> I would think the problem is the volume of traffic faced by pedestrians and neighbors, not specifically who drives.

Possibly, but that wasn't the phrasing, and I suspect that wasn't the mindset.

> Compared to changing Waze, this is "fair". But are you really happier then?

Yes. Because if they apply to the local authority to get a road blocked for through traffic, that's the proper process to enact change at the right level.

In my part of the world, a lot of "quiet neighbourhoods" have put up boom gates at strategic entrances. Some are manned by security guards that open for you. In others, you have to swipe your hand over a sensor to make it open for you.

It's used mostly for security, but no doubt it helps with keeping traffic-avoiding individuals from going through.

Usually, yes. Car traffic flows like a liquid: anywhere it can, not where it ought to; the road is not blocked off to access - to cars, it just becomes two leaves instead of an edge, i.e. unroutable except for destination traffic.