Are you preparing for your morning commute? An app can make it easier.
Hillsborough County officials are hoping to get you to your destination quicker through its partnership with Waze. The county is one of the first counties in Florida to team up with the traffic app.
Stephanie Barnes relies on Waze Monday through Friday and is rarely late to anything.
"There was a road closure nearby and had I not known that, I would have been stuck in bumper to bumper traffic," said Barnes. "[I would have] had to make a U-turn and then possibly be late for work also."
She averted that crisis just the other day in Hillsborough County. The app updates every two minutes. Because of the partnership, county officials can plug in real time data like road closures which can save drivers time and frustration behind the wheel.
Waze also allows drivers to plug in things they see around town like that pothole you never seem to miss. If you flag it via the app the county will know.
"We're able to proactively fix potholes before they have gotten bad enough to where a citizen will report them," said Fred Hartless, with the Hillsborough County Public Works Department.
He says they are storing data from the app every five minutes and are sifting through to see how they can use it to address constant back-ups at intersections. The end result could mean possibly initiating a study to adjust traffic signals or adding lanes.
"If there are constant backups, traffic, it can lead to accidents, people aren't paying attention," said Barnes. "I think that would be great."
To learn more about the Waze app and county/city partnerships, click here.
You can still report issues you see on Hillsborough County roads via its website by clicking here.
