Roads View history

Introduction

This forms part of UK Editing Best Practice. Please read in conjunction with the USA global page on Road types, which has more specific information about each Road type and its characteristics.

Using the correct Road type and naming segments is a key part of mapping in Waze—road type influences route planning, particularly on long journeys where Waze prioritises the major Road types. The naming of segments gives users a consistent experience and can also influence routing and detour mechanisms.

Road types

Be aware of the WME language setting! This article uses localised names in the English (UK) language.

The following convention should be followed where possible, although it is acknowledged that you may need to deviate from it in some circumstances.

Waze Road Type	UK Road Types
Motorway	All Motorway & Motorway class A roads (locked to L5) M60 A1(M)
Major Highway	A-class roads that are classified as Primary Routes (locked to L4) A4600
Minor Highway	Non-primary A-class roads A614
Primary Street	B-class and unclassified roads carry heavier traffic, often seen on Ordnance Survey maps in yellow or orange. B547
Street	Urban Streets, low-traffic rural roads
Narrow Street	DO NOT USE - This Road type is currently not deemed useful for mapping in the UK (See UK forum discussion) NB: UK Champs may use this in limited situations for testing purposes.
Private Road	Road with no access for the general public, public roads with legal prohibition on through routing in both directions (private road sign, no motor vehicles except for access sign, or a closable gate).
Parking Road	Roads within a car park or other places where we don't want Waze to monitor speed and potentially generate a traffic jam report, particularly petrol station forecourts. Read more on car park mapping on the UK Car Parks page.
Off-road / Not maintained	Unsurfaced roads are often impassable for normal cars and only suitable for 4x4 vehicles.

Unpaved checkbox - This attribute can be selected for all Road types but should only be applied to Street Road type and below. This checkbox can be applied to segments that cover unsurfaced roads or of poor construction but are still passable by a normal car. Users can avoid roads marked with this attribute applied within the App settings. Segments that ford rivers and are usually passable by normal cars should be mapped as a short Street segment covering the area that floods; the unpaved checkbox ticked, and be named [FORD].

Non-drivable - Walking Trails are non-drivable Road types in the WME under the Road menu. User experience can be improved by using these appropriately; you can read more about when to use these Road types on the UK Footpaths page.

Primary Route Network

The primary route network (PRN) designates roads between places of traffic importance across the UK to provide easily identifiable routes to access the whole country. Primary routes are marked green on most road maps, and road signs are green with white and yellow text. The WMEOpenData extension for Firefox and Chrome can overlay this data directly within the editor.

Exceptions

Click Expand to view a list of current exceptions. →

As with any rule, there will be some exceptions. There are two specific scenarios which are allowed to deviate from the Ordnance Survey (OS) map:

A roads that connect between motorway or PRN networks, then it should also be Major Highway
A section of primary road is restricted to some traffic, and there is another primary route nearby, then it can be demoted to Minor Highway

Exceptions should be discussed on the forum and documented below, and can be locked to a higher level.

Exception	Reason
A1080 London Colney Bypass	Upgraded to Major Highway - Links the A414 to the M25
A1290, Sunderland	Downgraded to Minor Highway - With the completion of the Northern Spire bridge the A1231 has been rerouted and the old route is now the A1290 shown with white background on directional signs, the Queen Alexandra Bridge has also been downgraded to the B1539 .
A2, Chatham	Downgraded to Street - The High Street is restricted to buses only. The A2 New Rd to the south is the preferable route.
A20, Maidstone	Downgraded to Street - Not PRN. Several bus/taxi only roads adjacent to the A20 .
A256, Dover	Downgraded to Minor Highway - The entire A256 road network south of A2 is not PRN. See Sabre for details.
A243 Leatherhead Bypass	Upgraded to Major Highway - Links the A24 with the M25 junction.
A3 Hope St, Portsmouth	Upgraded to Major Highway - The main Out of City route is signposted northbound along Hope Street. Consequently Marketway & Commercial Rd have been downgraded to Primary Street.
B306, Roehampton	Upgraded to Major Highway - Turning right from A205 to A306 is only possible via this small loop of B road.
A3216, Battersea	Upgraded to Major Highway - Shown as PRN in the OS data, but not signed as a primary route in Google Streetview imagery (May 2018). Would benefit from site visit to confirm current status.
A4146 / A509, Milton Keynes	Upgraded to Major Highway - Links the A5 to the A421 to the M1
A43, Corby / Kettering	Upgraded to Major Highway - Relatively new bypass that became the A43 , Consequently, the old route, now the A4300 and A6183 have been downgraded to Minor Highway.
A45, Weedon Bec	Upgraded to Major Highway - This new bypass has been designated the A45 . The old route, has been downgraded to Primary Street.
A46, Grimsby	Upgraded to Major Highway - Although not shown by OS as PRN this short length of A46 links with the A16 . Road has green backed signs along route.
A460, Cannock	Upgraded to Major Highway - Newer A460 bypass replaces older route, consequently the now designated A4601 has been downgraded to Minor Highway.
A465, Hereford	Upgraded to Major Highway - Newer A465 link road replaces older route, consequently Commercial Road has been downgraded to Primary Street.
A527, Newcastle Under Lyme	Upgraded to Major Highway - This section of road links the A527 with the A500 . The old route, now designated the B5370 , has been downgraded to Primary Street.
A56, Bury	Upgraded to Major Highway - This section of road joins the A56 and the A58
A577, Atherton	Downgraded to Minor Highway & Street - Eastern and southern section pass through a pedestrianised zone. Consequently Bag Ln at the western end, which has green backed signs, has been upgraded to Major Highway to complete routing in this area.
A58, Bury	Upgraded to Major Highway - Links the A58 to the A56 to create equal routing right & left respectively.
A6, Kegworth	Upgraded to Major Highway - This new bypass road has been designated the A6 . The old route, has been downgrade to Primary Street.
A6, Loughborough	Upgraded to Major Highway - The central area of Loughborough has been pedestrianised and the A6 has been diverted along an upgraded relief road.
A6097, Newton (Notts)	Upgraded to Major Highway - Following the dueling and realignment of the A46 , the spur of the A6097 and Fosse Way have been upgraded to ensure continuous routing at this junction due to its current layout.
A614, Howden	Upgraded to Major Highway - Links the A63 , A614 with the M62
A617, Mansfield	Upgraded to Major Highway - Although not shown on OS maps as PRN, this bypass road has green backed signs and therefore has been upgraded.
A664, Manchester	Downgraded to Minor Highway - Google Streetview (May 2018) of A664 Rochdale Rd shows it has white backed signs and no longer part of the PRN.
A665, Manchester	Upgraded to Major Highway - A665 Miller St now one way, the opposite direction has been promoted to ensure continuous routing.

Naming Conventions

Roads with number

Classified roads in the UK are known by a single letter and number combination, which should be included in the segment name so that Waze instructions include identifying information. When naming dual carriageway segments, adding a cardinal direction should be included to ensure clear instructions are given and useful incident reports are given. The segment should be named in the following format;

Format: : <Letter & Number> (<Direction>) - <Name>
Examples: : M45 (E) Motorway with cardinal direction: A1(M) Motorway class A Road, note no spaces are used; A7 - Old Dalkeith Rd A Road with local name; A2 (W) - Dover Rd A Road with cardinal direction and local name; Andover St Road with local name

The UK has three classifications of roads: Motorways (M), A Roads, and B Roads. All other roads are unclassified. You may discover that local authorities maintain a database of roads they manage and use C, D, and U labels. These are internal labels only and should never be shown on public signs; they should not be added to segment names.

When naming Motorway segments, the City field should be set as None; this prevents City names from smudging across the map.

Junctions

Major junctions, particularly on motorways, should be labelled with a landmark. Under no circumstances should the road name or city name fields of a segment be used to name a junction.

Ramp naming

Ramp names to be short, useful and unambiguous. Names should not include Junction to nor Entry to. Cardinal directions (N, S, E, W) should only be included if they are included on signs and provide clarity. Like other abbreviations, the > character can be used and is read out as towards; this should be used only if needed. Entry and Exit should be considered equal for naming and should be named to give the most useful instruction to the driver. Ramps should not have a City name; this helps prevent city smudge.

Junctions with numbers

All segments from numbered junctions should be mapped as Ramps to ensure exit instructions are given
The name should begin with the exit number and then the name of the road it leads to, ideally without cardinal directions
When motorways split, short Wayfinder ramps should be used so that these names don't appear in the App
Do not include junction numbers on entry ramps.

Format: : J<number> to <simple road name>
Example: : J4 to A464

Junctions without numbers

If a ramp connects directly to exactly 1 other road, then it can be left unnamed; the instructions will naturally take on the name of the next segment
It may be desirable to name the ramps more simply to remove cardinals or road names
If the ramp connects to a roundabout, an unnamed segment often gives optimal instructions. If the routes away from the roundabout are not signed from the main road, the ramp should be named to match the exit signs.

Format: <simple road name>
Example: A1 rather than A1(M) (N) or A1 - Great North Road

Disambiguation

Where a ramp forks into two directions, then the ramp names should include cardinals (if signed) or towards a city based on the signage
If a city name is used only one city from the directional sign is to be used, preferably the one which is listed first

On the M25, where relevant, directions to Heathrow or Gatwick should take precedence.

If the section of Ramp before a fork is particularly short, then the preceding segment can be left unnamed with any junction number written in the forked segments

This does result in longer announcements, so it should be avoided if possible.

As per the signage, Where both directions of a road are connected to a roundabout, then ramps can be disambiguated using > city instead of cardinals.

Format: <simple road name> (<cardinal direction>): <simple road name> > <city name>; Junction > <city name> if connecting road has no name / number
Example: A1 (N) & A1 (S): M62 > Manchester & M62 > Hull

Roundabouts

Roundabout segments should remain unnamed. Suppose the roundabout does have a proper, signposted name. In that case, this can be labelled using an Area Place, with the category set to Junction/Intersection, that fills the centre of the roundabout. This only applies to big roundabouts that are larger than 30 metres.

For further advice on editing roundabouts, see Editing Junctions and Roundabouts

Abbreviations

Due to the size of most devices, keeping on-screen text to a minimum is advantageous. When naming segments, the following abbreviations should be used to conserve space. Each will be expanded by the Text-To-Speech (TTS) engine, and voice instructions will read aloud the full word, Ave will be read as Avenue, etc.

When naming a segment, the first-word in the name should never be abbreviated, nor should names that only include single words (excluding The). Green Street should be written as Green St and The Boulevard be written in full. Multiple abbreviations in the same segment name can be used where appropriate, Aston Boulevard West can be written as Aston Blvd W.

Road name	Abbreviation
Avenue	Ave
Boulevard	Blvd
Broadway	Bdwy
Circus	Cir
Close	Cl
Court	Ct
Crescent	Cr

Road name	Abbreviation
Drive	Dr
East¹	E
Garden	Gdn
Gardens	Gdns
Green	Gn
Grove	Gr
Junction¹^,2	J

Road name	Abbreviation
Lane	Ln
Mount	Mt
North¹	N
Place	Pl
Park	Pk
Ridge	Rdg
Road	Rd

Road name	Abbreviation
Saint³	St.
South¹	S
Square	Sq
Street	St
Terrace	Ter
West¹	W

Notes:

Should you require TTS to read a letter, such as Car Park E, place a period (.) directly after the letter.
J, used for road junction numbers, is the only abbreviation that can lead to a segment name.
The period (.) in the abbreviation of Saint is important; otherwise, it will be read as Street.

Bypass or By-pass?

Bypass.

Road shields

Road shields are linked to the street attribute of a segment, this is the full address <Street>+<City>+<County>+<Country>. Setting a shield on 1 segment will set it for all matching segments.

It is recommended that you install the [Road Shield Assistant] script to assist with see current road shields and effects of any changes you make.

Shields on segments

To match with the Road Type convention used in the UK, road shields should be mapped as follows;

Motorway - For use on Motorway with 1 or 2 digitals M1 M42
Motorway (wide) - For use on Motorway with 3+ digits M602 A38 (M)
Primary Route - For use on Major Highway A-Roads that form part of the Primary Route Network A14
Non-Primary Route - For use on all other Minor Highway A-Roads A4030
Junction No. - For use on junction ramps that have signed numbers 21 .

Changing the shield on a segment will change the shield on all segments with the same name, however far away they may be. Likewise, changing the name of a segment will change the shield if the name matches another.

Due to the implementation of this feature, extra care must be made when assigning road shields to segments with an identical street attribute when it changes Road Type; the most likely scenario will be A-roads that change from PRN to non-PRN. In case of situations like this, the solution is to leave the primary name without a shield and add alt names for both primary and non-primary roads (e.g. A9 (non-PRN) and A9 (PRN)), adding road shields to both the alt names. The road will be without the shield on the app, but they can both be used for directions (which is more important). Mapped Road Types do not influence the displayed shield.

Junction shields should not include the letter J.

Shields on turn instructions

Turn arrows allow editors to set the visual instructions at a turn. Editors should do their best to match the road sign at the turn. The road shield (1st), corresponding destination name (2nd) in the Visual instructions field, and any additional destination names in the Towards field.

Road numbers within brackets (A460) should not be included at all as they are not directly off the junction, nor should road numbers be written in the Towards field.

To receive the correct turn instructions with road shields on roundabouts, add the turn guidance on the exit turn from the roundabout. The turn guidance from the exit will be copied to the entry one. When adding turn instructions on roundabouts, the signage on each exit should take precedence over any approach signs.

Exit signs should only be used when exits have a signed junction number; no J is required.

Dual Carriageways

A dual carriageway is a road with a central reservation to separate the carriageways.. This means 1 or more lanes in either direction. A road should be split into two one-way segments if any of the following conditions are met:

The central reservation is wider than 5 metres
There's a visible gap between the average of all GPS traces
It is split by a physical barrier (Concrete, Armco, pedestrian barrier, etc.)

Pedestrian refuges and painted road separation (cross-hatching that can be driven over) should not normally be split. Be aware there are a lot of these that were created as split roads during the UK Base-map import; these usually need merging to be a single two-way road.

Lay-bys

Lay-bys should only be included where there is significant separation from the main carriageway (e.g. grass, trees or a physical barrier). Similar to deciding if a road is a dual carriageway.
All segments should be mapped with Road type set toParking Road, with appropriate directions and turns
The lay-by segment should have it's name set to [P] and have no City name
Do not map lay-bys with Area Places.

Railways

Railway lines should be mapped using the |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| Railroad |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| Road type. They appear in the client, and they keep Wazers on trains from polluting the speed data of nearby roads. Tracks should be drawn as simply as possible - they do not need to be accurate out in the country where no one can see them; a single mapped segment can cover multiple lines common in most stations and mainlines.

Due to the potential length of railway segments, they should be split at County borders to prevent smudging County names on the map.

Segment Properties:

Name: No Name
City: No City
Type: Railway
Direction: Two-way
Level: Ground
Lock: 3

You may find railway segments locked to 5 and set to -5 Level. This was the old standard and can be set to the current standard if all road segments along their routes have been correctly mapped with bridges & level crossings.

Railway segments can be connected to the road network at level crossings without any risk of Waze routing drivers onto the tracks. The extra granularity of segments at the crossing provides more accurate routing information. All turns should be enabled; no red arrows, please.

Underground railways or where they pass through tunnels should not be mapped.

Level Crossing Alerts (LCA)

Level crossings throughout the UK have now been mapped with LCAs. These are alerts similar to cameras and work in the same manner in the client. LCAs should be mapped in the same method as a camera on both sides of the railway line. The LCA should be placed close to the junction of the road and railway segment, aiming to be between the barrier (if it has one) and the stop line of the crossing.

You can discuss more about LCAs and get assistance in the dedicated forum post.

Toll Roads

All Toll Roads in the UK are listed here. They are marked on the map with the toll attribute and locked to L5 due to their special nature. All Toll roads are price-mapped to specific road segments, so if the segment ID number is changed (through segment splitting), this will break the price mapping. Do not change the Toll Road segment without consulting with UK Champs.

The London Congestion Charge is not classified as Tolls, so the Avoid Toll feature will not affect this. The Waze avoid these zones by default (within their restricted times), so the user must add the relevant Pass to their app if the vehicle is exempt.

Airport drop-off zones should not be mapped with the Toll Road attribute. Most of the time, airports are a destination for a user, so having these mapped as Tolls will have a strange effect on any route to this destination, especially if the user has to Avoid Tolls and their route may involve a Toll Road, like the M6 Toll or Dartford Crossing.

Ferries

Ferries should be mapped using the • • • • Ferry • • • • Road Type. This should be connected to the road network at either end and mapped to follow a single line using the average/approximate ferry service route. If the ferry service charges for the crossing, and the vast majority do, it should also have the toll attribute ticked. If the ferry service has a regular schedule, the segment should include Time Based Restrictions to prevent Waze routing through the ferry crossing when no service is running.

Only regular vehicle ferry services be mapped. The UK have mapped the prices for all inland ferry services, so you will find the segments locked to L5 to prevent accidental damage. If you spot an issue or need to edit these segments, contact a Country Manager / Local Champ for assistance.

Passenger/foot ferries should not be mapped.

Restrictions

Waze is capable of managing routes for Private cars, Taxis and Motorcycles. An additional option for Electric Vehicles (EVs) is also available. Segments and turns have a restriction feature that can be used to allow only certain types of vehicles to be routed through them.

Waze has no capability for routing commercial vehicles or buses/public transport, so there is no requirement to use these vehicle types. If a road only allows buses, use a complete prohibition (and set the road type to Private) or a one-way road if the road is restricted in one direction.

If a road allows Taxis or Motorcycles, an Allow restriction should be added to the segments required. There is no requirement to add a turn restriction unless the turn itself is restricted, but the road is not.

Part-time restrictions can be managed by adding the relevant days and times to the restriction. If a day has multiple timed restrictions, then multiple restrictions can be added to the same day.

An additional Lane Restriction can be added to give better routing and ETAs for Taxis and Motorcycles that can use Bus Lanes. Where the restriction dialogue shows Applies to: select the relevant lane and "Bus". N.B. Lane Guidance will not see this "lane" and cannot be used within the lane guidance feature. Wazers will be informed to use the "◇ Bus Lane" on the app.

HOV lanes can also be mapped by adding a "minimum passengers" option (rather than vehicle type). Wazers will be prompted to accept they have the minimum number of people in their vehicle if Waze uses this route. N.B. Currently (as of 2024), there are only three areas with HOV lanes in the UK - Birmingham, Leeds and Bristol, which are all mapped.

Restrictions should not be used to manage closures. If you do not have the editing rights to add real-time closures, request on the UK Editor Request forum or UK Discord.

Bridging segments

When road segments pass over or under another feature (road, river, railway, etc), the segment level should be set to the correct +ve / -ve number. It can be beneficial to split the segment to create a bridge segment. This allows editors to close the shortest possible road length when a physical bridge is closed for inspections, repairs, or other reasons.

"Older" roads, with properties along them, should be split by segment nodes tight to each side of the physical bridge. This enables Waze to navigate to addresses adjacent to the bridge when the bridge segment is closed.

"Newer" roads, with no properties, do not need to be split as the whole segment level can be changed. Such roads, like bypasses, are always closed from junction to junction.

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