Posted on 06/06/2016 4:17:05 PM PDT by dennisw
“It used to be that only locals knew all the cut-through routes, but Google Maps and Waze are letting everyone know,”
When population growth began to overwhelm a set of major intersections in his district, there was an increase of 45,000 cars a day on some residential streets, as app-armed commuters fought their way to nearby Interstate 85. In response, the city is posting signs to restrict left or right turns at key intersections.
____________________________
When the traffic on Timothy Connor’s quiet Maryland street suddenly jumped by several hundred cars an hour, he knew who was partly to blame: the disembodied female voice he could hear through the occasional open window saying, “Continue on Elm Avenue . . . .”
The marked detour around a months-long road repair was several blocks away. But plenty of drivers were finding a shortcut past Connor’s Takoma Park house, slaloming around dog walkers and curbside basketball hoops, thanks to Waze and other navigation apps.
“I could see them looking down at their phones,” said Connor, a water engineer at a federal agency. “We had traffic jams, people were honking. It was pretty harrowing.”
So Connor borrowed a tactic he read about from the car wars of Southern California and other traffic-weary regions: He became a Waze impostor. Every rush hour, he went on the Google-owned social-media app and posted false reports of a wreck, speed trap or other blockage on his street, hoping to deflect the flow.
He continued his guerrilla counterattack for two weeks before the app booted him off, apparently detecting a saboteur in its ranks. That made Connor a casualty in the social-media skirmishes erupting across the country as neighborhoods try to contend with suddenly savvy drivers finding their way on routes that were once all but secret.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Well there’s a yes but in there ... unless you have a special tag that allows you on that certain street people can use them to drive to where ever they’re going. No one resident has the right to block or ban anyone from driving through there - unless there’s a legal sign not to do so.
“small neighborhood streets are designed for light traffic by the residents “
I agree completely. When Rt. 82 backs up at rush hours, people come down my narrow residential side street, full of kids, dog walkers, people walking for exercise. It’s a 25 mph street with no sidewalks. People and pets have been hit by a-holes driving 50 mph. I’d like s couple of inconvenient stop signs and maybe some speed bumps! My street was not designed for heavy, speeding traffic. And being a tiny town, we gey our paid for LEOs from the Summit County Sheriffs. And there are too few of them in this sleepy little burg to set up more than one or two traps to slow things down.
Big speed bumps every 10 feet. Stop signs every 15 feet. Cops or cameras giving out tickets like it is going out of style.
The traffic will cease...
To my mind there is no right side or wrong side to this argument: it is a bad situation that everyone is doing their best to make a little better for themselves.
Besides roads there are other points of interest such as a city sand dune near me, long outdoor staircases that make for good workouts, steep roads that are great for skateboarding, etc. These venues were all fun when just a few people knew about them, but are now overcrowded or closed to the public.
Lots of these places will ultimately end up being tagged by losers that would have never known of their existence but for the internet. Preventing this information from getting out there by government fiat would be the wrong way to handle it, but if entrepreneurial folks in those neighborhoods can find ways to game the system in their favor and keep the hordes away, then the more power to them.
I’m another Waze user but mostly for interstate commuting. I’ve never had need to use it for neighborhood travel.
Who says they’re designed for light traffic? Granted they’re single lane roads, but who defines small traffic?
“Big speed bumps every 10 feet. Stop signs every 15 feet. Cops or cameras giving out tickets like it is going out of style.
The traffic will cease...”
As will the quality of life....
Summit County OH?
Problem 1 - union labor
the city is posting signs to restrict left or right turns at key intersections.
Problem 2 - city favoritism.
population growth began to overwhelm a set of major intersections
Problem 3 - Crony capitalism - didn't make developers pay for traffic impact.
As opposed to highwsy rush hour every day in front of your house?
Yup!
>>Maybe he should try the “slow children playing” sign trick. Severe penalties for hitting one of those “slow children” playing in the street!<<
Flashing school signal. People will avoid it forever.
Bug the police chief, mayor, and councilperson frequently until either cops with radar show up to fix the speeding problem, or they get a TRO against you for harassment.
But don't whine if you or a friend gets tagged for speeding.
They’re public roads paid for with fuel and registration taxes.
I am not a Luddite but this is indeed where there is a two-edged sword. Traffic planners set streets and neighborhoods with safe speeds and vehicle capacity. When WAZE and other functions / apps get into the mix, you can develop a degree of chaos along with the unexpected consequence(s).
This is a repeat of the GPS frustration for transport trucking (lorries) in England when GPS first got started. The drivers and their employers had a strong stake in finding the shortest distance for delivery. Problem was that England has some very VERY narrow roads from historical times. It became a wry news-item for a big tractor-trailer to get absolutely STUCK somewhere in the Cotswold wilds. There may be some still there for all I know.
With this situation, imagine the resident unable to exit from his home to go to work because WAZE has directed highway traffic onto his residential road. Imagine an ambulance trying to make a rescue. Obviously, it is one thing when it is a temporary road fix but human nature being what it is, some of the people using the route are likely to continue even after the other road is fixed!
I am suddenly happy that I live in a cup-de-sac even though I have to wait almost endlessly to get out during rush-hour. At least WAZE is unlikely to direct excess through my neighborhood ... I hope!
Waze is incredible and redistributes traffic to the most optimal routes in real time and increases speed for ALL drivers. Eventually increasing productivity and the quality of life for everyone in the community. Even those not on Waze
Of course the people with formerly empty roads are pissed during rush hour periods but they need to look at the big picture. When THEY drive somewhere during a jam, Waze will have their back too
“But don’t whine if you or a friend gets tagged for speeding.”
I’m almost 70. I’ve never had a speeding ticket, or an accident. (Knock on wood) My insurance man says I have the best driving record he’s ever seen. Started racing go karts when I was 13, and got all the speed thrills I needed back then.I’m not whining about anything but the a-holes who are cr@ppy drivers!
Exactly what water is the federal government constitutionally authorized to engineer?
Agree.
How many of those here would be happy if traffic in front of THEIR home suddenly increased a hundredfold ?
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