Waze Bug or Wiki Inaccurate on Restricted Turns
Over in NJ, we're seeing some examples where restricted turns seem to be treated as absolute restrictions (will never be routed through) instead of being based on the routing penalty system. From reading the article on soft and hard turns, it says a hard restricted turn should apply a high penalty to routing through that turn; "Waze will generally not route through this turn." From reading this I'd assume some penalty (which can change and is proprietary to Waze) is assigned to the turn such that alternate routes are considered, potentially going miles around the restricted turn in extreme cases. Given the nature of a penalty system, I'd further assume in the case where there's only one possible route that Waze will still route through the turn since no other route with a lesser penalty / duration could be computed. This is common with private road transitions and their usage around private installations.
Analyzing the effects of turn restrictions in a normal road network would be difficult since alternate routes are usually plentiful and the penalty strength is always subject to change. Dead-ends better expose the functionality given the lack of other routing options, and we've spotted a few examples. The result is usually the route ending before the destination since Waze seems to refuse to route through the turn restriction, even if the turn restriction is the only access. This implies that all turn restrictions are absolute, and not based on the penalty system, which conflicts with the wiki.
Here's an example. This segment's right turn into Salmon Ln is a legal turn, and is improperly marked as restricted. It's also the only way to access Salmon Ln. Routing to any address in Salmon Ln results in the route ending on US-46 W or most disruptively this private road. My understanding of penalties and following the wiki guidance suggests the route should still proceed into Salmon Ln despite the high penalty, since there are no other valid routes.
Another example here. Once again routing to any address on Quaker Hill Ln will result in the routing ending at this junction node. This example is less severe since this would be close enough for a Wazer to find their way, but the concept is the same: no routing through the restricted turn.
The wiki guidance as written makes sense having all routing be dependent on a penalty system (instead of absolutes). IMHO, this helps to better handle map mistakes that do happen, while still preserving the intent of map editors. If an absolute is required, the segment could just be disconnected, which the wiki also mentions. While this is "how it should work" in my mind, that doesn't appear to be the case. I'd like to discuss further, especially if this behavior is intended and the wiki should be edited accordingly.
Analyzing the effects of turn restrictions in a normal road network would be difficult since alternate routes are usually plentiful and the penalty strength is always subject to change. Dead-ends better expose the functionality given the lack of other routing options, and we've spotted a few examples. The result is usually the route ending before the destination since Waze seems to refuse to route through the turn restriction, even if the turn restriction is the only access. This implies that all turn restrictions are absolute, and not based on the penalty system, which conflicts with the wiki.
Here's an example. This segment's right turn into Salmon Ln is a legal turn, and is improperly marked as restricted. It's also the only way to access Salmon Ln. Routing to any address in Salmon Ln results in the route ending on US-46 W or most disruptively this private road. My understanding of penalties and following the wiki guidance suggests the route should still proceed into Salmon Ln despite the high penalty, since there are no other valid routes.
Another example here. Once again routing to any address on Quaker Hill Ln will result in the routing ending at this junction node. This example is less severe since this would be close enough for a Wazer to find their way, but the concept is the same: no routing through the restricted turn.
The wiki guidance as written makes sense having all routing be dependent on a penalty system (instead of absolutes). IMHO, this helps to better handle map mistakes that do happen, while still preserving the intent of map editors. If an absolute is required, the segment could just be disconnected, which the wiki also mentions. While this is "how it should work" in my mind, that doesn't appear to be the case. I'd like to discuss further, especially if this behavior is intended and the wiki should be edited accordingly.
Re: Waze Bug or Wiki Inaccurate on Restricted Turns