This is an issue I’ve started to notice more frequently (especially this summer) what I consider a big problem with Waze routing traffic. Basically, there is a large amount of traffic diverting off of Southbound I95 onto Route 301/207, then hits the traffic light at Route 1 to turn left and continue Southbound–no problem. BUT, what Waze is doing is routing traffic already on Route 1 (before the intersection mentioned above) and diverting it onto Telegraph Road which is a narrow secondary road not conducive for a lot of traffic. Two way is not possible without one vehicle moving over and partially off the road.
All this is happing because Wave is calculating some time saving (has to be a minute or less). I totally understand this is a public road, but it creates a ridiculous amount of traffic on a road not designed for that kind of traffic. And it actually gets backed up on the other end because they have to turn left onto Jericho road and then right to get back onto Route 1. How can this be corrected or who can I discuss this with?
Also to note, the observed traffic that is occurring in this situation is not local traffic. It is mostly out of state or area traffic that is taking the undesired route.
[For any other editors reviewing this, the area in question is Rogers Clark Blvd, Jericho Rd, Telegraph Rd in Ruther Glen]
Several questions come to mind:
Is Waze alone causing the routing? There are several navigation apps with realtime traffic not to mention the onboard navigation in most new cars. I’m not saying Waze is not contributing, but it is certainly not solely responsible therefore is not the only solution.
What is occurring that is causing the backup in the first place? If I-95 S gets shutdown completely, then routing to smaller roads is indeed possible. Last week, I-95 north and south were closed due to downed power lines. I’m sure the side roads were all backed up.
As you mentioned, all of those roads are public and we cannot restrict access to Telegraph Rd unless the municipality does so officially (ie prohibit through traffic).
Telegraph Rd in that area is a a local street and it would take a considerable backup for Waze to use that road as an alternate.
I’ll just add, by default, because Telegraph Rd is designated by Waze to be a local “Street” it’s not even considered by medium and long distance routes, except near the origin or destination. This true for all local street unless there is a road closure nearby that requires a detour.