14 DAY TRIAL // Traffic and navigation app Waze is under fire in Los Angeles for directing heavy traffic to residential areas, potentially causing what local officials are describing as dangerous conditions for residents.
Waze, which uses community reports and data to provide motorists with the quickest routes to a destination depending on traffic conditions, is one of the most popular navigation apps on both Android and iOS. More than 2 million users in Los Angeles are said to be relying on Waze every day to avoid traffic jams.
On Android, Waze has more than 100 million downloads from the Google Play Store, according to official data.
Waze: We can help authorities improve infrastructure
But city council member David Ryu believes that by pushing heavy traffic off the typical routes towards residential areas, Waze is actually impacting the city’s traffic plans, while also contributing to a growing number of accidents. Roads are being damaged faster than projected because of the increased traffic, he said.
“Waze has upended our city's traffic plans, residential neighborhoods, and public safety for far too long,” Ryu was quoted as saying. “Their responses have been inadequate and their solutions, non-existent.”
The councilman says that narrow streets like those in the Sherman Oaks districts are now recording more than 675 vehicles an hour because of Waze, while the cited source indicates that Baxter Street, one of the city’s steepest road, is one particular location where crashes and spinouts have skyrocketed lately.
On the other hand, Waze says the app could help local authorities improve the existing infrastructure, suggesting that data collected by its service could be used by city transportation officials to find ways to reduce traffic jams.
“We do not 'control' traffic in any way but rather try and do the best with what infrastructure exists,” Waze CEO Noam Bardin explained.
A decision on whether the city of Los Angeles could start legal action against Waze hasn’t been made just yet.
