Hillsborough Finds ‘Waze’ To Deal With Traffic

DOVER, FL – Over the past few years, information-sharing apps for mobile devices have helped people share their observations in public to help others find their way.

With nearly 7 million downloads between the Apple App Store and Google Play since November 2012, the Waze live navigation app is one of the most popular crowd-sourcing apps for motorists. But the information sent to and collected by the app isn’t being used just by individuals.

Last summer, the Hillsborough County Public Works began sending emergency shelter and road-closure reports to Waze. While this information is meant to help Hillsborough County motorists, the Public Works department reported Waze has helped provide feedback from drives that helps experts locate and repair trouble spots.

Waze allows its users to access government data and motorists’ real-time observations of standstill traffic, construction zones, objects on roads, crashes and other similar hazards. The free app allows subscribers to note inexpensive places to buy gas, plot road trips and coordinate commutes with friends.

In August 2016, the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners approved participation in the Waze Connected Citizens Program. The program allows government agencies access to Waze’s real-time data and analytics in an effort to help motorists in their community.

Hillsborough County, the City of Tampa, the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Florida Department of Transportation all partner with the Waze Connected Citizens Program.

Dover resident Shannon Philippus uses Waze during her weekday commute from the eastern Hillsborough community to Tampa, where her daughter attends the Middleton High School magnet program and downtown where she works.

Philippus said there are about seven possible routes she can take between Dover and her stops in Tampa. She uses Waze to help her decide the best route to take on a given day.

“When I don’t use it, I kick myself,” Philippus said.

She said the real-time data from Waze can benefit government planners.

“You’ve got to prioritize your projects, but are you prioritizing your projects correctly?” Philippus said.

Public Works also is evaluating the feasibility of using crowd-sourced feedback to serve as indicators, to see if it supports information from other sources. For example, if information provided by Waze consistently shows lengthy backups at an intersection at a certain time, Hillsborough County could initiate a study that might result in adjusting a traffic signal or adding a lane.

For now, the county has reported the partnership between motorists and Hillsborough through Waze has proved to be an effective two-way communication tool in its first year.

Main image: Shannon Philippus uses Waze in her daily commute between Dover and downtown Tampa.

Main image via Hillsborough County Government webpage; secondary image courtesy of Waze