FRISCO, Colo.—The Colorado Department of Transportation is developing a smartphone application to alert drivers to traffic conditions—and suggest pit stops for dining and killing time while waiting for the roads to clear.
State officials hope to have the app ready for testing on the Interstate 70 mountain corridor next summer.
The Summit Daily News reports that the CDOT app will be supported by advertising, not tax money ( ). CDOT spokeswoman Stacey Stegman says a contract for the product development will likely be awarded to a private firm early next year, with officials hoping to launch the app with live information on the I-70 corridor by Memorial Day, 2012.
Stegman said CDOT hopes to work out any problems with the new app over the summer in time for the winter ski season, when Interstate 70 becomes treacherous with heavy traffic and frequent weather closings. Eventually, she said, the app may be adapted for use on Interstate 25 and other state highways, too.
“What’s really unique about the app is that we hope to have more predictive information on it,” Stegman said. “In the past we’ve just been able to show you what’s going on real time. (Now) we’re gathering all this historical data to say, ‘If I left at this time, it will take me an hour.’ . At least, people can have better information to plan their travel.”
A similar app is already available from the I-70 Coalition, a partnership of governments along the corridor. It uses the slogan, “More Mountains. Less Traffic.”
“The coalition welcomes the partnership between its Go I70 project and the local business community, as everyone benefits,” I-70 Coalition program manager Margaret Bowles stated in a recent release. “Local businesses get more customers, I-70 sees fewer cars during those peak travel times and our visitors avoid frustrating delays.”
Local business owners say mobile applications target a definite need among their customer base.
“When the customers are here, they’re always asking, ‘is the road open, is the road open,'” said Rick Tork, who manages the Backcountry Brewery in Frisco. “I think that (an application) would be a beneficial tool for stranded motorists.”
Management at Rita’s Taco Bar and Kenosha Steakhouse, jointly owned restaurants on Main Street in Breckenridge, is already beginning to explore business possibilities connected with smartphone technology, with positive results.
“We’re interested in things like that,” assistant general manager Margit McLoughlin said of CDOT’s mobile app proposal. “We’re all about applications and technology.”
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Information from: Summit Daily News,
