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Traffic-weary homeowners and Waze are at war

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Traffic-weary homeowners and Waze are at war

#71

Post by Piskvorrr »

djrogers wrote: post #62
Piskvorrr wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...in America (where cities are actually built for cars and people are just annoying, barely tolerated parasites).

Or London, or Paris, or Rome, or Shanghai, or Mexico City, or.... I'm sure there are shining paragons of traffic efficiency and urban design somewhere in the world, but you're not exactly doing a good ob of pointing them out here.

London, Paris, Rome - all have a gasp workable public transport (can't speak for Shanghai or MC), dwarfing the vehicular traffic. Unless I had no option to choose at all, separated public transit beat the car traffic each and every time; even the delay of leaving the car at the outskirts and taking the train downtown is quicker than hopping along, a meter a minute (and then getting the privilege of hopping around blocks, trying to find a parking spot, with everyone else doing the same). Not the buses, of course; those get stuck in traffic like everyone else - but the trains get you wherever. Yes, I understand it's unfashionable, and you don't get a coffee cup holder or your own comfy chair for the whole trip ;) But it works. (Yes, there are other people on the metro. Well if you can't stand people, what are you doing in a city - which is a concentrated blob of people by definition?)

Re: Traffic-weary homeowners and Waze are at war

#72

Post by sokoloff »

koolba wrote: post #23

> Connor and his neighbors put up “No Through Traffic” signs. And their city councilman, Tim Male, tried to get Google Maps to take note of the official detour, by calling the company and flagging it through the apps’ feedback feature. Assuming the road itself is a public road (not a driveway or gated community), is there any legality to this?

Petition the town to do it and it's legal. Putting up bootleg signs? Probably not legal.

It sounds like they may have had town cooperation. (In Cambridge, MA and surrounding towns, we have many "no turn onto this street between 7-9 AM and/or 4-7 PM" and the street I live on is two way for 99% of its length and one way for the last 20 feet or so [to prevent it being used as a cut-through.)

Re: Traffic-weary homeowners and Waze are at war

#73

Post by danra »

I simply hate it when Waze navigates me through a dozen small streets I'm not familiar with, just to save one minute vs. taking a main road. The multiple suggested routes often don't mitigate this enough.

Wish for a feature to turn a preference for main roads in general.

Re: Traffic-weary homeowners and Waze are at war

#74

Post by street »

CWuestefeld wrote: post #70
djrogers wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A grid-based layout might mean more through traffic, but the traffic can filter through many, many different cross-routes rather than funnelling through the singular optimal route. That singular optimal route funnels traffic away from my kids riding bikes, playing street hockey, drawing chalk cities, or anything else their little minds can come up with. It's why houses on a 'quiet street' are coveted, and sell for…

About a year ago, a traffic accident caused Waze to route me through a residential area. I actually respected the speed limit as I went through, and at one point saw kids playing in the street just as I was making a turn, so I slowed further. That didn't stop some busybody dad from flagging me down. I opened my window and he told me I'd better slow down (I had) because there were kids playing. My response to him was…

Why can't kids play on a street designed only for traffic to houses on that street? I played on the street all the time as a child. Of course, my streets weren't flooded with drivers trying to save a few minutes by driving through residential areas.

Re: Traffic-weary homeowners and Waze are at war

#75

Post by JoshTriplett »

dagss wrote: post #14
JoshTriplett wrote: post #5

This quote seems very telling: > It used to be that only locals knew all the cut-through routes, but Google Maps and Waze are letting everyone know So they don't have a problem with people cutting through as long as they're "locals"; it's when the outgroup starts doing the same thing that people get up in arms. If the through traffic is breaking traffic laws, that's a solvable problem. If the street has insufficient…

I would think the problem is the volume of traffic faced by pedestrians and neighbors, not specifically who drives. Many roads are simply suitable for moderate traffic. "Solving the problem" in this case often involves a roadblock in the middle so that you cannot drive through. Compared to changing Waze, this is "fair". But are you really happier then?

> I would think the problem is the volume of traffic faced by pedestrians and neighbors, not specifically who drives.

Possibly, but that wasn't the phrasing, and I suspect that wasn't the mindset.

> Compared to changing Waze, this is "fair". But are you really happier then?

Yes. Because if they apply to the local authority to get a road blocked for through traffic, that's the proper process to enact change at the right level.

Re: Traffic-weary homeowners and Waze are at war

#77

Post by JoshTriplett »

DanBC wrote: post #11
JoshTriplett wrote: post #5

This quote seems very telling: > It used to be that only locals knew all the cut-through routes, but Google Maps and Waze are letting everyone know So they don't have a problem with people cutting through as long as they're "locals"; it's when the outgroup starts doing the same thing that people get up in arms. If the through traffic is breaking traffic laws, that's a solvable problem. If the street has insufficient…

Local people may know that children live and play there, and drive more cautiously. (I didn't downvote you.)

You shouldn't need tribal knowledge like that to drive safely and to keep others safe; the roads should be marked well for everyone, and all drivers should be cautious in all neighborhood settings.

Re: Traffic-weary homeowners and Waze are at war

#78

Post by CWuestefeld »

street wrote: post #74
CWuestefeld wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

About a year ago, a traffic accident caused Waze to route me through a residential area. I actually respected the speed limit as I went through, and at one point saw kids playing in the street just as I was making a turn, so I slowed further. That didn't stop some busybody dad from flagging me down. I opened my window and he told me I'd better slow down (I had) because there were kids playing. My response to him was…

Why can't kids play on a street designed only for traffic to houses on that street? I played on the street all the time as a child. Of course, my streets weren't flooded with drivers trying to save a few minutes by driving through residential areas.

I think you answered your own question: "a street designed only for traffic".

Re: Traffic-weary homeowners and Waze are at war

#79

Post by Piskvorrr »

street wrote: post #74
CWuestefeld wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

About a year ago, a traffic accident caused Waze to route me through a residential area. I actually respected the speed limit as I went through, and at one point saw kids playing in the street just as I was making a turn, so I slowed further. That didn't stop some busybody dad from flagging me down. I opened my window and he told me I'd better slow down (I had) because there were kids playing. My response to him was…

Why can't kids play on a street designed only for traffic to houses on that street? I played on the street all the time as a child. Of course, my streets weren't flooded with drivers trying to save a few minutes by driving through residential areas.

Depends on the legislation - some places have "living streets", where 1. the speed limit is low, and more importantly, 2. the driver has to give way to "pedestrians and playing children". http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/File:Spielstrasse.jpg

Still - a pretty bad overreaction from the "Dad" :(

Re: Traffic-weary homeowners and Waze are at war

#80

Post by breischl »

osi wrote: post #28

If a route is more efficient, but people don't want it to be, the solution is traffic calming, not hiding the right of way from maps.

Yes, but traffic calming usually involves some or all of: planning studies, committee meetings, community outreach, and voting, and building & maintaining physical infrastructure.

Changing the app to just not route through there is far cheaper, easier, and faster.

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