City of Los Angeles teams up with Waze app

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- More than a million Angelenos rely on the Waze app to avoid traffic and get around town faster. Now, Waze users will also get alerts about hit-and-runs, kidnappings and road closures, thanks to a new partnership between the city of L.A., LAPD and Waze.

"This is gonna be updated in real time, every two minutes, giving motorists the information they need to avoid those road closures and to get home for dinner in time," Garcetti said.

The mayor first mentioned the partnership in his State of the City address last week. The data-sharing partnership is really an exchange of information.

Garcetti explained the city will also receive real-time information about traffic patterns and road conditions from Waze as part of the agreement. The goal is to better manage city streets.

"The fact that more people are choosing to live, work, study and visit Los Angeles also means that we have more cars, more vehicles on our streets, and with that good news, comes the bad news of more traffic," Garcetti said.

Earlier this year, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck had expressed concerns that Waze would jeopardize the lives of police officers by allowing users to pinpoint their locations. However, just this week, Beck met with Waze and is now on board in discussions about how the technology can help improve traffic while ensuring the safety of officers.