Blue signs have gone up around Johns Creek acknowledging the city as a “Waze partner city since 2015,” part of a pilot project to increase the number of drivers using the traffic navigation app.
With more Waze users, the city gets more accurate traffic data and can respond faster to incidents, city officials said. Motorists get better Waze routings and a more complete picture of the traffic issues along their routes.
“When lots of people use Waze in Johns Creek, the flow of information is steady, accurate and very helpful,” says Nick O’Day, chief data officer for the city. But if there are too few users, “the flow of information slows to a trickle and makes the data much less useful. It can also mean inaccurate time estimates and routes for drivers.”
In 2015, Johns Creek was the first city in Georgia to partner with Waze. The city sends real-time road construction and closure updates to Waze, and the app sends user-generated alerts and jam information to the city.
The sharing of data helps drivers avoid heavily congested areas, officials said. It also guides the city’s traffic improvement planning.
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