iD/data/doc/03-road.md

Roads

You can create, fix, and delete roads with this editor. Roads can be all kinds: paths, highways, trails, cycleways, and more - any often-crossed segment should be mappable.

Selecting

Click on a road to select it. An outline should become visible, along with a small tools menu on the map and a sidebar showing more information about the road.

Modifying

Often you'll see roads that aren't aligned to the imagery behind them or to a GPS track. You can adjust these roads so they are in the correct place.

First click on the road you want to change. This will highlight it and show control points along it that you can drag to better locations. If you want to add new control points for more detail, double-click a part of the road without a point, and one will be added.

If the road connects to another road, but doesn't properly connect on the map, you can drag one of its control points onto the other road in order to join them. Having roads connect is important for the map and essential for providing driving directions.

You can also click the 'Move' tool or press the M shortcut key to move the entire road at one time, and then click again to save that movement.

Deleting

If a road is entirely incorrect - you can see that it doesn't exist in satellite imagery and ideally have confirmed locally that it's not present - you can delete it, which removes it from the map. Be cautious when deleting features - like any other edit, the results are seen by everyone and satellite imagery is often out of date, so the road could simply be newly built.

You can delete a road by clicking on it to select it, then clicking the trash can icon or pressing the 'Delete' key.

Creating

Found somewhere there should be a road but there isn't? Click the 'Line' icon in the top-left of the editor or press the shortcut key 2 to start drawing a line.

Click on the start of the road on the map to start drawing. If the road branches off from an existing road, start by clicking on the place where they connect.

Then click on points along the road so that it follows the right path, according to satellite imagery or GPS. If the road you are drawing crosses another road, connect it by clicking on the intersection point. When you're done drawing, double-click or press 'Return' or 'Enter' on your keyboard.