Waze CEO Noam Bardin
Los Angeles residents hate it when navigation apps like Waze route drivers through local streets to avoid traffic on larger roads. The ensuing congestion on the side streets can have a long-term effect on property values, some homeowners claim.
It seems city officials have gotten the message.
The City Council requested the Department of Transportation enlist map apps in a pilot program, which would limit the streets those navigation devices route drivers through, according to Curbed.
The roads could include some hillside roads, those designated by the city as “local thoroughfares” and access roads.
Compass last year partnered with Waze to show ads for homes for sale along drivers’ routes.
DOT transportation engineer Brian Gallagher suggested in recent Council testimony that the hills of Encino and the often traffic-packed area around the Hollywood Bowl were good candidates for the program, according to the report.
Such a policy would answer near-constant calls from homeowners for relief from “cut-through traffic” that many claim is a major nuisance, and say affects their property values.
It would be a major blow to map apps like Waze, whose main selling point is that they reduce driving time by evenly dispersing drivers, including those to side streets.
A similar measure has been attempted in a New Jersey town, which started fining drivers who use side-streets to get around traffic. [Curbed] — Dennis Lynch
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