Block off our streets, say residents of the satnav rat runs

RESIDENTIAL streets should be blocked off to prevent navigation apps turning sleepy roads into polluted rat runs, campaigners have said.

People living in the quiet areas between main roads are being increasingly plagued with jams and accidents because of software such as Waze and Google Maps, which direct motorists into back streets to avoid traffic.

Some areas of London have begun trialling “mini-holland” schemes, in which roads are blocked off with bollards so that they can only be accessed by motorists who live there.

Caroline Russell, the transport spokesman for the Green Party and a member of the London Assembly, said she had received scores of complaints from residents whose streets were inundated with drivers who had been diverted by navigation apps on drivers’ smartphones.

“We have a huge congestion problem,

‘It might be good for a few drivers, but it is much less healthy for the residents in those streets’

and apps which provide a cut through simply move that problem into areas where people are living,” she said.

“It might be good for a few drivers, but it is much less healthy for the residents in those streets.

“A lot of these streets have so much parking you can’t even get two cars down, so you get jams, and a build-up of pollution.

“Mini-holland schemes have completely transformed neighbourhoods. Cars can no longer get in anymore. Those areas that were bumper to bumper now feel upbeat and positive.

“People now enjoy walking or riding their bikes, so not only has it cut pollution but it’s a nudge in the right direction towards a healthier lifestyle.”

Waze, a free Gps-based map app, encourages users to report traffic jams, accidents, police checks, blocked roads and weather conditions so that it can calculate a faster route.

Jenny Bates, an air pollution campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “Many places are blighted by traffic, and it is a terrific oversight if we allow technology to make the problem even worse.”