I've noticed on a few recent drives that Waze has not presented some usual routes that happen to have really bad potholes, and I'm wondering if Waze is just doing a good job at naturally routing around bad areas as drivers either avoid them or travel much slower on them. This may not be the case with higher traffic segments such as Commerce Rd, but is definitely something that I've noticed in some areas.

As an example, this stretch of Hamburg Rd (PS/collector) has had bad potholes since February that have progressively become worse. Only in the past week or so, Waze started attempting to route me to the north to meet with M-36 instead of directing me down the usual route (to Sheldon/Hall/Eight Mile) to get to US-23. It's likely just because everyone except me is avoiding that route in favor or either taking M-36 all the way to US-23 or using another bypass on Lemen Rd that is in good condition (with normally comparable speeds to the other route).

GizmoGuy411 wrote:While this may seem like a good idea initially, there are possible ramifications that may have an impact on Waze map and route servers, that Waze would prefer not occur.

I can understand from a maintainability standpoint how it would be difficult over time for limited editing resources to keep track of downgrades and re-upgrade them later on, but do you have any more information on what the ramifications would be on the servers? Do you think that it would it just be overload because of how data is stored, accessed, and eventually considered for routes; and a mass downgrade would be a big problem?

I'm definitely a supporter of the feature request discussed in numerous other threads to separate the road type from the road surface and have Waze route according to the user's surface preference.

Outside of any debate on downgrading or not, I appreciate the fact that humanforklift actually posted and provided a list rather than just silently making the change without explanation. It gets the issue out in the open and also provides a record of the edits and why they occurred. Numerous editors make changes for reasons known only to them, and they leave you scratching your head sometimes wondering what was going on.

the1who wrote:Just saw this... http://holykaw.alltop.com/pothole-eats- ... n-michigan

Wow, that's ironic! That picture was taken on Harrison Rd looking north, right across from the Brody dorms on Michigan State's campus. The pic is deceptive though in that the pothole/sinkhole is actually in a right turn lane that ends just ahead where there is convention center parking. It's not on the main road, which is better represented by the patchy area to the left of the truck. More than anything, I would consider that patchwork of past maintenance attempts as well as small sections where the top layer (1"-2") of asphalt has been stripped away to be most representative of many Michigan roads right now. There are certainly bad potholes, but I would not consider patchy areas like that reportable road hazards--at least until after something swallows my car I suppose

As I mentioned above, I think that Waze is doing a decent job of naturally routing around some problem areas as drivers avoid them--especially on roads with only one lane for each direction. The pic actually speaks to why making something a "Dirt Road/4x4 Trail" would not be a good solution for potholes on multi-lane roads simply to make use of an "avoid" option because potholes typically affect only a small section of one lane (and it's not dirt...or a 4x4 trail...). Harrison Rd is perfectly drivable in that stretch even with the pothole in the extreme right turn lane. You wouldn't want to penalize a route--especially in the other direction--if there is a bad pothole in one lane but not in others.

Beyond that, while it might be good PR if something does go viral, I don't think doing anything outside of the Waze app would be ideal for a few reasons.
1) Who maintains the "pothole database", not just to state that there are potholes but keep track of when they are repaired? It's difficult enough to keep track of long-term construction, and local Waze resources are scarce for a volunteer effort of that magnitude. After a quick search, I saw this map from a local newspaper. I have no idea how accurate it is, and who knows if some of these have been repaired, or if people had reported falsely.
2) What percentage of Wazers would go through the effort of looking at something external, especially when it has no bearing on their suggested route, and how would they know about it to begin with? An in-app ad, which coincidentally tells them to "Drive There" ?

Waze already has the ideal solution in-app with reporting hazards, with the downside that potholes don't disappear after a few hours in real life. This has been suggested in numerous threads as well, but just make potholes semi-permanent hazards until someone marks "Not There". Perhaps add in a small routing penalty for segments that have the hazard reported proportional to the number of "thanks" it receives. Best case, combine that functionality with the ability to separate function from surface (so that the function of a segment such as a dirt minor highway could be maintained but the "avoid dirt roads" option could work on it independently), and the temptation to look at workarounds that utilize an "avoid" option would be reduced.

http://www.wxyz.com/news/region/detroit ... -west-side

A sinkhole in Detroit that's 30 feet wide and 16 feet deep! Note however that it only impacts one lane of traffic, the other one is fine...ish.

GizmoGuy411 wrote:New Report Hazaed type: "Car Swallowing Hole"

I'd give that a thumbs up while driving every time.

humanforklift wrote:I am all for waze learning and adapting from my driving patterns, but I suspect that because I have a lower ranking, waze resists making routing changes for me. Every day for the past two months I've been routed to the Green Lake / Old Orchard / Commerce routes, and every day I have detoured around them. Why is waze not picking up on this?

At least two things are currently working against you. Your ranking has nothing to do with it. Looking at the GPS points in WME, enough people are still driving those segments (Green Lake, Old Orchard, Commerce) where Waze is still getting significant enough data and considering them the faster route for you. In addition, if you are counting on the "avoid" feature, your changes to dirt road/4x4 trail are not live since the map tiles are only current to March 23rd.

EDIT: tiles updated today after the original posting time, so the changes would be live.

While this may seem like a good idea initially, there are possible ramifications that may have an impact on Waze map and route servers, that Waze would prefer not occur.

Please do not start this process, until more Champ and/or Staff opinions weigh in.

We should also be aware that due to Detroit's financial position, that these issues may be much longer term than would be expected for the average metropolitan area.

Thanks
Great Lakes Regional Coordinator

redviper26 wrote:....
Hey guys,

Changing road types etc. can cause issues down the road, and is not advisable unless the road's function was changed.

The Slovakian community had a similar issue with potholes. They created a dedicated site mapping problematic roads, and even went so far as to create viral content around it which got some media attention. I'm not saying that's the ideal solution, but I think we can find a creative one that does not involve changing road types.

Let me know what you think,

Noam

Several Waze Champs will be reviewing this, and we will report back here as we consider it.

davielde wrote:http://www.wxyz.com/news/region/detroit ... -west-side

A sinkhole in Detroit that's 30 feet wide and 16 feet deep! Note however that it only impacts one lane of traffic, the other one is fine...ish.

Does it reach the salt mines?

New Report Hazaed type: "Car Swallowing Hole"

I am all for waze learning and adapting from my driving patterns, but I suspect that because I have a lower ranking, waze resists making routing changes for me. Every day for the past two months I've been routed to the Green Lake / Old Orchard / Commerce routes, and every day I have detoured around them. Why is waze not picking up on this?

Last week I re-drove (with waze off) the segments that I listed on the original post. Green Lake Rd is now undrivable for anything but trucks and SUVs. It is by far the worst. Old Orchard's segment is the same way. All the other bad segments are bad, but can be navigated by steering in and out of on-coming traffic (which all of the locals have become quite good at).

I really like the idea of making road quality hazards semi-permanent and affixing time penalties to them. In addition, I wish waze would access my phone's accelerometers and determine road quality automatically.