The city of Atlanta recently posted alerts on the traffic app Waze that claimed an object was blocking the road on streets it has restricted to local traffic. It later removed them on April 13, citing driver confusion.
“The City is aware that Waze hazard alerts denoting the locations of ‘No Thru Traffic’ signs for residential roads may have caused some confusion to motorists, and the City requested that the alerts be removed,” a city spokesperson said after the Reporter questioned the Waze notifications.
The alerts were posted on some Buckhead streets, including side streets off of Piedmont Road and Sidney Marcus Boulevard.
The city has a partnership with Waze to alert drivers of road closures, construction and slowdowns, which it leveraged to help minimize cut-through traffic while I-85 is being reconstructed, the city said.
Since the collapse, neighborhoods have been complaining of an increase in traffic as people search for detours from gridlocked streets. The city said it is committed to providing access for emergency vehicles and diverting traffic away from streets not built to handle the levels of traffic they are now getting.
William Johnson, the commissioner of public works, said at a March Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods meeting the city is “constantly providing updates to Google Maps and Waze” in response to a question about increased traffic in neighborhoods as people are using the apps to find quicker routes, according to minutes from the meeting. The city can’t force people not to use the roads, but it can make it less convenient to drive on them, Johnson said at the meeting, which was before the collapse of I-85.
Thank you for reporting on this. The City of Atlanta outright lied about obstructions in road-with their false reports of obstructions & the “no thru traffic” reports. They were making things so much worse by false reporting. I don’t know what to trust anymore. We need clear & concise information to get around the I-85 collapse. Waze needs to accept some responsibility also!