Navigation apps are causing traffic woes and even dangerous car crashes on one of the steepest streets in the Los Angeles area.
Residents are blaming apps like Google Maps and Waze that help drivers avoid heavily trafficked roads for the increase in cars in the area, a Fox affiliate station reported. However, Baxter Street, the steep street in question, is also seeing an uptick in car crashes despite warning signs noting the incline and the blocked view. Residents told the affiliate station the hill leads cares to lose traction and slip. One resident even said they’ve tried contacting Waze about the problem, asking to remove the street from its shortcut routes.
“They said they couldn’t do that because it involves changing the algorithm of the app in a weird way,” Robbie Adams, a resident in the area, told the Los Angeles Times.
L.A.’s city council and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation is holding a meeting regarding Baxter Street and possible solutions to the problem, including making it a one-way street, the affiliate station reported.
