Tech can?t solve a long-standing regional transportation problem Like many problems plaguing modern life, traffic is a daily nuisance that many are trying to fix with technology. From Uber and Lyft to autonomous vehicles to navigation apps such as Waze, tech firms keep searching for ways to deliver us from our daily commute.
One California town near Silicon Valley, Los Altos Hills, decided that tech was both the cause and solution to its traffic problems. It learned, however, that while apps come and go, regional transportation planning (or lack thereof) has a much longer lifespan.
The problem Los Altos Hills has with traffic is due, in a significant part, to the fact that it?s not set up for excessive traffic. Located in Santa Clara County, Los Altos Hills contains two of the wealthiest zip codes in the country, and has no commercial zoning. The residential enclave is basically composed of a series of smaller, winding roads connecting expensive homes. So when rush hour traffic from I-280?which bisects the town, and decreases from four to three lanes on the southbound side just outside the town limits ?began encroaching on these residential streets over the last few years, residents clamored for action.
Shutterstock
Waze is a convenient scapegoat for larger traffic issues

A solution local government agreed on, according to public works director and city engineer Allen Chen, was to contact Waze. They assumed Waze-directed traffic had steere...