Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck
When a Super Bowl parade and several feet of snow turned traffic into a nightmare for the citizens of Boston, the major turned to the Google-owned driving and directions app Waze for assistance in sorting out the wintertime mess on the city’s streets.
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According to Engadget, the city and Waze have teamed up to share information about potential road closures with the app. In return, Boston’s Traffic Management Center (TMC) will receive data on the 400,000-plus drivers in the area, which will be used by city engineers to adjust traffic lights at intersections. The ultimate goal is to reduce the number of traffic jams.
Boston is one of 10 cities participating in Waze’s Connected Citizens program, and according to Wired, the city reached out the app to help share the route of a parade honoring the New England Patriots for their Super Bowl victory earlier this month. The route was shared on the service so that drivers could take alternate routes as necessary and easing the overall traffic burden.
Boston and Waze: So happy together
“That one-time data fling has resulted in a longer term data-sharing relationship,” the website said. “Last week, the pair sealed the deal: Boston will give Waze a heads-up about any planned closures, and in return the app’s owners will give the city’s traffic management center access to its profoundly valuable stream of user data.”
“In the short term, this will let the city be more responsive to traffic problems as they arise,” it added. “But going forward, Boston’s road-runners hope the data will help them fine-tune their traffic light timing and keep congestion from building up in the city’s intestinal road network.”
Boston mayor Martin J. Walsh officially announced the partnership on February 13, stating that the data-sharing agreement would help drivers and cyclists monitor traffic conditions in real-time while helping them find the best way to quickly travel throughout the city. In addition, Walsh’s analytics team will use the information to help other city departments improve their services.
“Over the past few weeks, it has become clear how critical it is to find innovative ways to improve traffic flow in the City of Boston,” Walsh said. “I thank Google for their partnership in providing us with another way to use data to better improve how City government works.”
“This partnership will help engineers in the TMC respond to traffic jams, accidents, and road hazards quicker,” added Gina Fiandaca, commissioner of the Boston Transportation Department. “And, looking forward, the Waze data will support us in implementing – and measuring the results of – new congestion management strategies.”
An app every city should utilize
While Boston currently uses a citywide network of over 100 traffic cameras and 600 car-sending magnetic loops to collect information used to manually adjust their 55 stop lights, the partnership with Waze will help automate the system and broaden its coverage area, according to Wired.
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“Say a delivery truck breaks down in downtown Boston,” the website said. “It’s on a side street, away from the cameras, above no magnetic coils. Boston streets are narrow, and with no way to get around, side-street traffic could quickly back up bigger thoroughfares. Before, it could have taken hours to sort out the mess. But Waze is real-time traffic radar.”
As data from the cards that are stuck in traffic wind up getting sent through the app to the TMC, the city can issue an immediate response by manipulating streetlights, and service vehicles can avoid the most congested areas as they travel en route to cleaning up the problem area. The app is even helping Boston deal with its current winter weather crisis, Wired noted.
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