As part of his continuing campaign to reduce traffic congestion across Toronto, Mayor John Tory has announced that the city will work with popular traffic app Waze to help commuters plan and adjust their routes in real time.
The announcement is a part of a suite of measures Tory has implemented throughout his time in office aimed at improving commute times, including cracking down on illegal parking during rush hours, accelerating roadway construction projects and designating city crews to help clear crash scenes quickly.
The latest push involves a partnership with an app Tory admits he uses daily – Waze, a crowdsourced traffic and navigation application for smartphones.
As part of the partnership, the city will provide Waze with information related to scheduled road closures, construction projects and maintenance work and traffic alerts while Waze provides the city with real time “insights” from drivers trying to maneuver through traffic.
“This partnership will give our Traffic Operation Centre better visibility into traffic patterns and give users of the Wave application enhanced information so they can plan their commute ahead of time and adjust their commute as their go,” he said.
“I’m using it all the time and, without question, Waze gives you information you wouldn’t otherwise have and allows you to make changes to the route that you’re taking using information in real time.”
Toronto is the 19th Canadian city to partner with the application and currently serves more than 560,000 users.
Mike Wilson, the head of sales at Waze in Canada, said Toronto currently holds its largest audience base, with users spending an average of 9 hours a month on the app.
“Waze was really built on the premise that we’re all in this together. We’re hoping that by working together, we can outsmart traffic,” he said. “With the help of our 90 million monthly active users around the world and partnering with forward thinkers like Toronto, we’re able to serve as traffic pattern insights and data to help improve mobility for all.”
When asked about the possibility the app will push in-car phone use, Tory acknowledged the concern but said that the app is structured in a way that discourages phone use by a driver.
“Waze has a feature on it that I have to use each and every time I’m trying to put something on the map or use it to help me get around the city, which is it makes you confirm that you are a passenger and not a driver before you can actually send the information. I would hope most people would take heed of that,” he said.
“We have to count on the common sense of people. You have to understand, I am not in favour for one second, of people doing anything that even approaches distracted driving in the interest of getting us better information about traffic.”
The reciprocal relationship using technology “just makes sense,” Tory said, adding that the announcement comes just in time for major traffic changes like the King Street pilot project.
“Even changes to roads like the King Street pilot project can be communicated the moment those changes are made,” he said.
“We’re not the first and we should’ve been at this before now, but we’re now joining city like Montreal and Winnipeg who are already partnering with Waze and I’m glad we’re finally embracing this technology.”
King Street pilot project heads into week two
One of Tory’s other traffic calming measures took another step forward today.
Drivers disobeying the newly implemented rules of the King Street pilot project are no longer being given warnings, they will face a hefty fine instead.
Toronto police officers have been patrolling the area throughout the week, reminding drivers that driving through any intersection on the busy roadway between Bathurst and Jarvis streets is forbidden for at least a year.
The so-called grace period awarded to drivers last week has expired and those once friendly reminders may now come in the form of a $110 traffic ticket. Police say they are taking a zero-tolerance approach.
“You’ve got to pay attention to the signage that’s around you, regardless of it’s the King Street pilot or anywhere,” Sgt. Brett Moore said on Monday. “It’s pushing folks onto the side roads but not in such a way that’s backing them up. I was using them all last week and all day today to get around and things were quite good. I was pleasantly surprised.”
City councillor and mayoral candidate Doug Ford intends on making the project an election issue, suggesting it has turned King Street into a “car exclusion zone.”
“There are so many people that work down here, that come from the suburbs and they have no choice but to drive because there is no proper transit,” he said. “I don’t blame the police at all, I blame the mayor.”
Ford says he intends on “standing up for the silent majority” by standing at the corner of Bay and King streets during rush hour.
He’s also created a petition asking Torontonians who agree that the pilot project is a “reckless plan” to show their support.
Tory deflected criticism about the project and reiterated the purpose of the pilot project as being a way of trying out new ways to ease traffic on one of the city’s busiest streets.
“I just think when people are critical of these things I hope first and foremost that they would suggest alternatives to it,” he said.
“But it’s a pilot project, so we’re going to try it. I think it’s the first time anybody has tried anything on King Street, including those who have had the opportunity to do it before. I’m just proud of the fact we’re trying things to get people moving.”
