Los Altos, California has erected a new roadblock in its ongoing effort to keep drivers from cutting through residential neighborhoods, beckoned by the popular navigation app Waze.
Henry Grabar revisits the continuing story of residential neighborhoods looking for ways to prevent cut-through traffic directed by the popular Waze app. This time the controversy has visited Los Altos, California, where congestion has spilled off of Interstate 280 onto local access roads.
First, Los Altos Hills asked Waze to remove three roads from its map. Waze does not entertain such requests. So Los Alto Hills came up with a Plan B: Close the streets to people who don’t live there. In May, the city erected “No Thru Traffic” signs on three roads where they crossed the city limit. Waze complied, according to a report from the Los Altos Hills manager, which means it will no longer direct users to drive on those streets.
City officials in Georgia, Alabama, and Maryland have nixed the idea in the past, according to Grabar—some citing the questionable legal and enforcement status of such signs. Even in Los Altos, the signs are in a trial period and the city isn't pursuing violators.
FULL STORY: Suburbs Finally Figured Out a Way to Get Rid of Pesky Drivers on Waze Shortcuts
Waze vs. Residential Neighborhoods
Accounts of disgruntled residents responding by any means necessary to the flood of cars beckoned by the whims of navigation apps like Waze are spreading across the country.
Waze Outfits NYC Tunnels with Beacons for Underground Navigation
The tech is part of a public-private partnership meant to improve connectivity to Waze and other navigation apps from underground.
Flooded With Navigation App Users, a Town Closes Its Streets
Navigation apps like Waze often reroute drivers onto residential streets that would be quiet otherwise. With some residents unable to leave their driveways, the New Jersey borough of Leonia has taken an extreme measure against the problem.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.
Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service