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We hope you enjoy this abbreviated version of the

Frankenmuth News 

Serving Frankenmuth Since 1906

Vol. 111 No. 47 In our 111th year!

Wednesday, May 24,  2017

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Frankenmuth joins Waze Connected Citizens Program

  The City of Frankenmuth today announced a data-sharing partnership with Waze (http://www.waze.com), the free, real-time crowdsourced traffic and navigation app powered by the world’s largest community of drivers. Designed as a free, two-way data share of publicly available traffic information, the Connected Citizens Program promotes greater efficiency, deeper insights and safer roads for citizens of Frankenmuth along with more than 250 other partners around the world.
  With two big events, Dog Bowl and Balloons Over Bavarian Inn scheduled for Memorial Day weekend, the City is testing the new software to assist with traffic circulation and parking availability. “With the popularity of these events, we know that traffic delays will be inevitable,” says City Manager Bridget Smith. 𠇊nticipating a beautiful weekend here in Frankenmuth, we encourage guests and locals to use the WAZE app to make finding their way a little easier.” 
  The Waze Connected Citizens Program gives municipal leaders an unprecedented look at real-time road activity, empowering partners to harness real-time driver insights to improve congestion and make better informed planning decisions. Established as a two-way data share, Waze provides partners with real-time, anonymous, Waze-generated incident and slow-down information directly from the source: drivers themselves. In exchange, the City of Frankenmuth provides real-time government-reported construction, crash and road closure data to Waze to return one of the most succinct, thorough overviews of current road conditions today.
  “The City of Frankenmuth is a small town of almost 5,000 that on certain event weekends, can swell to well over 50,000-plus. It is critically important that we have a way to communicate with our residents and visitors alike about road construction, road closures and even parking,” said Bridget Smith, City Manager for the City of Frankenmuth. “Waze provides us with an opportunity to do just that with minimal cost and maximum outreach and then allows us to use that data to help improve our traffic management.”
  The Waze map evolves with every driver and data point it receives, promoting safer roads and sharing more knowledge with Wazers about potential delays to their commutes. The Connected Citizens Program yields even more data, giving local citizens a greater ability to circumvent road closures and traffic jams within the app. The City of Frankenmuth can also provide Wazers with advanced notice of major traffic events such as parades and special events that will affect their daily routes.
  “The Waze Connected Citizens Program connects Wazers and cities globally to promote safer roads,” said Adam Fried, Head of Global Partnerships at Waze. “The City of Frankenmuth will be able to rely on these user insights to improve congestion during busy event weekends, and make better informed planning decisions for both residents and visitors.” 
It is critical that prospective partners show their dedication to citizen engagement and commit to use Waze data to improve city efficiency. Waze Partners are also expected to measure and share their findings with other municipal organizations, developing case studies that serve as keys to a global set of improvements which can be made for collective mobility. 
  To find out more about Connected Citizens visit http://waze.com/ccp. To download the free Waze app for iOS or Android, visit http://www.waze.com/get.
  Frankenmuth welcomes its guests to enjoy Dog Bowl and Balloons Over Bavaria, two of our premier special events in one big weekend! For more information including schedules, go to http://dogfunfest.com.

FHS 2008 graduate, Alyssa Black, chosen as museum director