable roads

[kentsmith9]

I think the point is we just need to add wording to support some of these other conditions that are missing from the Wiki.

Sketch, do you want to take a first shot at it? Or let me know and I am happy to modify that section to describe these other conditions.

[kentsmith9]

Done. https://wiki.waze.com/wiki/Road_types/USA#Freeway

Good solution. I think that is very clear.

[kentsmith9]

From the last two meetups I have heard Ehud say that the road type should not affect routing (excluding Waze trying to keep to Freeways and Highways when travel time was not hindered). As I understood the FC system, it defines how the state (or local city) would like traffic routed through that city. Therefore when local streets are identified as MH or mH, it is to indicate what streets are desired to be used over other streets that are ranked lower.

I believed this FC effort across all the states was in alignment with that objective.

In the SF Bay Area I drive in heavy traffic every morning and every evening. When traffic is light, Waze sticks to the Freeways, MH, mH, and Primary streets between my destinations. However when the freeways jam up, Waze starts using alternate routes to lower level streets and has even selected a few routes that I have never tried in my entire life living and working out here (and it worked out great).

So I am not seeing any negative effects from the FC changes out here.

[kentsmith9]

I think there may be confusion between the FCs defined as the national standard and how we translate those into Waze Street Types.

I recently noticed the AZ FC cross reference has a rigid matching to Waze Street types, where the National FC will depend upon whether the road is a state or numbered highway or just a local street (not serving as part of a route). For example in the National Standard a Major Collector can be MH, mH, or Primary Street depending on the highway system traversing those segments. In the AZ table, it can only be a Primary Street.

It appears that the AZ system is too rigid and is not selecting the correct Waze road types in some cases.

[kentsmith9]

I'm currently in the process of rebuilding this table to ensure it meets and follows the National Standards Table provided in the wiki.

Do you really need a different table? What is missing from the main table already built that you wanted to add? Maybe we can update the main table for everyone if it makes sense.

[kentsmith9]

Okay,
I really, really hope this helps resolve some of the issues that have happened as a result of the very strict and "simple" table I have created. This is the new table I have made. What I did was remove only the road types that are not recognized in Arizona. I have also relabeled the classifications to how the Arizona DOT has labeled them.

Is this a more usable table that follows what is on the road types wiki?

new table.jpg

I believe there is an error in your table. The final column should look like the National FC table with Primary Streets and Streets. I think the rest is OK. Technically you are following the National Standard, but you just happen to not have road types (business loops and country roads) in 4 of the columns.

[kentsmith9]

I think you have one more error on the intersection of "Major Collector" and "SR-23". I believe that should be Minor as it is on the National FC.

[kentsmith9]

I was reviewing a situation on Frontage Roads in a very rural area.

I see in April 2014 we initially added a section on when to mark Frontage Roads as Primary Streets.

https://wiki.waze.com/wiki/index.php?title=Road_types%2FUSA&diff=64510&oldid=63685

There are a lot of statements on what Frontage roads do and how they work. The change points to this thread, however after searching this thread I cannot find a single entry about Frontage Roads.

Is the logic we are following on Frontage Roads possibly covered in another thread? I could not locate any thread discussing the operation of Frontage Roads and why they need to be Primary Streets if the FC maps do not indicate such.

The case that brought this up is here along I-15 in the desert.

https://www.waze.com/editor/?env=usa&lon=-116.71707&lat=34.92801&layers=645&zoom=4

The FC map clearly shows the Coyote Lake Rd that crosses the freeway should be Primary, but the parallel roads like Yermo Rd. is not indicated to be Primary.

I think at a minimum we need to reword the entry for Primary Street to be more clear if the FC map shows resolution for other Primary Streets, but the frontage road is not marked the same, then there is no requirement to make the frontage road Primary.

Unless someone can tell me why that would be still necessary.

[kentsmith9]

In the State Template thread we discussed preventing a circular reference between the template and the Dirt Road section. I think we can prevent the circular reference by changing the Dirt Road section to (changes in red):

In some areas of the country, improved unpaved roads (gravel, macadam, etc.) are set to this type. In other areas, improved unpaved roads, and possibly certain dirt roads, will be set to other types, as if they were paved. Check your state page for details on whether your state follows unique guidelines for dirt roads or contact your regional coordinator for further guidance.

[kentsmith9]

I'm good with Kartografer's changes.