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Traffic apps turned L.A.’s neighborhoods into ”shortcuts”

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41–50 of 311 posts

Re: Traffic apps turned L.A.’s neighborhoods into ”shortcuts”

#41
post #30

LA is a very strange place to me - I read about all this havoc, but whenever I fly in there and do stuff it seems fairly quiet and almost somnabulent.

This was my impression when I visited. I was entirely taken by how genuinely drivable the place was. The traffic was all quite tolerable, far better than what I regularly encounter in Minneapolis.

Re: Traffic apps turned L.A.’s neighborhoods into ”shortcuts”

#42
post #5

In LA are these shortcuts worth it? I was surprised to find with Google maps more often than not it suggests to just take that busy highway that is crawling alone because ... it really is faster. I've tried to defy google maps ... rarely do I win. Granted google maps is wrong at times. During snowstorms it loves to send me down off streets that haven't yet been plowed or ... worse random county roads you do not want…

When driving around the DC beltway I found it indispensable. But I did not follow it blindly. I used it over the course of months to find what routes had potential and which did not, and a lot of times I got stuck unnecessarily in side road traffic. This taught me a few viable routes for when the beltway really was gridlocked. It also taught me how to gauge the level of traffic reports for how early I needed to bail from the freeway onto side roads, or stick it out if it would clear up.

Re: Traffic apps turned L.A.’s neighborhoods into ”shortcuts”

#43
post #25
post #5

In LA are these shortcuts worth it? I was surprised to find with Google maps more often than not it suggests to just take that busy highway that is crawling alone because ... it really is faster. I've tried to defy google maps ... rarely do I win. Granted google maps is wrong at times. During snowstorms it loves to send me down off streets that haven't yet been plowed or ... worse random county roads you do not want…

For about six months before I moved closer to work I had a super commute between Olympia, WA to Kent, WA just south of Seattle. I do not recommend this. Anyways- for the first month or so I used Waze religiously as this is a notoriously bad commute. I realized after a few nasty trips through Fife that unless you were among th very first few people to catch a rerouting, the roads people were routed to were painfully u…

I'm at the point where I check Google Maps, then Apple maps (to confirm Apple maps isn't sending me to the wrong place) then close Google maps - Gmaps rerouting can be horrible, and is opt-out which can be tough to notice sometimes.

I'll stick to arterial roads, thankyouverymuch, and take my chances. Once in France it sent us on a dirt road - the car with my other family got there 10m faster by sticking to the autoroute.

Re: Traffic apps turned L.A.’s neighborhoods into ”shortcuts”

#44
post #33

It seems to me that Waze isn't the problem. I've seen very similar problems where I live. When the freeway gets backed up, as it inevitably does, traffic spills out into awfully designed city streets. I once got stuck in small neighborhood for 2 hours while the freeway was backed up and that was before Waze existed. In Southern California we have massive urban sprawl most of which is filled with cul-de-sacs within cu…

In this light Elon Musk's Boring Company seems more reasonable.

Re: Traffic apps turned L.A.’s neighborhoods into ”shortcuts”

#45
I feel like I must be missing something because the following potential solutions seem obvious to me:

- Mark a street as "No thru traffic," or charge tolls (via video camera) to vehicles not registered in the neighborhood and not stopping on the street.

- Suspend the driver's license of anyone using Waze, and use that as negotiating leverage with Waze to give edit access to city planners.

What's preventing local/state government from doing so?

Re: Traffic apps turned L.A.’s neighborhoods into ”shortcuts”

#46
post #5

In LA are these shortcuts worth it? I was surprised to find with Google maps more often than not it suggests to just take that busy highway that is crawling alone because ... it really is faster. I've tried to defy google maps ... rarely do I win. Granted google maps is wrong at times. During snowstorms it loves to send me down off streets that haven't yet been plowed or ... worse random county roads you do not want…

I once read (sorry can't find cite) that Waze and Google maps run roughly the same routing algorithm now, but Waze is hyper-optimized for time whereas Google maps is optimized for some nebulous quality akin to "fastest reasonable route" where unreasonable factors are things like using small roads, exiting and entering the high a bunch, extra turns, etc.

So Waze probably is faster by a bit, but not a whole ton.

In my experience, Google Maps ETA has gotten to be frighteningly accurate in the past 6 months. For situations where traffic doesn't materially change during the trip, my ETA will be within 2 minutes of arrival even on trips of over an hour.

Re: Traffic apps turned L.A.’s neighborhoods into ”shortcuts”

#47
post #5

In LA are these shortcuts worth it? I was surprised to find with Google maps more often than not it suggests to just take that busy highway that is crawling alone because ... it really is faster. I've tried to defy google maps ... rarely do I win. Granted google maps is wrong at times. During snowstorms it loves to send me down off streets that haven't yet been plowed or ... worse random county roads you do not want…

they can be minimally quicker once Waze catches on. One of my current shortcuts that I've taken for over 10 years dropped off the Waze radar during the summer when traffic is less. With school back in session, I am now saving 15 minutes on my commute. However, once Waze catches on and starts sending folks down my shortcut, I'll be lucky to save just a few minutes. It is for this reason I don't let any apps track my c…

> It is for this reason I don't let any apps track my commute to work.

That doesn't seem like it would do you any good. Either other people on the road are reporting their speed and location to Waze (in which case your resistance is futile), or no one is, in which case Waze will presumably assume that there is no traffic on the road and send more people down it.

Re: Traffic apps turned L.A.’s neighborhoods into ”shortcuts”

#48
post #5

In LA are these shortcuts worth it? I was surprised to find with Google maps more often than not it suggests to just take that busy highway that is crawling alone because ... it really is faster. I've tried to defy google maps ... rarely do I win. Granted google maps is wrong at times. During snowstorms it loves to send me down off streets that haven't yet been plowed or ... worse random county roads you do not want…

Occasionally, but not when 5% of the potential freeway traffic gets routed onto the same tiny sidestreet. Waze is also notorious for asking people to make impossible left turns across 10 lanes of traffic.

Re: Traffic apps turned L.A.’s neighborhoods into ”shortcuts”

#49

If the government wants to be the big daddy of traffic control then it should also build sufficient lanes to keep the roads moving.

It’s generally accepted that more lanes does not equal less traffic, and can often lead to the opposite effect due to the effect of induced demand [1]. I personally believe providing multiple alternative transport options is more effective but obviously that’s a matter of opinion... [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induced_demand

Serious question but is there a reason more isn't invested in public transport? I've only ever lived in the UK before Tokyo but America is rich enough I don't see why they can't do what those places do.

Re: Traffic apps turned L.A.’s neighborhoods into ”shortcuts”

#50
post #45

I feel like I must be missing something because the following potential solutions seem obvious to me: - Mark a street as "No thru traffic," or charge tolls (via video camera) to vehicles not registered in the neighborhood and not stopping on the street. - Suspend the driver's license of anyone using Waze, and use that as negotiating leverage with Waze to give edit access to city planners. What's preventing local/stat…

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