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theghostofm t1_iwl26o7 wrote

Reply to comment by BmoreCityDOT in List Ave at E Coldspring Ln to Harford Rd has been closed to through traffic. There have been numerous auto crashes due to motorists using it as a shortcut, and so we are closing the road to through traffic indefinitely beginning Fri, Nov 18. by BmoreCityDOT

Oh, oh! I have a question for you regarding Waze specifically: Do you guys communicate with Waze or any of the local volunteer editors? Aggressive routing like this can sometimes be mitigated by updating metadata of intersections on the map. Obviously it often makes sense to close through traffic like in this case, but perhaps sometimes there are map tweaks that can be made to help alleviate smaller routing problems.

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BmoreCityDOT OP t1_iwl8mwj wrote

Well, this isn’t just a Waze update. Concrete barriers are being placed.

But yes; we work very closely with Waze reps and traffic professionals. We have a partnership with them, and any and all closures (temporary and permanent) you see us announcing are getting uploaded to Waze so you can use it to navigate around them.

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theghostofm t1_iwl90se wrote

> Well, this isn’t just a Waze update. Concrete barriers are being placed.

Yep, I totally got that (The "try not to drive through the concrete barrier" comment is the best thing to come out of official City communication channels in the history of forever). But more clarification never hurt anyone, so thanks for communicating that!

> But yes; we work very closely with Waze reps and traffic professionals. We have a partnership with them, and any and all closures (temporary and permanent) you see us announcing are getting uploaded to Waze so you can use it to navigate around them.

That's cool to hear. One note: Your answer specifically mentions road closures, but my question was more about mitigation of aggressive routing in cases where road closures are not done. Is that something you also work on with Waze reps?

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BmoreCityDOT OP t1_iwl9ezh wrote

Nope. We are only working with road closures at this time. Waze is constantly updating the map itself, so we’re providing them with the most up-to-date data of whatever we’re physically doing on the ground so they can do what they’re best at.

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theghostofm t1_iwla9zz wrote

Interesting!

> Waze is constantly updating the map itself

I'm a part of that. For the past few years, I've been pretty active as a volunteer map editor for the city. I've added thousands of updates and additions, especially in East Bmore. One challenge is the fact that unfortunate routing problems are somewhat obfuscated from us. But if we were able to have broader insight into where we should mitigate these kinds of issues, it'd be great for Waze users and hopefully for city traffic in general!!

Oversimplified explanation: we have several different metadata we can apply to intersections and road segments which can impact how aggressive the routing algorithm will be with them. If we know about where there are likely problems with routing, we can work to improve them!

I don't necessarily want to add to your (likely considerable) burden, but I wonder if it'd be okay to suggest something like this: Would you guys consider sharing information regarding traffic patterns with the volunteers or reps?

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BmoreCityDOT OP t1_iwlb9d5 wrote

We are so grateful for your work!

What we’d like to be able to do is share that data directly with Waze themselves so that they can make appropriate changes. The progressional relationship is rather new, but we’re planning on doing even more with them.

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PM_ME_UR_CC_INFO t1_iwldm54 wrote

This is interesting! I have heard folks in my neighborhood say that Google and Waze route people through Medfield via Grandview Ave when 83 is slow. Is that the sort of thing you’re looking for?

If that’s what you’re looking for, and you haven’t already, perhaps reach out to community associations. Those groups will likely know if GPS routing is an ongoing issue in their area.

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theghostofm t1_iwliw4x wrote

Oh yeah, that's a great example!

For reaching out to community associations, that's definitely something we do to some degree. Neighborhood facebook groups are another good resource.

Unfortunately, adding different individuals and groups makes a complex web of communication. The idea of getting some level of communication or data directly from the city DOT, which can quantify, collate, and highlight trends is so exciting because it lets us get more meaningful data, that's higher quality, with some expectation of consistency, without needing to navigate a network of complaints and hearsay gathered from a network of different sources.

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