Johns Creek Uses Waze To Improve Traffic Data Collection

JOHNS CREEK, GA — The city of Johns Creek has rolled out a pilot program to help collect information about traffic movements throughout the city. The blue "Waze partner city since 2015" signs stationed at various locations around Johns Creek are part of the city's initiative with the traffic navigation app.

The project aims to increase the number of drivers using Waze by reminding them that by using the app, they can help improve traffic and potentially save time on their commute. The city also notes that increasing the number of Waze users will bolster the amount of traffic data sent to the app and Johns Creek's computers. This, in turn, will allow the city to provide a faster response, and provide more accurate and useful traffic data.

Drivers also benefit by getting better routes from Waze and a more complete picture of potential issues on their route. Here's how this works: Waze data enters the city’s Geographic Information System. In real-time, the GIS department processes through the live information, breaking it up into useful pieces as email notifications to field crews and dashboards for traffic control center engineers.

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“When lots of people use Waze in Johns Creek, the flow of information is steady, accurate, and very helpful,” said Nick O’Day, Johns Creek's chief data officer. “The problem is that when there are only a 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 became the first city in Georgia to partner with Waze. This partnership involves the city sending road construction and closure updates to Waze and the app sending user-generated alerts and jams back to the city – all in real-time. This sharing of data helps drivers avoid heavily congested areas and helps the city respond to issues faster as well as guides traffic improvement planning, the city added.

Image via city of Johns Creek