The City of Virginia Beach has been named a City Government Project Experience winner as part of the fourth annual Government Experience Awards. Presented by the Center for Digital Government (CDG), the awards program celebrates U.S. states, counties and cities that have excelled in designing an innovative government experience while transcending traditional expectations around citizen services. The City’s Traffic Data-Sharing Partnership was highlighted in the Project Experience Awards category, which recognizes initiatives with a specific focus area and more than one interaction channel.
“This award is reflective of our approach to data-driven decision-making. We are grateful to have our efforts recognized on such a scale,” said the City’s Chief Information Officer Peter Wallace. “The pandemic has shaped and accelerated the necessity of digital services at every level of government. During this period of considerable transformation, we continue to prioritize big data, modern technology and innovative partnerships to enhance citizen experience across the board.”
The Traffic Data-Sharing Partnership, with driving platform Waze, empowers the City to crowdsource, analyze and share high-quality information from and for citizens. Established as a free two-way data share through the Waze Connected Citizens Program, Waze gives the City real-time, anonymous, Waze-generated incident and slow-down information directly from local drivers. The City provides real-time government-reported construction, crash and road closure data via the Waze app to deliver a comprehensive view of current road activity. The community-driven data is shared with residents, visitors, commuters, first responders and regional authorities. This interaction is especially useful during natural disasters or large-scale events and helps City leadership adjust traffic management strategies to support a smarter, safer experience. Citizens can determine the most effective routes as they navigate the city.
