Dennis RomeroEver rush to a meeting only to realize that your favorite route is clogged because of construction? Then you head to the nearest parallel road and find another lane squeezed out of commission by people in reflective vests?
It's maddening.
Waze isn't going to fix the lack of coordination when it comes to various fix-it projects on Los Angeles roads. These events often involve different bureaucracies — the L.A. Department of Transportation, Caltrans, utilities and even private development projects — that aren't always on the same page.
But at least everybody's favorite traffic app will warn you when city projects such as road closures, construction and safety hazards will pop up along your route.
Mayor Eric Garcetti this week unveiled the details of a “data-sharing agreement” between Waze and City Hall, which will allow the app to give you an even better heads-up when congestion happens.
The deal also will allow Waze to push hit-and-run notices to area users when cops are on an active hunt for a specific vehicle. The Los Angeles Police Department will be able to broadcast Amber Alerts to local app users, too.
The main idea behind the Waze/City Hall agreement is “to get people where they want to go faster,” Garcetti said:
This is exactly what our open data initiative is all about — going beyond information sharing to provide opportunities for our data to transform into tools to make people's lives safer and easier in very tangible ways.
Credit: Waze
The pact is a two-way street.
The mayor's office says Waze will feed data back to City Hall to be “used to evaluate the city's traffic management for events and road closures, assess the deployment of traffic officers and further refine traffic strategies for the most congested areas.”
Sounds smart.
“It will make the city work better for everyone who lives in, works in and vacations in Los Angeles,” says Westside City Councilman Mike Bonin.
Send feedback and tips to the author. Follow Dennis Romero on Twitter at @dennisjromero. Follow L.A. Weekly News on Twitter at @laweeklynews.
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.