Ithaca had this problem arise spontaneously about a decade ago.
If you're driving to the Wegmans supermarket from east of town, the official routes you are supposed to use are badly congested, and drivers "in the know" have long been aware you can save a few minutes sitting in traffic by going through a certain residential neighborhood.
When they put traffic calming in place and made it illegal to drive through the neighborhood, congestion immediately got worse on the official routes.
The idea that drivers benefited from less congestion was entirely left out of the public debate, especially the fact that drivers taking the shortcut reduce congestion on the major roads.
If a certain route like that is overtaxed, the solution should be to either expand the road, or improve other options (likely transit), not just accept tons of through traffic in residential neighborhoods.
If you're driving to the Wegmans supermarket from east of town, the official routes you are supposed to use are badly congested, and drivers "in the know" have long been aware you can save a few minutes sitting in traffic by going through a certain residential neighborhood.
When they put traffic calming in place and made it illegal to drive through the neighborhood, congestion immediately got worse on the official routes.
The idea that drivers benefited from less congestion was entirely left out of the public debate, especially the fact that drivers taking the shortcut reduce congestion on the major roads.