Kelcie Ralph, an assistant professor of urban planning at Rutgers University, wondered why Leonia was taking this tack. Installing traffic diverters, narrowing streets and making others into one-ways would lengthen travel time and deter apps like Waze from even considering the route, she said.
“You’re not going to be able to keep people off the streets, but you can make your streets so slow and so much of a pain that no one would want to go through,” Ralph said. “Waiting in line for the bridge would be better than driving through the town.”