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[UPDATE] Gas Station Places USA

Post by jondrush
Based on this conversation I got volunteered for a big task; fixing all the USA gas stations with bad stop points, over 5300. I'm about halfway through. What I've discovered is about 90% of our gas station landmarks could use some improvement. So I'd like to propose a some content for this page:
https://wiki.waze.com/wiki/Gas_Stations ... Map_Editor
Rough draft. Help me with my weaknesses:
-Gas station places should be drawn to the fenceline / curbline. Reasoning: Most stations are small, stretching them to the limits should make them more visible on the client. Also Gas station areas are supposed to suppress some forms of automated reports. By covering the whole area we suppress reports of people who park away from the pumps and get coffee with Waze running, in addition to those who just pump gas.

-Gas Station Place stop points need special handling, since they serve a dual function. They are the navigation point and their proximity to pumps allows people to update gas prices while they pump. My recommendation is this.
--Place the stop point at the throat of the entrance closest to the pumps, on the main road. This balances the chances that the pump user can update the prices and the passer-by can update the prices. If either is too far away, Waze will not let that user update the prices. It also biases the options for Waze navigation to lead the user to the station from the main road, which will be the highest percentage case.
--If there are two equidistant entrances, pick the one that that people turning right into the station will encounter first. For efficiencies sack.
--If station is located between two main roads, place the stop point over the pumps, mid way between the roads, closest to the intersection, if the two road intersect. Waze will have to sort out the best navigation then.
--
Details:
-The polygon should extend to the curb-line / fence-line of all entrances. Until we have the promised multiple stop points, it gives the motorist approaching from the wrong road a good visual indicator where the entrances are.
-When mapping those dopey supermarket gas pumps in the middle of a parking lot, it is normally obvious from the pavement markings what part of the parking lot has been carved out for the gas pumps. Cover that entire area with a polygon, but no more.
-Truck stop Places should cover the entire area where the trucks can park as well.
-For truck stops with both car and truck pumps, Priority for placing the stop point should be given to the car pumps. Waze is primarily an auto commuter app, not a trucking app.
-For stations with pumps that are far off the main road (more than a tenth of a mile in my experience) Draw a parking lot road to the pumps an place the stop point near there. Otherwise users will not be able to update the price while pumping.

When editing Waze supplied stations, don't forget to remove any station numbering or "(Discount Available)" from the station name.

Do not use the "unbranded" option for the station brand.

What else did I forget?
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Post by CBenson
I think I agree with the guidance as modified by sketch. I think that correct routing to the gas station should be the primary priority. In other words, the ability of passers-by to update the prices should not trump good routing to the station.
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Post by coontex
Is there any plans to add E-85 in the future to the gas price feature so that these prices can be updated also.
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Post by coontex
sketch wrote:I don't believe so. I don't think Waze wants to put (m)any more resources into the gas prices system, because apparently not that many people use it.
Thanks but I think it would be nice for the people that do use it. Ok I guess that I will need to close out this UR in the next few days if nobody has heard anything else I guess.


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Post by dosticks
jondrush, great job fixing the USA gas stations with bad stop points, thanks for sharing! 


 
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Post by dude463
It would be nice if the app let you choose full price vs. cash/rewards price. It's almost as if people are posting prices more as a "nya nya I got a great deal" instead of posting what most people will have to pay. Sorry, I don't carry $100 cash with me most of the time.
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Post by Fredo-p
jondrush wrote:When editing Waze supplied stations, don't forget to remove any station numbering or "(Discount Available)" from the station name.
So it's not recommended to use station numbers/ID's even thought some stations have numbers, even on the main websites (Circle K #1934)?

Does this cause potential routing issues?
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Post by Fredo-p
Good point.
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Post by jondrush
I forget, if there are no entrances, in other words the entire frontage is an entrance, just place the stop point on the curb-line, centered on the pumps.

I'm going to provide profuse illustrations of all these scenarios.
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Post by jondrush
Who, besides the station owner, knows or cares what the station number is? The adjacent road is much more important to display.
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